Bitesize Bodacious Babes Podcast

My guests Helena Gee (BMG) & Zoë Ellen Bryant (Carbon Logic) talk about working together on music for TV shows like Derry Girls, Peaky Blinder, Save Me

EPISODE GUESTS:

✨Helena Gee ✨

Senior Sync & Creative Licensing Manager at BMG, from Leeds, UK specifically for TV

✨Zoë Ellen Bryant ✨

Music Supervisor at Carbon Logic (a company founded by Pete Saville) : PEAKY BLINDERS SEASON 5 / DERRY GIRLS SEASON 2 / MARK RONSON: FROM THE HEART / BLINDED BY THE LIGHT

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT:

✨ What do you do in your job?

✨ How did you both meet?

✨ How TV Music Licensing works e.g Derry Girls Series 2 (Take That, East 17)

✨ Increase of high quality shows coming out of the UK - and people appreciate the value music can bring

✨ Music plays an important part in telling stories

✨ How did you get into the role you are in now?

✨ Advice

✨ Shout outs to other bodacious babes

Songwriters Hannah Yadi & Josie Man talk about the process of writing songs together and what inspires their songwriting and music. Join us at the start with a Chakra meditation led by Hannah.

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT:

✨How did you meet?

✨Case study - the process of how you guys wrote together for Colours + Baby Pink & Blue song

✨What inspires your songwriting and music?

✨Inner Ryhtm in your head

✨How they got into music, what instruments they play/played

✨Storytelling

SHOUT OUTS:

❤️ Safiya Knight

❤️ Sarah Kwan - illustrator @sarahkwanartist

❤️ Josh Scarbrow - writer/producer @josh_scarborw

❤️ Sam Tsang

❤️ Rob Milton

❤️ Oscar Scheller

❤️ Jonny Lattimer (songwriter)

❤️ Phoebe Gold (Josie's manager) @phoebefold_

❤️ Mamie Lowther (Hannah's manager) @mamielow

EPISODE GUESTS

✨Hannah Yadi ✨

Hannah and I met via a mutual friend at a women's event and Hannah and Josie met over Instagram

A signer and artist but focuses on songwriting now. Songwriting making her happy and where she can help elevate other people ❤️

✨Josie Man ✨

A singer-songwriter who makes alt-pop, 80s vibes gems

Josie not only writes her music but has taken a leap in writing the treatment for music video 'Colours'

grew up in Orpington with both British and Chinese root

recorder, flute at school. Mainly plays guitar and piano

CHAKRA MEDITATION

✨Root Chakra - red

✨Sacral - orange

✨Solar plexus - yellow

✨Heart - green with a flicker of pink

✨Throat - sky, bight blue

✨Third Eye - indigo

✨Crown - violet with some white light

Discussing the difference between the distribution services that are available, negotiating with your distributor and advice to artists and record labels.

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT:

✨What their roles and day to day of their hobs are

✨The difference in services between distribution services that are available

✨What do you need from your distributor? Know what you want as that will affect the partnership you negotiate with your distributor

✨Advice to artist and labels about music distribution + advice to get into a similar role

✨Shout outs to other bodacious babes in production they admire

As I was visiting from Scotland, today's "dinner" was a rare Scottish delicacy...dark chocolate Tunnocks Tea Cakes. 

EPISODE GUESTS:

✨HEN HEIMDAL ✨

Market Development Coordinator UK & EU (CD Baby)

✨ From Norway, lives in London

✨Hen's main job is building brand awareness across these countries for CD Baby

✨Previously worked at WIN for Music (an international trade organisation for Independent Record Labels - like AIM here in the UK. Worked closely with Merlin tobuild new trade associations for Indies around the world. Where she met Sarah!

✨SARAH JOHNSTON ✨

✨Client Services Account Manager (FUGA)

✨From Scotland, lives in London

✨Her job is to look after clients, that are made up of record labels and distributors, and make sure that her clients can get their content delivered to all the stores like Spotify, etc. Predominantly looks after the UK but also German, Russian, West and East African.

✨Worked at Merlin (a global licensing agency) previously for 5 years. The role was Member Services Manager - where she met Hen.

*CD Baby is an online independent distributor originally started in Portland, US

**FUGA is a Dutch-based distribution company and supply chain technology company

My guest Mish Mayer talks about her path to her role at Vevo as Executive Producer & Commissioner and gives advice and insight into TV & Online Production from her time on Big Brothers Little Brother, Two Four Group, and more.

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT:

✨Tell us what you do now in a few words

✨Mish's previous experience pre-Vevo, aka her path to now

✨Advice about production roles

✨Shout outs to other bodacious babes in production she admires

ADVICE:

✨ Be available and willing to learn. Show people you are interested to learn what they do.

✨ Sometimes you need to move sideways to move forwards and sometimes just being in the building is the way to do that1

✨ Don't be afraid to ask

✨ Look after yourself!

✨ Hiring is 90% around personality and attitude, experience is always something you can get. Shoots are long, you need to get along with people!

✨ Don't get bogged down with where you want to be. Best ops can come from taking a side-step. And you may surprise yourself with what you end up loving.

✨ You can always leave a job, you can always change your mind. Nothing is permanent.

SHOUT OUTS:

❤️ Sasha Nixon who runs her own prod company called Forever Pictures. She used to be lead rep at Partizan

❤️ Yemisi Brookes who is a British Director based in New York

❤️ Joy Elton who was Creative Director at Polydor until quite recently. Now freelances as a Commissioner, Producer, Creative Director

We talk local and national radio presenter role + running a club night and being a TV presenter and more!

Podcasts alumni Rhonagh O'Donnell introduced Abbie and I ahead of the recent Dublin Music Week. Abbie met Rhonagh when she was working at the BBC filming the session for BBC Introducing. The magic of women helping women and sharing the love!

EPISODE GUEST:

✨ Abbie McCarthy: Abbie is from Kent and her current main job is presenting BBC Music Introducing in Kent - a weekly show on BBC Radio Kent that focuses on unsigned, undiscovered and under the radar music from her home county. She can also be heard covering shows on BBC Radio 1 & seen on your TV screen interviewing the hottest up and coming acts for 4Music. She also runs a popular monthly gig night called Good Karma Club (which turns 4 years old in Jan 2020) and Abbie recently started doing A&R consultancy for Insanity Records (affiliated with Sony).

WHERE SHE HAS WORKED:

✨ RAW 1251AM which is the student radio station at the University of Warwick

✨ BBC Introducing Kent / BBC Radio Kent

✨ BBC Radio 1

✨ BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend, Glastonbury

✨ Match of the Day X

✨ 4Music

✨ Chelsea FC Women

✨ Good Karma Club

✨ Insanity Records

ADVICE:

✨ If you get a chance to do a student radio show, a great place to learn, make mistakes, etc. You can mess around and find out what works and does not work. Abbie also did marketing and station sounds at student radio.

✨ Use your phone to shoot content to show to TV company - they need to see you, no need to over-edit!

✨ Add your day to day skills that are relevant to your CV aka do you use Snapchat and other social media outlets and have a strong social media identity?

✨ Meet as many people as you can. Be enthusiastic, be nice and do your research!

SHOUT OUTS:

❤️ Jocelin Stainer, BBC Radio 1

❤️ Courtneay Yeates (Abbie's manager at Insanity Talent)

❤️ Achal Dylan, runs Killing Moon (indie record label and do live shows)

❤️ Jacqui Rice - at Queen at Domino Record Co

❤️ Rhonagh O'Donnell (Ep 11 guest)

❤️ Millie Carter & Kelly Betts - running central introducing team

❤️ Foundation FM - Becky Richardson, Ami Bennett, Frankie Wells - focus to champion female talent

❤️ Philippa Aylott - works at BBC Radio 2 

❤️ Annie Mac - DJ, presenter and so much more - Queen!

❤️ Celeste - signer-songwriter 

❤️ Joy Crookes - signer-songwriter 

❤️ Josie Man - signer-songwriter

Three Celtic ladies chatting about various production roles within the BBC, Channel 4, Sky, and working on shows such as Top of The Pops, Glastonbury, and Geordie Shore. Their combined roles include stage & production runner, producer, and researcher.

This week's guests are the lovely Miranda and Rhonagh who I recently had the pleasure of working with. They both met a few years ago whilst working at the BBC and I was thrilled they wanted to come on the podcast and offer insights into the production world! 

WE TALK ABOUT:

✨What they do now

✨Where they have worked in the past

✨Advice 

✨Shout outs to other bodacious babes they admire

🍴DINNER:

Crisps & dip + Aubergine, feta and pesto filo pie + blondies for dessert purchased from Rise Bakery London

🍑EPISODE GUEST:

✨ Miranda Swanson:

Scottish bodacious babe who used to work full time in TV as a freelancer for 4-5 years. Currently, she is studying full-time ceramic design whilst also working freelance in film and music, ranging from TV shows to online content, tours, and festivals.

✨  Rhonagh O'Donnell:

Irish bodacious babe who currently is a freelance producer. At the moment she is working half the week freelance at Vevo, and the other half of the week at the Horniman Museum as producer on a project about contemporary South London music. Until recently she worked as a producer and director at the BBC, which included working for BBC Introducing (new artist brand for the BBC), for the BBC Sound Of poll, Glastonbury and so much more!

WHERE THEY HAVE WORKED:

Rhonagh:

✨ Mirvish Productions in Toronto on Lion King and Mamma Mia stage shows

✨BBC as receptionist in the New Media department

✨Broadcast Assistant in the BBC Interactive TV department

✨Producer and director for music, comedy, and entertainment on BBC TV, red button and online

✨Talent scout for Amused Moose Comedy

✨ Broadcaster on World Service's The Arts Hour and on Radio 4's Saturday Review

Miranda:

✨ Stage Runner at Glastonbury, for the Park Stage (role: get set-list, check the spelling of names of who was on stage and pass onto the director)

✨ Researcher (role: find the images, a picture researcher) + Production Runner (go through the script with the producers and order all the props) on QI

✨ Bring the Noise - New Music show for Sky 1

✨ The Jump for Channel 4 

✨ The Secret Life at a holiday resort as a researcher for Channel 5

✨ Geordie Shore on MTV

✨ Production Runner on Later... with Jools Holland

✨ Production Runner on Top of the Pops

ADVICE:

✨ It is a lot about who you know, why not offer to meet them for a coffee when you send your CV

✨ Live as varied a life as possible, as the more you have that you can draw upon from your life, the more creative you can be as a producer and director

✨ Do not miss out interesting things about you on your CV - aka I surf

✨ Watch a variety of shows on TV etc., do your research

✨ Physically do as much as you can in your role!

SHOUT OUTS:

❤️ Alison Howe - Executive Producer of Later... With Jools Holland

❤️ Stephania Minici - Head of Production at BBC Music TV

❤️ Suzy Klein - Radio and TV Presenter

❤️ Dion Peters - Manager and mother of Novelist and Prem (and has two other kids)

❤️ Keturah Cummings - DJ, footballer and runs a company called Forward Slash

❤️ Serena Cross - Independent TV, film and events producer. Created The Lost Words Prom about climate change for BBC Proms.

❤️ Mish Mayer - Many years of TV production experience and currently Executive Producer, EU at Vevo

❤️ Miranda's grandmother/ Oma

❤️ Sarah Chaloner - production manager at QI

PRODUCTION LINGO:

✨ VT: short film

✨ Producer Role: organising, coming up with a creative idea

✨ Director Role: thinking more about how it is going to look

Dana Beeler, the conference manager, joined over a local stout and chips to chat not only her role with Music Nova Scotia, but the other festivals she works with and being a badass lead singer/tour manager/manager for alt-rock Hello Delaware!

I had the pleasure of being invited as a delegate to Music Nova Scotia's. Nova Scotia Music Week 2019 in Truro, Canda last week. I met so many bodacious babes, who we've shouted out on this episode. 

EPISODE GUEST:

✨ Dana Beeler : Special Projects Manager & Conference Manager for Music Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Music Week AND is the lead singer of the alt-rock band Hello Delaware.

WE TALK ABOUT:

✨ Music Nova Scotia, Canada

✨ Dana's current role + role being the lead singer in a band, in so Dana is also the Tour Manager, Manager and oh so much more!

✨Path to where she is now! Grew up around Bluegrass music, was in a family band. She did a photography course and her teacher recommend she did a Music Business course!

✨ Shout outs to ladies at Nova Scotia Music Week 2019

Euan Plater, currently CEO of his own Poste Media, which is a podcast-first media company that creates both editorial shows and branded content. He has his own show on Poste Media called XY which is a show about mental health in men.

This week I've decided to record an episode with my good pal Euan who also has a podcast and who advised me on setting up my podcast and lent me his mic to record.

Like Hansel in Zoolander, "podcasts are so hot right now" and why not? As you may know, there are plenty of YouTube tutorials, articles, etc. out there about setting up/starting a podcast. Despite this - it is still tricky to navigate through it all to get the information you need. In this episode, we are reflecting on our experiences and offering advice and tips which we wish someone had told us. Plus, some shout-outs to bodacious podcasters!

EPISODE GUEST:

✨ Euan Plater: currently CEO of his own Poste Media, which is a podcast-first media company that creates both editorial shows and branded content. He has his own show on Poste Media called XY which is a show about mental health in men.

WE TALK ABOUT:

✨ What are, why and how 

✨ Tips/advice

✨ "Content Is King"

✨ Shout outs to other podcasts!

SHOUT OUTS:

❤️ Euan's podcast - XY

❤️ Time To Change

❤️ Podcast.co - set up in Manchester

PODCASTS WE MENTIONED:

✨ Fearne Cottons Happy Place

✨ Bodega Boys

✨ Serial Podcast

✨ Hi Low Podcast

✨ No Such Things As A Fish

✨ StartUp + Reply All on Gimlet Media 

✨ The Adam Buxton Podcast

✨ My Dad Wrote A Porno

✨ Grief Cast by Cariad Lloyd

✨ Rum and Records

✨ The ReWatchables - guys who review movies that are rewatchable

✨ The Daily - reviews current news by The New York Times

✨ Desert Island Discs - podcast on BBC Radio 4 

✨ David Tennant's Podcast - interview show with strong guests

✨ Table Manners by Jessie Ware

✨ Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

✨ George Ezra and Friends

✨ Will Young's podcast Homo Sapiens

In this week’s podcast, I am joined by three women (Ann Tausis, Naomi Asher, Stacey Haber) who co-founded IAFAR (Independence Alliance For Artist Rights) and have long histories in records, publishing, and management.

They reached out to me via She Said So and asked if they could join me on the podcast to talk about why they think Neighbouring Rights is the most newly important revenue stream in today’s music industry.

GUESTS:

✨ Ann Tausis is from Sweden originally and currently CEO of Kobalt Neighbouring Rights in London.

✨ Naomi Asher is from Los Angeles and is currently President at Wixen Music Publishing UK.

✨ Stacey Haber is originally from New York and is the owner of The Music Firm (legal, publishing, records, management).

For dinner, I made… the same as last week’s episode as I recorded back to back! Coconut, chickpea, butternut squash Thai red curry with rice + buttery crack wraps…

WHERE THEY WORKED:

✨ Sweden Music (ABBA company run by Stig Anderson who was their manager at the time). It was bought by Polygram.

✨ Universal Music

✨ Kobalt

✨ Instinct Records (the first artist they ever signed was Moby)

✨ Western House Broadcasting which is now CBS TV

USEFUL NOTES / TIPS:

✨ CMO = Collective Management Organisation

✨ Sound Exchange:  US performing rights CMO for neighbouring rights when recordings are played in public; these royalties are for labels and featured artists.

✨ 'The Rome Convention': The Rome Convention secures protection in performances for performers, producers of recordings and in broadcasts for broadcasting organizations. The US and Australia are among the countries that are not signatories.

✨ PRS For Music: Performing rights organisation for performing royalties earned when a composition is played in public; these royalties are for writers and publishers (PRO).

✨(P) vs (C) : P = the recording is the phonographic copyright. C = song (music and lyrics as written) is the composition copyright.

✨ PPL: UK performing rights CMO for neighbouring rights when recordings are played in public; these royalties are for labels (rights holders), featured artists and non-featured artists. 

SHOUT OUTS:

❤️ MMF (Music Management Forum)

❤️ Help Musicians

❤️ The song "I Will Always Love You" originally written by Dolly Parton who wrote the song in 1973. A great example of Neighbouring Rights in action! In 1974 Elvis wanted to cover the track; his manager told Dolly it was standard procedure for the songwriter to sign over half of the publishing rights to any song Elvis recorded. She refused. She maintained the (c) composition rights when Whitney Houston recorded a rearrangement of the track in 1992. Whitney earns royalties from the recording (P) and Dolly earns royalties for her (C) composition as the writer.  N.B. - the words ‘song' and ‘composition' are used interchangeably, but ‘song' can never be used to describe the recording.

This week I'm joined by Sarah McCarthy (Beggars Banquet) and Becky Richardson (Ghost PR, Foundation FM, UROK Mgmt.) who both work in Radio PR. Happy birthday to Sarah who turned the big 2.8 the night before we recorded, AND happy engagement to Becky - news just in!

WE TALK ABOUT:

✨ Their path to now.

✨ Advice on the day-to-day of radio PR, skills required, and insights into the music they work on.

✨ Shout outs to bodacious babes we admire!

EPISODE GUESTS:

✨ Sarah McCarthy: In-house radio plugger at Beggars Group. Sarah did events management at University. During University, she took a placement year and interned at Coda Agency + Domino Record Co + Matador. 

Dissertation - in two parts; 1. Women in Music: whether it is a glass ceiling or woman automatically leaned to roles 2. Why small festivals fail.

✨ Becky Richardson: Is a radio plugger at her own company which she co-owns called Ghost Promo. She is also an artist Manager at UROK Management and she also set up a radio station called Foundation FM. Prior to this, she was at Island Records, before that Anorak PR. She has 8 years in radio! Public Relations at Uni.

Dissertation: 'The Secret Swap' ...yes, you read correct - listen to the episode to find out more...

DINNER:  Coconut, chickpea, butternut squash Thai red curry with rice + buttery crack wraps + vegan chocolate cake for Sarah's Birthday!

WHERE THEY WORKED:

✨ Coda Booking Agencies (nowParadim Talent Agency)

✨ UROK Management

✨ Earth Agency

✨ Domino Record Co

✨ Matador Records 

✨ Beggars

✨ Anorak PR

✨ Island Records

ADVICE:

✨ Be out there, meeting people!

✨ Be Creative with your campaign

✨ Be organised

✨ Listen to the radio - know which show likes what music

✨ Be honest

✨ Manage expectations of mangers and labels

✨ You are face to face with people all the time so make sure you can talk about each artist you are working on, and where it will fit

SHOUT OUTS:

❤️ Siobhan Bell

❤️ Kitty

❤️ Natalie Judge - used to be General Manager at Matador Records and now owns record shop on Columbia Rd called World Of Echo.

❤️ The Secret Swap [Image below]

❤️ Franky Wells - worked with Becky on festivals, and at Radar radio.

❤️ Foundation FM

❤️ Refinery 29 Horoscope

MUSIC MENTIONED THIS WEEK:

✨ Dave

✨ Charlotte Day Wilson

✨ Babeheaven

✨ RAYBLK

✨ PJ Harvey

✨ Arctic Monkeys

✨ Ariana Grande

✨ Post Malone

✨ The Weekend

✨ Drake

✨ AlunaGeorge

✨ Childish Gambino

✨ Florence + The Machine

✨ Flyte

✨ Amyl and The Sniffers

✨ Kojaque