Features
DHP Family U.K. Hosts Women In Music Event
The tour managers of London Grammar and Frank Turner will speak at DHP Family’s Women In Music event at Rescue Rooms in Nottingham, England, March 7.
– Tre Stead, tour manager for Frank Turner
Speaking at DHP Family’s Women in Music Event
The inaugural edition will address the question of gender imbalance in the music industry and look into the reasons for and solutions to it.
The first panel of the day is called “Women in Live Music,” and features Carlina Gugliotti (Tour Manager, London Grammar, previously Adele), Dominique Frazer (Founder & Director, The Boileroom), Helen McGee (Divisional Manager Operations, Academy Music Group), Tre Stead (Tour Manager, Frank Turner), Zoya Rossi (Production Manager, The Borderline) as well as chairwoman Kate Nicholls (ALMR).
Stead said she was grateful to be asked to participate in this event.
“I feel that it is important for young women entering the industry to know that they are not alone, and to see there are others like them that they can glean important information from,” she said. “Our experience can be of benefit to everyone. If even one woman walks out of this event armed with a positive attitude and an arsenal of useful tips and contacts, then it’s a job well done.”
The panelists will share their stories of how they’ve navigated their ways in a “particularly male-dominated” sector of the music industry, where “women on the road and running venues are far outnumbered by their male counterparts.”
Sam Kirby – Nina Smith
The BBC Introducing Artist of the Week is to be interviewed by Verity Cowley of the BBC Nottingham
The panels are followed by an interview by Verity Cowley of the BBC Nottingham with singer-songwriter Nina Smith, a BBC Introducing Artist of the Week, who’s just released her first single “White Boards.”
Panel two will tackle the question of what a music industry of the future may look like with Anwyn Williams (Marketing Manager, DHP), Chanelle Newman (Manager of Akala and Co-Founder/MD The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company) and Michelle Kambasha (Head of Press, Secretly Group). Dubbed “Advocates for Change,” this panel will be chaired by Geeta Pendse (BBC East Midlands Today).
Said DHP’s Michele Philips: “Our ambition is to shine a spotlight on the issues including but not exclusive to why women don’t apply for positions in venues anymore and also provide a platform for positive change,” adding that “ It feels like the right time for us to be trying to bring about change in our industry, especially with it being 100 years since some women gained the right to vote. We should all be looking at ways in which we can make a difference.”
George Akins, managing director of DHP Family, added: “It’s really important to try and encourage more women to break into our industry. Nottingham is a hot bed for music companies; we have promoters, record companies, ticket agents and talent managers working across all genres of music on a national level. I really believe if we can address the imbalance in Nottingham it will have a strong effect across the country. Hopefully this event will show that there are roles and support for more women to get involved.”
DHP Family recently promoted Kelly Bennaton, Anwyn Williams and Sophie Power to head of marketing, marketing manager and head of creative, respectively.