Behind the Music Business Podcast

Here we are. Episode 80 of this little podcast that I launched back in 2018. Since then I have spoken to music business execs from the world of record labels, publishing, artist management, sync, artists themselves and also live music which is where my very special guest number 80 comes from. Russ Tannen is the president of DICE. At their core DICE is a ticketing business but as you will hear from our conversation they have become so much more than that and are continuing to grow and develop in really interesting ways. Russ is based in NYC and we met up over a video call and talked about his journey from a 15 year old Hardcore kid from the Isle of White putting on shows in his local pub that he couldnt even attend because he was too young to being the president of a multinational live music business with 460 employees worldwide. I had a lot of fun talking to Russ and hearing how much we had in common growing up when it comes to music. Please forgive the alarm that you might be able to hear in the background. There was a test going on at the DICE building whilst we spoke. https://dice.fm/ https://www.instagram.com/dicefm/ https://twitter.com/dicefm https://www.linkedin.com/company/dice-fm/ Get in touch with me via behindthebusinesspod@gmail.co https://www.dcmusicpublishing.co.u https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing https://twitter.com/dannychampion

Very excited about getting ever closer to episode 80 of the podcast which is mad when I think about it. Episode 79 is with Emily Ardagh-Walter of This is Music. Emily recently moved into the world of artist management after leaving her breakthrough role as part of the finance team at Universal Records. I had the pleasure of teaching Emily in my first year of university lecturing at the University of South Wales in Cardiff and it would an absolute treat to catch up with her to hear about her journey since graduating in 2019. We spoke about Music business courses at uni, about internships and how to make the most out of them and how she made the decision to move on from that first role at a major to what she is doing now. This episode is definitely a good one for those of you out there interesting in making your first steps into the music business either before or after a degree. https://www.thisismusicltd.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thisismusicltd/ https://twitter.com/ThisIsMusicLtd https://www.facebook.com/thisismusicltd https://soundcloud.com/this-is-music https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-ardagh-walter/ Get in touch with me via: behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com https://www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing https://twitter.com/dannychampion

Big thanks to Liam for jumping on a Zoom call with me to talk about all things live music (pre and post Pandemic). I reached out to Liam as he and his agency ‘Echelon Talent’ currently look after the live side of things for a couple of acts I work with as DC Music Publishing. The Hyena Kill and Blanket. Liams agency look after a whole host of acts based in the UK and beyond who I am a big fan of so it was great to speak to him about how he has built his business, especially during such a difficult time for the live music industry. Echelon was launching only 6 months before the global pandemic shut the live entertainment business down so it was really interesting to hear what that whole period was like. We also talked about how Liam and his business work with his clients and how he likes to start working with acts early in their careers. It was a great conversation, we shared a lot of similar views and I am sure that we could have carried on talking for ages if given the chance. https://echelontalent.agency/ https://www.instagram.com/echelontalentagency/ https://www.facebook.com/echelontalentagency/ https://www.instagram.com/liamechelon/ https://www.twitch.tv/liamechelon Get in touch with me via: https://www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing https://twitter.com/dannychampion

As I hurtle (slowly) closer to episode 80, this weeks conversation is with Head of Publishing, A&R and Label Manager at A&G Group/Power Haus Creative Livia Cruz. I reached out to Livia via Linkedin as she is another guest of the pod that I am yet to meet in person. I was very pleased that she was able to jump on a Zpom call with me at short notice to have this conversation. We spoke about her relationship with music having grown up in Brazil and how she got into the business over here when she came over to Europe. Liv also gave me a really interesting look into what A&G as a business are doing at the moment, especially with the relatively recent addition of Power-Haus on the master recording side of the business. I really enjoyed meeting and speaking with Liv and I hope you enjoying listening to our conversation. https://agsyncmusic.com/ https://www.agsongspublishing.com/ https://power-hauscreative.com/ https://www.instagram.com/agsync/ https://www.instagram.com/agsongspublishing/ https://www.instagram.com/powerhaus_creative/ Get in touch with me via: https://www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing https://twitter.com/dannychampion

This episode is with a fellow podcaster. If you haven’t checked out the MeloCompass podcast already you definitely should. If you are listening to this then Nicky’s pod will be right up your street. Check it out on Spotify, Apple, Google or wherever you get your podcasts from. Nicky reached out to me to talk about podcasts and podcasting and in doing so we managed to set up a time to get her on BTB which was awesome. Nicky has had a varied career in the business and has loads of insights for those who are interested in getting in the business. Her area of specialism is music licensing so we have a good and thorough discussion on that and where its all going in the future as well as chatting about Nicky's personal journey in the business and the specific places she has worked as well as the MeloCompass project that she has been building for the past few years. https://www.melocompass.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/melocompassuk/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/melocompass/ https://footprintmusic.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickylangley/ Get in touch with me via: https://www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing https://twitter.com/dannychampion

Episode 75 of my little podcast!!!! Three quarters of the way to the big 100. Thanks to everyone who listens and shares these episodes. It really means a lot. This episode has been a long time in the making. My guest for this episode, Vikrum Gudi, is an incredibly busy man. He currently runs a number of different businesses that we spoke about when we finally managed to find time in both of our schedules that worked. Elephant Music is a music production company that focuses on the world of sync, Split Music is a sync focused music publishing business, Protege School is an online based education facility that focuses on working with songwriters and producers for the world of making music for media and Mmmoth Beer is a London based micro brewery. As I mentioned, Vik is a busy guy. We spoke about all of these businesses and a whole lot more as well including how he got into the business and how the pandemic impacted his ‘empire’ (both positively and negatively). It was an awesome chat and I hope you enjoy listening to it. http://www.elephantmusic.net/ http://www.splitmusic.co.uk/ https://protege.school/ https://www.mammothbeer.com/ Get in touch with me via: behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com https://www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing https://twitter.com/dannychampion

This is one of my all time favourite conversations. This episode, I chatted to the wonderful Jack Williamson about his journey through the music business and his current relationship with the industry as a coach, psychotherapist and mental health activist. During the chat we realised that our paths had crossed back in the day. Whilst I was the head of sync at peermusic in the UK Jack was co-manager of Gabrielle Aplin. We were keen to sign Gabrielle and Jack and I definitely spoke about all things creative at least once in one of our past lives. This conversation though was really uplifting and inspiring to me to hear Jacks outlook on life, how he motivates himself to move forward, how he carved out his own path through the industry and how he is currently ticking items of his ‘fuck it’ list. It’s a great chat. I hope you enjoy it to. http://jackwilliamson.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/jackchristopherwilliamson/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackchristopherwilliamson/ http://musicandyou.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/musicandyouofficial/ Music and You Spotify playlists Get in touch with me via: behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com https://www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing https://twitter.com/dannychampion

I’m back for part 2 of the podcasts for 2022. This first episodes is a cracking chat about music publishing with Deborah Smith who is the Director at Anara Music Publishing based in Leicester in the UK. I reached out to Deborah online as I had never met her and managed to find a window of time in her busy schedule (Anara do a lot of work over in India which Deborah has been getting involved with now that travel is that much easier again) and the conversation was about her start in music and how to set up a publishing company from scratch. As someone currently in the process of setting up a music publishing business it was a very informative chat. https://www.anarapublishing.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AnaraPublishing/ https://www.instagram.com/anarapublishing/ https://twitter.com/anarapublishing?lang=en Anara Spotify playlists Get in touch with me via: behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com https://www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing https://twitter.com/dannychampion

Here is another conversation with someone doing great things in the world of metal and heavy music in the UK. I reached out to George via Instagram on the off chance he would be interested in speaking to me as I am a fan of the work he has done with bands including: Monuments, Loathe and Sleep Token as well as newer acts who I have discovered via diving further into his work like Kubrick and Graphic Nature. It was an interesting and insightful conversation. George is a very open and honest person who operates in a world I only have a small working relationship with (those who operate in and around the record process) so it was great to dive into this area more and get his personal points of view on many things. I’ll be keeping a very close eye on new work from George and if you like some of the bands I have mentioned you should too. Spotify playlist link below https://g1productions.com/ https://www.instagram.com/georgelever_g1/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWky5ZmrJdQqqlIOa6vGffA https://twitter.com/georgelever_g1 Spotify playlist - G1 Did things Get in touch with me via: behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com https://www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing https://twitter.com/dannychampion

This conversation was an extra special one for me as I have grown up listening to many of the bands that Julie has been responsible for putting out into the world. For those out there who love their UK Heavy Metal from the late 90s/early 00s you will know of her work via Visible Noise, the indie label she started who discovered bands like Bring me the Horizon and Bullet for My Valentine (and deeper cuts who I love like Number One Son and Kilkus). Now she is the label head of Sony Music’s rock and metal label Music For Nations. We spoke about how she started in music, coming from the North of England and making her way in the music business, setting up Visible Noise and the work she is doing with Music for Nations and how things differ now that she is working with a Major (spoiler alert, it’s great). She’s currently working with some of my favourite acts out there that you should check out. From Global giants Tool (my all time number 1 band) through to newer/lesser known UK acts like Blanket and Witch Fever (who we discuss at length in the episode, they are awesome). I hope you enjoy the chat as much as I did having it. https://www.musicfornations.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/mfnofficial/ https://twitter.com/musicfornations https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0f5RbK2kZEvYKzb8x4L22A Get in touch with me via: behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com https://www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing https://twitter.com/dannychampion

Welcome back and thanks for coming. Here is episode 72 of my little podcast and this episode's origins are a little different to the rest of the podcasts that I have done. I was reached out to by representatives of Kirt to see if I would be interested in talking to him for the show (something I was very flattered by, I never thought i’d get to that stage) and I of course jumped at the chance to speak to someone in his position. Kirt is the CEO of US based B2B sync platform ‘Syncfloor’. Syncfloor offers music users a simple way to access, find, search and license all sorts of music for their projects. Kirt has a background in tech (via Microsoft) as well as in music (as a performer but also as an indie label owner). It was a fascinating chat and Kirt was an amazing guest. Not going to lie I was nervous before starting this one but he was a joy to chat to and I’d love to have the chance to chat to him again in the not too distant future. Links to everything Syncfloor are below. Enjoy! https://syncfloor.com/ https://www.instagram.com/syncfloor/ https://synclove.com/ https://twitter.com/SyncFloor https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirtdebique/  Get in touch with me via:  behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com  https://www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk  https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing  https://twitter.com/dannychampion

This weeks conversation for the podcast is with Matt Allen. Account Director at The Famous Company (@thefamousco) and Company Director of podcast Agency Digital Bulls (@goteampod). I had the pleasure of being interviews for the Famous Music companies podcast last year and Matt very gladly returned the favour and jumped on a call with me to talk all things music, Bristol and Cornwall (amongst other things). I really enjoyed this one. I had only ever spoken to Matt via email before we had the chat and it was a total joy to do. He is full of interesting insights and opinions on running a business in the creative industries and where things are going moving forward as well. Hopefully I will get to work with Matt and his team on projects moving forward but for now enjoy our conversation. https://www.thefamouscompany.com/ https://twitter.com/thefamousco https://www.instagram.com/thefamousco/ https://www.instagram.com/goteampod/ https://www.youtube.com/thefamousco https://twitter.com/mallentweet Get in touch with me via: behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com https://www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing https://twitter.com/dannychampion

Here is yet another wonderful Uni of Hertfordshire alumni for you. Emma is an amazing music and brand partnerships lawyer who has spent time both in house at Universal records as well as part of law firm SSB working on behalf of the talent rather than the companies who sign the talent. It’s always lovely to chat to Emma. She is open, honest and full of information about her profession and she is so passionate about it as well which is always a great thing. We talked about her journey to becoming a lawyer, the day to day of a lawyer in music and her specific take on the profession as well. So if you are interested in seeking a career in music law this is the episode for you. https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-harding-9b188151/ Get in touch with me via: behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com https://www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing https://twitter.com/dannychampion

Episode 2 for 2022. Sorry it’s a bit late. At time of release its Half term so I’m going to have to be that guy and blame my children (how awful is that…) Anyway, this episode is a very special one as its a conversation that I have wanted to have for some time. Remi Harris MBE is a business consultant and business coach who has and does work with a huge range of people in and around the music business. Remi has held really interesting position in organisations such as the Association of Independent music (AIM) and UK Music before she set up her own business doing what she does now. It was amazing to meet and speak with Remi, learn her story of her journey through the industry and how she has developed and shaped her own path. Also, its also a big deal to speak to someone with an MBE. https://remiharrisconsulting.com/ https://www.instagram.com/remiharrismbe/ https://www.facebook.com/RemiHarrisConsulting https://www.ygn.co/ Get in touch with me via: behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com https://www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing https://twitter.com/dannychampion

Hamish Duff is a talent agent working for First Artists Management (FAM), managing its UK and European business representing composers and music supervisors for film, television, and video games. Its roster includes: Carter Burwell, Vangelis, Craig Armstrong, Rolfe Kent, Anne Chmelewsky, Clark, Hannah Peel, Blanck Mass, Dan Deacon, Emily Rice and many others. FAM recently launched its own record label to further serve the specific needs of its clients. The first release was BBC Back To Life Soundtrack the first release (Joe Wilson of Solomon Grey fame) and the artist debut from rising star Emily Rice.  Key FAM roster activity from late 2021: Ivors Best Original Film Score win for Blanck Mass. Mercury nom for Hannah Peel. FAM record label launched Sept. Management signings include Eimear Noone (Ivor nominated 2021), Gazelle Twin and Orbital. Featured at film festivals with soundtrack premieres from FAM clients include Toronto and Venice / composers Alex Baranowski, CJ Mirra, Paul Saunderson. Several client soundtrack debuts at the BFI London Film Festival in October. Oct also saw noms at the World Soundtrack Awards with Benji Merrison winning people’s choice. And so much more! Prior to joining FAM, Hamish had his own business, Blue Top Music, providing artist and composer management. He’s also worked as a sync consultant, promoter and tour manager.  https://www.firstartistsmanagement.com/  https://www.instagram.com/first_artists_management/?hl=en  https://twitter.com/FAM_agency  https://www.linkedin.com/company/first-artists/  https://twitter.com/bluetopmusic  https://www.linkedin.com/in/hduff/  https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5229914/  Get in touch with me via:  behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com  https://www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk  https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing  https://twitter.com/dannychampion

Welcome back and here is the final Behind the Music Business Podcast of 2021. I am going to take a break for the rest of the year from releasing episodes but I am hoping to come back in 2022 with brand new conversations with some amazing music industry professionals. To round things off for 2021 and for my 65th episode I have the founder and CEO of UK based independent music publisher Max Music Publishing Max Odell as my guest this week. We talked about all things music publishing and the specifics behind the ethos that he has taken into his company since he launched it 4 years ago. I found this chat very inspiring as I am currently taking a similar plunge into the world of music publishing at this very moment as Max did back in 2017 so it was really interesting and informative hearing how and why he did what he has done and how well he has done it. Find out more about Max Music Publishing: https://www.maxmusicpublishing.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/maxmusicpublishing/ https://www.instagram.com/maximus_mmp/ https://twitter.com/MaxMusicPublish https://www.facebook.com/MaxMusicPublishing Max Music Publishing Spotify Playlist Get in touch with me via: Website - www.dannychampion.co.uk DC Music Publishing - www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing/ Email - behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/dannychampion

This week's episode is a conversation about songwriting with professional songwriter Dee Adam. I know Dee from our time together at peermusic and I am immensely grateful that she found the time in her schedule to talk to me. I always like talking to songwriters about how they do their thing. Dee herself is a writer and producer who has worked with a whole host of household names including Dido, Mel C and The Kaiser Chiefs to name a few. Following a run of success in 2019 and 2020, 2021 and beyond will see more releases with names such as Jack Wins, Nonõ, Lo Steppa, iiola and Flux Pavilion. Check out more of Dee’s tracks via the link below and I hope you enjoy our conversation. Get in touch with Dee via: http://lmeworldwide.com/ https://www.instagram.com/deeadam/ https://twitter.com/deeadam Dee Adam cuts Spotify playlist  Get in touch with me via: Website - www.dannychampion.co.uk DC Music Publishing - www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk DC Music Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing/ Email - behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/dannychampion Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/danmchampion/

Here is one of my favourite of all the episodes that I have done of this podcast. A chat with artist and producer manager Ellie Giles. Ellie has had an amazing career in A&R and management for the best part of 20 years and set up her company Step Management in 2018. This was an amazing chat about the creative side of the business, about A&R in general and as a female in the industry and Ellie was amazingly honest and candid about how she operates and what she looks for in the business. Check out all her links below to find out more about her roster and do make sure to listen to Erland Coopers releases from this year, they are incredible. Get in touch with Ellie/Step Music Management via: https://www.stepmusicmanagement.com/ https://www.instagram.com/stepmusicmanagement/ https://www.facebook.com/stepmusicmanagement Get in touch with me via: Website - www.dannychampion.co.uk DC Music Publishing - www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk DC Music Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing/ Email - behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/dannychampion Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/danmchampion/

Lucie is the General Manager and Chief Policy Officer of the Music Publishers Association (MPA). The MPA represents over 95% of the UK’s song rights, through its membership of over 200 music publishers, ranging from iconic Independents to the international Major Publishers. Prior to the MPA, Lucie was the CEO of performing artists’ collective, the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC). Lucie has over 17 years’ experience in the music business, including time at PRS for Music in digital licencing and within Indie music publishing companies. She also ran her own rights-management company, operating on both sides of the negotiating table for clients including Deezer, eMusic, Sony/SYCO and The BRIT Awards, amongst others. She is a lead copyright negotiator, specialising in multi-territory, digital rights. Lucie is a staunch advocate of equal opportunities, human rights and inclusivity, believing in music and arts as catalysts for change and emancipation. Lucie is also on the management team of the Palestine Music Expo, the first international music conference and showcase event, held in the Occupied Territories. I am really grateful that Lucie found time in her very busy schedule to talk to me for the podcast. It was a very insightful and informative conversation. I hope you enjoy it. Get in touch with the MPA via: https://mpaonline.org.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/thempaonline/ https://twitter.com/the_MPA https://www.facebook.com/MusicPublishersAssociation/?ref=bookmarks MPA on Spotify  Get in touch with me via: Website - www.dannychampion.co.uk DC Music Publishing - www.dcmusicpublishing.co.uk DC Music Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dcmusicpublishing/ Email - behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/dannychampion Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/danmchampion/

The big 6-0. 60 episodes and counting. To some that probably means very little but I’m pretty proud that I have got here all on my own. This episode is with yet another Uni of Hertfordshire alumni. Graham was part of the group that I was involved with at Uni. We had a wonderful time and have remained firm friends 10+ years on from when we graduated. Graham is now one of the regional Officers (for London) at the Musicians Union. So if you are based around the capital and have an issue and are a member then he will be your go to guy. It was great to talk to him about the amazing work that the MU does, especially during this rather taxing times for musicians. As well as talking to him about his journey to where he is and what got him here. I hope you enjoy it. Musicians Union links https://musiciansunion.org.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/Musicians.Union https://twitter.com/WeAreTheMU https://www.instagram.com/wearethemu/ https://www.youtube.com/user/TheMusiciansUnion Musicians Union on spotify  Get in touch with me via: Website - www.dannychampion.co.uk Email - behindthebusinesspod@gmail.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/dannychampion Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/danmchampion/