Member Spotlight

Member Spotlight #38: Sarah Stam

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On the music industry, representation, cancer recovery and The k*tkanker Book Project

Sarah Stam is an Amsterdam based music enthusiast who launched her own boutique artist management company set the tone . over five years ago. With a background in marketing, branding, PR and project management for international record labels and music brands, Sarah worked with companies like Spotify UK, Armada Music, Armin van Buurenand labels like UKF, NCS and TheSoundYouNeed amongst others. With a focus on developing young, independent talent, set the tone’s roster includes electronic producer Ellis, jazz fusion artist Hemai and R&B/soul vocalist Laura Roy amongst others.

Sarah was working as a freelancer in the music industry during the pandemic , when in November 2020, she was diagnosed with metastatic ovarian cancer.

Sarah says: “During my recovery process, I tried to find hope and inspiration in other women’s stories who had been through a similar diagnosis, because I had no idea how I was supposed to handle everything that I was faced with. As it turns out, there is so much medical information about cancer, but very few resources to help women through the day to day process, both in terms of practical and emotional sources.”

So she decided to create that resource herself, resulting in the k*tkanker book project.

The book touches upon more than just the medical trajectory. Sarah says: “We explore experiences of life with and after cancer. How do you deal with the mental issues that you face after your medical journey? What does the disease do with your sense of feminity and sexuality? This project is here to explore all different types of perspectives to such questions and offer a safe place or recognition for all types of women. A project with 50 different portraits of women between the ages of 20 and 100 years old with cancer from all walks of life.”

Read on for our Member Spotlight with Sarah.

shesaid.so: Can you tell us a bit more about your career journey to date and what you’ve most enjoyed?

It’s interesting as I always knew I wanted to work in music from the age of like 12 years old, but being from a small hometown in the north of the Netherlands I never thought I would be able to. I didn’t know anyone in music growing up so it seemed always like a bit of a dreamworld to me in all honesty. I had no idea which jobs were even out there. When I was 15 years old I visited my first festival in the Netherlands, watched Justice and guys like the Arctic Monkeys perform, and I thought to myself: This is the coolest thing ever. I know I don’t have enough talent to be on the stage, but those guys hanging on the side of the stage, maybe I can be like them. I studied general arts and management, and ended up doing my master thesis about streaming platforms. Bluffed my way into Spotify London at the time, when there were like 4 people working there, and that kinda kickstarted it. I definitely learned the most during my time at Dutch record label Armada Music, grew an international network, worked directly with artists and their managers, and got to know everything about the creation and marketing of music. After that I decided to start my own boutique artist management company set the tone. and it’s now exactly 5 years ago I signed my first artist and producer Ellis in London. There is honestly no place I’d rather be in the world right now then what I am doing right now, I can hardly believe I get to do what I get to do half of the time. To witness music being created, setting up the studio sessions, hearing the first session bounce, to then releasing music, putting it out into the world and seeing your artists perform: there is honestly no greater joy in life for me personally.

shesaid.so: What are your biggest learnings or top tips for artists/labels wanting to nail their marketing and branding?

Well that is a great question, with no timeless answer obviously. It’s hard to answer this without going into cliches, and throwing in words like authenticity or real connection with fans. I think my own biggest takeaway from the past few years is everyone is always following trends. but only a few are setting the trends. Do what feels authentic and natural to you, don’t look at others too much. Definitely always invest in growing those channels you control yourself, like soundcloud and youtube or your own Artist Spotify Playlist, so many people often only focus on those things out of their control. And honestly, if you plan timely you can achieve so much. I’be had the pleasure of working with and consulting for some fairly big artists and labels out there, and where it often goes wrong is bad communication and last minute planning. That’s an easy takeaway.

shesaid.so: You have been heavily involved in shesaid.so and she.grows, heading up shesaid.so Ams. What was your motivation to be involved, and what have you been most proud to work on or achieve?

Heading up the Amsterdam chapter of shesaid.so was an absolute pleasure. After meeting founder Andreea at a music conference in Norway and learning about the amazing mission and vision she had for the community, I couldn’t not fall in love with the community and it was an honor that she asked me to start the Amsterdam chapter at the time. We’ve had the pleasure to do some amazing real life events, but the she.grows mentorship program during ADE and Eurosonic were definite highlights, it is just amazing to connect women from all walks of life and see them help each other move forward.

shesaid.so: Throughout your career, what kind of progress have you seen in the industry in terms of equality, diversity and inclusion?

SS: Honestly, not as much as I would have hoped for. It’s shocking to realise it is 2022 and still 80% of the artist managers or music lawyers I deal with are white men. But it is on the other hand hopeful to see more and more companies trying to make an actual change by including more women in their boards as well as appointing diversity managers within their team.

shesaid.so: Can you tell us more about The k*tkanker Book Project and your journey behind it?

SS: Unfortunately I got diagnosed with metastatic ovarian cancer in November 2020, and instantly had so many questions, which started quite plastic (how is my scar going to look, how do you deal with hair loss from chemo) to later more mental focussed questions like: how do I live my life with cancer and how do I go about the insecurity of it all? Although there is a lot of medical information about cancer, I couldn’t find sufficient information about life with cancer. Evenmore so, most medical websites and information flyers are filled with stories from 65+ year old white women. I knew that if I was struggling to find any inspiring role models to gain courage from, this would be even more challenging for women of color. Hence I thought to myself: if I survive this treatment period, I will have to do something that ads to a more divers and inclusive information source about women with cancer. hence I started the k*tkanker project with an amazing team of friends and professionals. K*tkanker is a book and photo exhibition authored by 50 women between the ages of 20 and 100 years old who are battling breastcancer of a form of gynecological cancer. Fifty powerful, inspiring portraits and short stories that includes an additional section with over 100 tips of useful websites, smart insights and practical tips for women with cancer. You can support our project by donating to our crowdfund (https://www.voordekunst.nl/projecten/13688-ktkanker ), we need to hit 80% to make this special project a reality. First copies are in Dutch, but you can opt in on an English version of the book through our website: www.kutkanker.com

K*tkanker book project

shesaid.so: How has it been for you to work on the project? What have you learnt about yourself or otherwise?

SS: It’s been such an interesting journey honestly. I feel blessed to have connected with so many likeminded women, to hear so many different stories and learn that I am not alone. And the team of professionals working on this, dedicating their time and energy, and asking little to nothing in return, has been a very humbling experience. They are all such amazing professionals, and together we were able to capture 50 completely individual, different and divers stories. The days when we did the photoshoots for this project have been absolutely magical and special. To have 50 women who all are transformed by this horrible disease, open up and share their most beautiful and vulnerable self has been a unique experience I will carry with me forever.

All these women struggle with their cancer diagnosis on a day to day basis, and so many wished they had a book like this during their process, as it is so important to recognize yourself in someone else. Furthermore, I’ve mainly learned that making a book is way more work than I anticipated and that unfortunately the medical world is still very much behind when it comes to diversity and inclusivity.

shesaid.so: What do you hope it will provide for others?

SS: Speaking to over 100 women, I learned everyone missed something. Myself, I missed a powerful photo of someone who had a temporary stoma (colostamy bag) like myself but who would still go out, work out, travel, go to festivals and date for example. One of the black women in the book shared a very personal insight, saying she “never saw a black person on TV with cancer, thought all her life it was a disease for white people”, showcasing the lack of diveristy in imagery around women with cancer. Or someone else sharing she couldn’t find one photo example of how her scar would look on her pigmented skin after her mastectomy, being a Surinamese Hindustani (not sure this is the right ENGLISH translation) woman. I hope we can make a real change by telling these 50 real life stories and showing 50 powerful portraits of 50 incredible women, who happen to have cancer.

shesaid.so: How can people support the project? (Internationally too)

SS: People can donate to our crowdfund (https://www.voordekunst.nl/projecten/13688-ktkanker ) to help bring this book to life. We need a lot of money, due to the fact that we worked over a year on this book with a team of 12 people doing research, interviews and shooting 50 portraits, combined with relatively high paper prices due to COVID and wanting to create a high-quality full-color photobook for a reasonably low price so it’s accesible for all people at €29,99. You can pre-order a dutch copy of the book through the crowdfund, but also simply donate money without purchasing a book. Internationally, people can opt in on an English translated version of the book through our website (www.kutkanker.com), if we hit 100 opt ins, we’ll get the book translated and shipped internationally.

shesaid.so: One piece of advice that has impacted you?

SS: Fake it till you make it. To an extent. I once heard this said by someone who explained it as: of course don’t lie or get in over your head, but honestly the majority of people don’t know what they are doing, so be confident and know you can probably figure it out along the way. This has really resonated with me, especially when I started for myself as an artist manager, having only a record label background. The older I now get, the bigger the boardrooms I find myself in, the more I realize that indeed a lot of people don’t know what they are doing and you can figure it out along the way. Be informed, be on point and do your best, and you can basically do anything you set your mind to.

shesaid.so: Any music you currently have in heavy rotation that you’d like to share with others?

SS: I just went to Governors Ball in NYC where Tove Lo absolutely blew me away, what an artist, a proper rockstar of our time. Same for Ashniko, amazing performer. And a nice summer song to have on repeat is “Nobody” by Quentyn and KEV!

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Here are those links again to support the k*ktanker book project:

You can support our project by donating to our crowdfund (https://www.voordekunst.nl/projecten/13688-ktkanker ), we need to hit 80% to make this special project a reality. First copies are in Dutch, but you can opt in on an English version of the book through our website: www.kutkanker.com

Member Spotlight #36: Erika Montes

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Erika Montes — VP, Artist Relations at Soundcloud

Erika Montes is the VP of Artist Relations at Soundcloud, where she is in charge of building and maintaining SoundCloud’s relationships with artists, managers, producers, and agents. We spoke with Erika about her experience working with artists like Rihanna, how she pivoted from working at record labels to working in music tech, and why budding executives should fight for their fair share.

Erika Montes

shesaid.so: Tell us a little more about yourself, and your music career journey to date.

Erika: I have now been in this industry for over 20 years — 22 to be exact! I started out as an assistant at a latin label back in 1999. Then in 2001, I went over to Def Jam to do Video Promotions and I was there for close to 10 years. It was the best boot camp I could ask for! That place taught me almost everything I know (the good, the bad, and the ugly) and also gave me some of the most memorable moments of my life. Maybe one day I’ll write a book. From there I went over to Fuse, a music TV channel, and then over to LoveLive, a Creative Agency, where I got to dip my toe into the agency world. While I was at LoveLive, I got a call from a recruiter at Soundcloud to work with someone who I had met during my Def Jam days and I could not pass up the opportunity. I had been wondering whether I wanted to continue in music and thought, well I haven’t ventured into tech so I at least have to try it. Coming to Soundcloud reignited my love for music and the best part is that I get to work with ALL kinds of music. On the daily I have a team where we listen to every single genre imaginable and get a first hand look at what is bubbling under on the platform that will dictate who we will be listening to a year from now.

shesaid.so: What do you consider some of your greatest career achievements, and why?

Erika: There are so many to mention because the experiences keep getting better. I’ve had the honor of working with some of the biggest names at the beginning of their careers like Rihanna, Fall Out Boy, and Kanye West. To watch them become as huge as they have and know that I played a tiny part in that is a feeling I can not describe. Recently though, I’m really proud of the team I’ve built at Soundcloud and coming into my own as a manager. Encouraging and passing on the knowledge that I’ve learned to the next group of music executives is key to making this a more inclusive and empathetic industry.

shesaid.so: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced, and how have they shaped you and your career?

Erika: You name them, I’ve faced them. Being told that I would be submitted for certain power lists and not others because I’m Latina, and not because of the work that I’ve contributed to a particular type of music. Being marginalized in that way is very difficult. Knowing that you’re not being paid enough for the jobs and positions you’re being promoted to. I am very vocal and will make sure to stand my ground and ask for what is right and what I know I deserve, but I know that is not the way we are conditioned. My mom taught me to be vocal but at the same time not ruffle too many feathers. As I grew more, I started to see the major discrepancies in salaries between men and women and then men and women of color, and I quickly realized that everything is negotiable and first offers are just a starting point in negotiations. And not just for myself, but making sure that I’m sharing that with my friends, my colleagues, and making sure that my team members get what they deserve.

shesaid.so: Who in the music industry are you inspired by, and why?

Erika: I find inspiration from the incredible friends that I have been lucky enough to build friendships with in my career journey. There’s nothing better than finding a community where you push each other to be better, to want better, and to pass that on to the next generation.

shesaid.so: What do you hope to see more of in the music industry in regards to latinx/hispanic representation?

Erika: I want to see more places where we get to celebrate each other and our wins. Some great friends of mine, who are part of the group that inspires me, started the Asian American Collective, and they’re always encouraging me to start the LatinX version and I think about it daily especially right now as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. That will be my goal and future contribution. Putting it in writing!

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Become a member or find out how to support shesaid.so here.

Member Spotlight #37: Maria Gironas

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Senior Media Partnerships Manager, Creators and Artists at Reddit

Maria Gironas

For Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re spotlighting inspiring latinx and hispanic people making waves in the music industry. Maria Gironas is a Senior Media Partnerships Manager for Creators and Artists at Reddit, where she works with creators to onboard them onto the Reddit platform. Maria spoke with shesaid.so about her past life as a touring musician, her experience living with anxiety and depression, and her vision for latinx representation in the music industry.

shesaid.so: Can you tell us a little more about yourself, and your music career journey to date?

Maria: I started my career as an artist signed to a small label, and it changed my life. I got to play shows, tour, produce, and learn the nitty gritty on what it meant to be an artist. The crazy thing was, I was 11 when that all started. I was a kid being told what to wear, to write about honest feelings, to balance school and social life, and couple that with both the weight and honor it is to be a child of two Bolivian immigrants. It was a lot. I fell out of love with the idea of a musician, and fell in love with the idea that I could work with artists and creators to protect and honor their visions. My career since has been about two things: 1. Empowering creators and artists through embracing technology and data and 2. Elevating marginalized communities through all the work I do. Those north stars have brought me to companies like Reybee as a publicist, Fender in social media, YouTube in artist and creator development, Q&A/Human Resources on platform partnerships, Wide Eyed Entertainment in marketing, Downtown Records in DSP strategy, and now, Reddit heading up talent partnership efforts.

shesaid.so: What do you consider some of your greatest career achievements, and why?

Maria: Honestly, in my wildest dreams, I would have never thought to be in the place I am in my career. This might sound silly to someone reading this, but I am in a constant state of gratitude for my life, and I think I’d be lying if I wrote out what my greatest career achievement was, because just living right now, in the moment, feels like the biggest win of all. Young, little Maria would think this current Maria was pretty awesome.

shesaid.so: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced, and how have they shaped you and your career?

Maria: I’ve had a winding mental health journey my whole life. Through therapy, medication, and support from my friends and family, I’ve been able to manage my anxiety and depression. I’m grateful to say I’ve had some incredible bosses who were very open to letting me share my struggles and allowing the space to take a step back when I needed to. But, there were many, MANY, moments where I just didn’t take care of myself and it manifested into panic attacks, obsession, intrusive thoughts, and distancing myself from the people that cared about me. I think because I went through all of this, I can see when others might need space to feel heard and seen. Sometimes, gentle conversations on mental health could be allowing the space and time to properly ask, “how are you doing?” Within the Latino community, there is an unfortunate stigma surrounding mental health that is slowly being corrected, but still has a long way to go. All we can do sometimes is create space and give space, and I have known those simple actions to change the course of my life and career.

shesaid.so: Who in the music industry are you inspired by, and why?

Maria: My parents, Carla and Ramiro Gironas, are the people that inspire me the most in all aspects of my life, hands down. Within the music industry, I am the luckiest human on earth to admit that I have been truly blessed to have friends and mentors like Jenna LoMonaco, Rachel Stoewer Poston, Beka Tischker, Irene Richter, Jessica Rivera, Brooke Rascoff, Julie Nguyen, Sam Juneman, Rebeca Leon, Chelsea Dankner, Jordan Federman, Vatana Shaw, Erika Montes, Danielle Jimenez, Doris Munoz, Ana Maldonado, Ranya Khoury, Daniela Sala, Livia Piomelli, Tayla Ridley, Emily Garibaldi, Madilyn Bailey, Evange Livanos, Brynn Elliott, Kristin Gregory, Jensen McRae, Grace Adeyemo, Noreen Prunier, Kat MacLean-Daley, Ritz McCain, Blair Miller, Jordana Golub, Jamie Hart, Caroline Trujillo, Tenille Arts, Michele Stephens, Satasha Torres, Jillian Newman, Julie Gurovitsch, Brittany Crawford, Phylicia Fant, Erin Hanson, Lauren McKinney, Nicole Barsalona, Grace Segundo, Cecille Crisostomo, Sara Dempsey, Jackie Yaegar, Grace Roslovic, Shaun Alexander, Evangeline Elder, Whitney-Gayle, Benta, Niki Pittelli, Chelsi Zollner, Cecilia Winter, Julie Ciccarelli, Melanie McClain, and so so so many more. Remember these names!

shesaid.so: What do you hope to see more of in the music industry in regards to latinx/hispanic representation?

Maria: I want to see our community represented in all genres of music on all sides of the business. Latinx and love metal? Manage a metal band. Latinx and love pop music? Start a pop label. Latinx and love pop punk music? Start a pop punk band. Let’s spread our culture far and wide!

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Become a member or find out how to support shesaid.so here.

Member Spotlight #28: Cherie Hu

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For this month’s shesaid.so Member Spotlight, we are featuring award-winning journalist, researcher and entrepreneur Cherie Hu. Hu has been covering the nexus of music, technology and business for over five years. She runs the music business newsletter Water and Music and has bylines in Billboard, Forbes, NPR Music, Columbia Journalism Review, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Music Business Worldwide, Variety, DJ Mag and more. We spoke with Cherie about the future of newsletters, the difficulties of freelancing, and where new media is heading.

shesaid.so: What do you consider some of your greatest career achievements?

Cherie Hu: I think my greatest accomplishment to date is simply that I’ve been able to maintain a full-time freelance/independent writing business for my entire professional career so far, including two years of sustainably running my own company. Given the precariousness of the digital media landscape, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, I feel extremely fortunate to be in a position where I can build a more entrepreneurial career around cultivating my own voice, as well as elevating other people’s voices and perspectives that wouldn’t otherwise see the light of day.

Thinking to specific milestones around my newsletter, I monitor the business side of things on a daily basis, and am really proud of its recent growth (we’re at around 1,300 paying members as of reading this article, versus around 200 members a year ago). But in terms of what really feels like an “achievement” per se, I realize I’m more motivated by reaching the right people than by reaching the most people. If I can consistently get my analysis and reporting in front of even just a few C-suite executives at top music companies, and/or if I inspire one new emerging artist or manager every week to think about the music industry in a different way, I consider that a success.

shesaid.so: Newsletters are growing in popularity, and you are the founder of your own newsletter, Water and Music. What do you like about the newsletter format, and where do you see the newsletter trend going?

Cherie Hu: It’s funny that something like email that has been around since the 1960s is now considered a new hot trend in media and technology. I think what feels “new” about email in the current climate, and what I appreciate about the format from the perspective of growing my own newsletter brand, is its immediacy and intimacy. Email allows you not only to speak directly to your audience one-to-one, but also to have much more transparency about whom your message is reaching and how they are engaging with that message compared to what you would otherwise get on social media. Because the nature of email distribution is much more intimate and lean-in — subscribers opt in themselves to follow a given newsletter, and each issue lands in their own inbox, which they’re checking multiple times a week if not every day — the quality of engagement is also much higher from the jump.

It might not seem like it, but the personal nature of an email newsletter — which can sometimes feel like reading someone’s journal — is also a major advantage for B2B and industry-facing media.

I think articles and conversations about the future of the music business can have more impact and reach more people when they’re less buttoned-up and more personable and accessible.

As for general newsletter trends, we’ve seen tons of well-known writers move away from legacy newspapers or magazines to start their own paid newsletter publications, often in the process making a higher equivalent annual income than they would have at their previous full-time jobs. I think this ongoing exodus and the inspiration it sparks will lead to a boon for niche digital media. Music is definitely part of this wave, with newsletters like First Floor (electronic music), Penny Fractions (the business of music streaming), Cabbages (hip-hop) and Music Journalism Insider (news, job opportunities and interviews related to music journalism).

In response, though, I think several larger publications will see the value that these writers see in their editorial independence and direct audience relationships, and try to lure these same newsletter writers back with a better job offering and more infrastructural support. Running your own newsletter is certainly freeing from a creative perspective, but you also have to front the bill for health benefits, editing, legal and accounting support and more — i.e. you have to act as the de facto CEO of your own business, which isn’t the right fit for every kind of writer. Forbes recently launched its own paid newsletter platform where writers receive a guaranteed minimum full-time salary and split additional subscription revenue 50/50 with the publisher. We’ll likely see more publishers experiment with these kinds of models in the coming months as they seek to compete on trust, a more important currency than ever in the modern media landscape.

shesaid.so: Have you ever made a mistake in your career that turned out to be an invaluable learning experience? Could you tell us about it?

Cherie Hu: There are too many to list… I did a bit of reflection recently and realized that all of the mistakes I’ve made in my career can be mapped to one or more of these four factors: 1) not trusting my gut and intuition; 2) procrastinating and sitting too long with my decisions; 3) being afraid to say no; and 4) general miscommunication. The learning experience, which is still in progress, is all about the value of being confident in what is best for yourself and communicating that knowledge transparently with others. Otherwise, the mutual empathy required for great creative or commercial collaborations is impossible to achieve.

shesaid.so: How would you like to make an impact on the music industry?

Cherie Hu: Generally, I’d like to open up people’s eyes not just to the trends that are happening in the music industry in the present, but also to what is possible in the industry’s future.

I’m most motivated by writing articles that encourage people to experiment and innovate, instead of being stuck in what are considered “industry-standard” ways of thinking and doing.

Countless other fields outside of music look to us to take the pulse on where culture is moving next, and I think we as an industry have to take that positioning and responsibility as innovators seriously, on the playing fields of both creativity and business.

I also hope to inspire other fellow women, Asian Americans and minorities generally to carve out their own paths in the music industry, and to show them how leaning into their fullest selves and identities is more of an asset in the industry than ever, not a liability.

shesaid.so: What are your tips for others starting out in your area of the industry?

Cherie Hu: In my opinion, as the music industry grows, so will the market for its media. It might not immediately seem that way, especially with several music-centric alt weeklies and indie publications closing shop in the past few years. But I think part of this decline is due to an overreliance on business models that inherently treated media and criticism as a commodity — whether through click- and ad-driven success benchmarks, or through private equity firms buying out local newspapers and wringing them dry.

I might be biased, but I think now is an amazing time to build alternative kinds of media companies whose content and business models inherently fight against commodification. In other words, the media companies that thrive are highly specific and insightful about the audience they’re speaking to in a way that competitors can’t replicate, and then monetize those connections in a way that optimizes for depth and quality of engagement.

With that in mind, probably the most cliché-but-true tip I have for those who want to carve out their own path in music media is to own a niche that you’re passionate about.

Read all the major music and entertainment publications out there voraciously, study what they’re good at — and then pick up on their blind spots. What angle on the music business is nobody writing about, but is hiding in plain sight right beneath our feet?

For me, when I first started out around 2015, a major blind spot in music-business journalism at the time was consistent coverage of startups and technology. There are tons of other potential examples: for instance, I would love to see some more independent music writers focus on the evolving business of songwriting and producing, or on specific revenue channels like livestreaming and merch, or on creative trends in specific geographic regions that are “trending” in the industry right now but tend to be misunderstood or misrepresented (e.g. Africa, Asia, Latin America). Above all, chase the perspectives that cannot be commodified.

Member Spotlight #7: Sarah McBriar

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Sarah’s work is a no-brainer for her. After traveling the world and working/learning with others in the festival industry she identified a need, channeled her passion and created her own version. Sarah’s audio, visual and arts festival, AVA Festival, will be in it’s third year this June.

The multifaceted structure and creative energy that pours from the festival comes from the best origin story there is: a group of friends coming together to do what they love and know best. Talking to Sarah, you get a real sense of confidence and willingness to dive in no matter the challenge. Passion is the driver, the rest will fall in line…

By: Zoe M

What was your experience like starting off in your career? Were you anxious, passionate, confident?

Sarah McBriar: When I started I had a lot of fun! I have always cared a lot about my work — so being passionate about what I do is really important to me. Like anything, the unknown is fun, and slightly scary but that’s what gets you really into it!

You’re coming up on the third edition of your Northern Ireland audio, visual and arts festival — AVA Festival… can you compare your first year of the festival with this latest edition? How have you grown and what have you learned since you first started up?

The Festival has grown a lot. When we started back in 2015, it was really all mates, both the DJs and attendees. Now — going into year 3, we are really honoured to continue to grow and invite International artists such as Jeff Mills and Marcel Dettmann, and continue to book the best emerging talent and established talent in Ireland.

What inspired you to start your own festival? How does AVA set itself apart or what is the overall goal of the festival?

I had worked on festivals in mainland UK, at Glastonbury, Block 9, MIF (Manchester International Festival) and Warehouse Project. I had travelled to many in Europe too, Sonar etc. I wanted to create a truly creative electronic music festival, merging the music with the visual art. I didn’t think that one existed in Northern Ireland, and I wanted to create a platform for all of the incredible talent coming out of Ireland, as there was so much — for those within Northern Ireland and those who had left but were doing great things elsewhere… a reason to come back and showcase their work. So AVA was a response to wanting to create this.

Working in the festival circuit, there obviously comes that time of the year when a festival is nearing its start-date and things get particularly crazy — what are some things you to do keep your wits about you?

Exercise. Chocolate. Yoga & meditation (need to do more of that!) Laughing with my Girlfriends.

How have the positions you held in the past set you up for success in running AVA Festival and/or starting your own festival?

My previous experience has played a huge part in setting me up. I worked for the Block 9 team for 6 months on Glastonbury which in my opinion is the best festival in the world, it’s a mini city set up for 5 days — it’s incredible. I supported the core team and assisted the producer, working on the pre-production, understanding the level of detail required and the time it takes, along with on-site experience. I also worked for MIF [mentioned above] which is such an incredible event, across 3 weeks — across the city, a combination of interesting spaces, arts & music and International debuts of work! It really is one of the best. I worked across a series of events on the operation side in a voluntary capacity and again learnt from the scale and variation of the projects and sites.
Similarly, I was part of a team who developed a tourism project within City in Manchester, which grew across 4 years. I learnt a lot about teamwork, marketing, staff and operations and the business side of things which really taught me the other side of running a festival — and the major challenge of staying within budget.
I have also lived in a number of cities… Belfast, Manchester, London, Barcelona and Vancouver — learning lots about different cultures and art forms, and about tourism; all areas which really feed into developing a festival!

What are the most important takeaways you’ve been able to transfer from these past experiences to running the AVA Fest?

1. Have a core ethos, both in how you programme and how you manage — and keep to it! It is what you are and what you will be long-term!
2. Develop strong relationships that last long term — value you them, they stick with you.
3. You have to watch your budget every day.
4. Enjoy it. If it doesn’t make you happy — something isn’t right!

If you could pick one — what artist, that you’re featuring at the festival, are you particularly excited about?

Jeff Mills [also mentioned above] — he is debuting a lighting and live project with the incredible Parisian lighting designer Guillaume Marmin — I can’t wait to see this.
… Also Fatima Yamaha and New Jackson!

What are some lesser-known, but equally amazing festivals out there that we should know about?

Sacred Ground in Berlin, Field Maneueuvres and Love International!

Why do you think we’ve seen the popularity of festivals rise on the recently? Do you think it has to do with the live music aspect? Brand partnerships? What’s your insight/take on this?

I think the whole industry has grown. I think people love to experience music in a live capacity, as music is so easily and readily downloaded, people seek the live experience now. The growth of the sector, the opportunities there are for festivals, interesting spaces and live acts has all led to the growth of festivals.

What are you currently listening to on repeat?

Hammer’s latest track: MANAKA
New Jackson’s latest track: ANYAS PIANO

Who/what gives you strength?

Great vibes, great music, a class team, amazing friends!

What else should we know about you or what you’re currently working on?

The AVA emerging talent competitions are super special. Since starting in 2015, we have found some serious talent!
PLUME is a collaborative project I work on with Oisin O’Brien where we create art directed, high impact visuals, installation amongst other things- it’s super exciting work and was born out of working together on the festival.

The AVA Festival runs for June 2–3 in Belfast.

Tickets here | Lineup here | Watch the AVA highlights of 2016 here