Features
What Katy Did Next
Kate Hopewell has quit her job at Wembley to partner Chris Prosser in a live music marketing and events consultancy that will also see her follow her father’s footsteps into the agency business.
It’s one of a series of moves that include her father Martin shifting his
Prosser, who runs sponsorship and press for ILMC, is putting his Suspicious Marketing and new Dubious Entertainment companies under one roof in Camden. It will also house the new ILMC office.
This music business merry-go-round also has Peter Seitz’s New York-based
As of June 20th, when her notice period with Wembley (London) Limited is up, part of Kate’s role will be taking on representation for ATA acts including
Under the Dubious Entertainment Ltd. banner, she’ll be working with Prosser on developing an umbrella service for acts that will include marketing and live performances.
Both say other new signings are imminent and expect to be naming more acts for the roster in the next couple of months.
The ATA move is less surprising than Kate’s decision to quit Wembley after barely a year.
She joined Charlie Shun’s special projects team in April 2005 and was given responsibility for programming events for the new Wembley Arena Square, the open space in front of the newly refurbished 15,000-capacity arena.
Shun said he understands her desire to seize a new opportunity and take on new challenges. It wasn’t clear at press time if there are any plans to replace her.
In response to the obvious question of why she quit a steady day job with prospects in a major corporation in favor of what could jokingly be termed a “Dubious” future, Kate said, “Chris and I have worked together with ILMC and when faced with support and interest from esteemed contacts and fellow ILMC delegates, we realized we had a rare opportunity that would be foolhardy to ignore.
“We postponed the setup date due to my commitment to Wembley and now, with the arena and square open and looking fabulous, I feel able and ready to make this move. The future of Dubious is a very exciting one.”
Martin Hopewell said he’s moving Primary because the company could use some extra space and the directors feel it’s also time it bought its own building.
The property in question is a 5,500-square-foot, four-story block in a quiet Holborn muse, close enough to central London to have a view overlooking Lincolns Inn Field.
Hopewell laughed off questions about how he feels about his daughter setting up some agency opposition by saying, “She’s my daughter and I obviously wish her all the very best in whatever she chooses to do,” although the booking of gigs looks to be a relatively small part of the overall marketing package that Kate and Dubious are looking to provide.
As of June 26th, Primary will be at The Primary Building, 10-11 Jockey’s Fields, London WC1R 4BN. The new telephone number is: +44 (0)20 7400 4500. All staff e-mail addresses remain the same.
– John Gammon