Diane Wagg (Music Manager's Forum)

Diane Wagg

Owner of Deluxxe Management and Ideal Music Productions and Chairman of the Music Manager’s Forum (MMF UK), Diane’s career spans A & R, Artist, Producer and Studio management.  She’s managed the international careers of numerous artists signing them to Major and Independent labels and run self-releasing artist businesses.  An assessor for music business degrees and regular panellist on artist management and development, she sits on the Music Industry Advisory Panel at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, is a guest lecturer at Abbey Road Institute and is a member of the Musicians Health Advisory Board at Help Musicians UK.

Her roster has included Brit/Ivor nominated No 1 Triple Platinum Album act, Scouting for Girls, who regularly hit the Top 10, Beth Orton, Republica, Mike Scott (The Waterboys), Rialto, Touriste, Lockdown Project and Sunhouse.  Emerging artists include Cortney Dixon, Diives and Pandora Drive.

Earlier in her career, Diane was Director of record producer Tony Visconti’s (David Bowie, T.Rex, The Boomtown Rats) group of companies for five years. She managed Visconti’s Good Earth Recording Studios in London (clients included Duran Duran, George Michael, U2, the Sisters of Mercy, Altered Images and the Stranglers) and travelled internationally between his companies.

Diane started out in A & R at EMI Records before moving into artist management where she worked with Philip Lynott and Thin Lizzy - she has never recovered!

Abbie McCarthy (BBC Radio 1)

Abbie McCarthy

Abbie McCarthy is the go-to-girl for the best new music recommendations. Abbie currently presents BBC Music Introducing in Kent, a radio show that is greatly respected amongst members of the industry and music fans alike for its top music curation. Abbie has discovered and championed a vast array of great acts and is very popular with listeners because of her warm, fun presentational style and infectious sense of humour.

Abbie first took to the radio controls whilst she was studying at Warwick University, presenting and producing three shows every single week. Her hard work and tremendous talent were recognised at the 2012 Student Radio Awards where she won the accolade of Best Newcomer. 

You’ll now hear Abbie regularly covering shows on BBC Radio 1, most recently depping for Huw Stephens in the evenings, Phil Taggart on The Specialist Chart and Matt Edmondson at the weekends. 

Abbie has also reported from a variety of festivals, bringing all the highlights and excitement to the audience at home. As well as this, she has flown the BBC Introducing flag internationally, presenting a series of special shows on SXSWfm, ahead of the legendary music festival in Austin, Texas.

Abbie can also be heard from time to time covering the British Council’s weekly new music show The Selector, which is broadcast across 40 countries to a listenership of around 3 million people. 

Abbie is a brilliant and entertaining compere, having hosted stages at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, Glastonbury and The Great Escape.

Abbie is the mastermind behind Good Karma Club, a club night championing the hottest new bands around. Previous alumni include The Amazons, Pale Waves and Tom Grennan. The inaugural Good Karma Club tour kicks off in April 2018. 

Abbie is one of the best and most heralded tastemakers in the UK and is a true force to be reckoned with!

Find Abbie on:
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Roisin O'Connor (The Independent)

Roisin O'Connor

Roisin O’Connor is Music Correspondent at The Independent - writing features, live gig reviews, festival coverage, interviews with established and up-and-coming artists, and a weekly column about new music.

She created Music Box sessions - stripped-down sessions filmed in a studio on-site - to give emerging artists a better platform to showcase their talent.


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Tony Ereira (Come Play With Me)

Tony Ereira

Tony Ereira is the founder of Come Play With Me, a social enterprise established in 2015 to help people in the Leeds City Region that are looking to create sustainable careers within music.

Tony is also one of the founding directors of Hatch Records, a Leeds-based record label / publisher that has seen releases from Deadwall, Then Thickens, Nine Black Alps, The Spitfires and The Wedding Present.

Dave Martin (Leaf Label)

As front man for arch miserablists I LIKE TRAINS, David Martin has released
music on a number of distinguished independent record labels including Beggars
Banquet, Fierce Panda, Fantastic Plastic and Leeds’ very own Dance To The
Radio.

I LIKE TRAINS have gone on to set up their own record label with
international distribution and continue to release music, albeit very slowly. Alongside
his rock duties, David Martin wears several hats at The Leaf Label, mostly
concerning himself with digital marketing and social media.