For those that don’t know, can you talk to us a bit about what’s taking place this Saturday?
This Saturday will be the first FLOOR event. FLOOR is a series of events that I’m curating and will be a mixture of panel discussions like this one, keynote and Q&As from people in the electron music industry from DJs to label owners, producers to PRs and everything in between.
It’s going to be a new space in our industry in Manchester to meet, listen, connect with and be inspired by others in the industry.
Our first talk is in association with shesaid.so, a wonderful global network of females in music and so this discussion will be female led.
Do you think undertaking the Music Business Course has helped equip and inspire you to do arrange the FLOOR events?
About 6 months ago saw an ad for the Rob Gretton Scholarship– it was about 2 hours before the closing date and decided to just go for it. I was very lucky to eventually win that and went on to study the Music Business Course at school of electronic music with Tony Rigg. What I learnt there was invaluable, but moreso it finally gave me the knowledge and confidence to take my little idea into something real.
How did you first hit upon the idea for the talk?
I had a bit of an epiphany one day and realised that (in my opinion) Manchester was missing something in the music industry – it’s got an incredible scene already but I felt like it could really benefit from adding another facet. I go to a lot of creative and media talks that are similar and they’re so enjoyable and inspiring that I wanted to try and create that in the music industry.
What made you decide on the 5 speakers you’ve selected?
I was really keen to put together a panel that came from a wide range of experience and backgrounds as I hope the talk will be a chance for each of the speakers to tell their story and inspire the audience.
I was really lucky that we have such a fantastic pool of talent in Manchester that I could pick from; from festival directors to label owners. I was even luckier than both Moxie and Sarah McBriar would be in Manchester that day so we have a really broad range of speakers on board.
What advice would you give to anyone who has been inspired by the talk and might be looking to start up something similar?
I would say two things; one, do your research and get yourself organised and make sure you’re clear on the purpose of what you’re doing and why you’re doing it – once you know this, the rest will follow.
Secondly, it’s a cliche but be bold, if you believe in it do it and if an opportunity comes up – take it, even if you’re not sure you’re ready as you might not get another.
For me a chance opportunity is what gave me the impetus to finally take the plunge. I still don’t know if this will be a success! We’ve had a great response already though so certainly hoping that it is.
Can we expect more events like this, do you have any more in the pipeline?
Watch this space!
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