How Did You Manage That?

Paul Craig (Biffy Clyro) & Kwame Kwaten (Blue Lab Beats, Hak Baker) on Chairing the Music Managers Forum and the Changing Landscape of Music Management

Paul Craig of Nostromo Management (Biffy Clyro) and Kwame Kwaten of Ferocious Talent (Blue Lab Beats, Hak Baker) are interviewed by the Music Manager Forum's Laura Erinle in this special edition of How Did You Manage That? Ahead of their terms ending as MMF Board Chair and Vice-Chair at the MMF AGM on the 17th of September 2024, Paul & Kwame look back at their time at the MMF and talk about their hopes for the future, reflecting on the Accelerator Programme, Covid, Dissecting the Digital Dollar and the changing landscape of music management.⁠ To find out more about the MMF, give @mmf_uk a follow on Insta.

Andy Musgrave (AJ Tracey) On growing with your artist, and keeping it independent

Andy Musgrave, manager of AJ Tracey, Sega Bodega and Conducta, as well as leading his own mgmt / artist services company Supernature joins us this episode to talk us through his 13 years in the management game, from the early days putting on raves at the height of the UK Garage movement, and his first label setup Crazylegs to meeting a young AJ through Radar Radio and being there for every step of the journey as he went on to become one of the most important UK artists of his generation.  We loved this episode, Andy's approach is all about a genuine passion for his artists, and their artistic output, and doing things on their own terms - no matter how long that takes, there is so much wisdom to devour from this chat, so enjoy.  Top find out more about Andy’s company give @suprnature a follow or for the real insight, the man himself on twitter @mvsgrave. If you enjoyed this listen let us know @managethatpod on Insta and Twitter, or if you wanted to be really excellent, you could fire us a review on Apple Podcasts, ya big legend. Also check out our HDYMT "Supertracks" playlist on Spotify to listen to some of our guests fave tracks -https://tinyurl.com/HDYMTSupertracks

Oli Isaacs (Bicep, James Ford) on creating meaningful fan communities.

Oli, the main man behind This Is Music, a management company mostly specialising in the electronic world, leads a team of managers and oversees a formidable roster which includes some of the most innovative artists and producers around, not least the mighty BICEP, who have surely dominated his time over the last few years. With a collection of Mercury Awards, BRITS and Grammys across the roster, not to mention James Ford, the super-producer behind Simian Mobile Disco and having worked on some of the biggest records in the last decade - Oli has a fascinating story to tell in how he keeps it all together and helps steer his clients to long-term business and creative success. With This Is Music receiving the Innovation Award at the MMF Artist and Manager Awards recently, we thought getting this pod back on the go was, long overdue. Enjoy! Find out more about Oli’s company on their site: thisismusicltd.com or Instagram: @thisismusicltd If you enjoyed this listen let us know @managethatpod on Insta and Twitter, or if you wanted to be really excellent, you could fire us a review on Apple Podcasts, ya big legend. Also check out our HDYMT "Supertracks" playlist on Spotify to listen to some of our guests fave tracks -https://tinyurl.com/HDYMTSupertracks

Ali Raymond (Arlo Parks, Island) on finding stardom during a global pandemic.

“She plugged in zoom and just got on with it, we tried to find ways to keep her relevant and keep her music going” - Ali Raymond, MD of label and management company Beatnik Creative, has had, in many ways, the best year of his professional life, and he is appreciating every second of it, as the route there has of course, been anything but easy. Ali tells us how he and the phenomenally talented Arlo Parks have grown her career over the past three years, valuing her music, ethos and attitude above anything else in the decision making process. We also discuss release schedules, courting major labels, running his own indie label, releasing music with all of his management clients, how tough it is for bands, and key things he thinks any act could do right now to improve their online content and engage with audiences. We have another new music tip from our friends at Small Green Shoots and as ever the podcast is brought to you in partnership with the Music Managers Forum. If you want to say hey, ask a question or suggest a future guest we should feature find us on socials @managethatpod

Sophie Bloggs on the Power of Partnerships, Lockdown Live Streams and Being a Women in Electronic Music.

Sophie Bloggs (YMU Group), looks after the careers and manages Hannah Wants, Danny Howard, Kurupt FM, Krystal Klear, Pvblic Xccess, and is one of the most important voices in electronic music management today. Sophie won the Breakthrough Manager Of The Year at the 2019 after being in management for the best part of a decade, itself an interesting and empowering point she brings up. Recorded in July 2020, we talk her approach to the pandemic with her artists, her scepticism on the proliferation of live streams, as well as promoting some of the positive outcomes. We discuss her moves through various company partnerships where she has brought and build her roster over the years, Sophie talks us through the specific partying and mental health pressures on electronic artists and DJ's and both Sophie's explore experiences in, what is still an extremely male-dominated area of the music industry. There's conversations about taking on an act (Kurupt FM) who might seem right out of your comfort zone (on paper) and approching that with confidence. We talk the remix business, gaming partnerships and how she fell into management by forging connections and getting a start on the label side of the legendary Fabric venue and business. We loved this episode, and hope you do too. Thanks, as always to the MMF, the Music Managers Forum for their support in promoting this podcast, and to Small Green Shoots, our ace charity partner who we like to highlight by letting one of their 'shoots' tell us what they've been blasting on the office stereo lately, check them out. Hit us up on @managethatpod on Instagram or Twitter to say hey, and if you haven't hitting subscribe would be great. Ally & Sophie