1.30PM - 2.30PM PANELS

AIM IRELAND PRESENTS: TOP TIPS FOR SELF-RELEASING ARTISTS
Join independent label experts for a discussion on new, forward-thinking approaches to running indie labels - from how running an indie label looks in 2023, to innovative business approaches for breaking artists and more. Moderated by Gill Dooley, CEO of Association of Independent Music (AIM) Ireland.

ROOM: TBA

Gill Dooley, CEO, AIM Ireland
Brian Scally, Director, Paragon Records
Aine Cronin-McCartney, Label Manager, Bloom Records
Julie Hough, Co-Founder and Label Coordinator, VETA
Solomon Adesiyan, CEO, Trust It Entertainment

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Solomon Adesiyan

My name is Solomon and I'm an entrepreneur within the music/entertainment sector. I’m based in Ireland. Trust It Entertainment is my music company and we have recently done an international deal as a label with Warner Music Group International and Atlantic Records Uk the first of its kind in Irish history ! Coum Technologies Ltd is my music tech startup that I’m streamlining the traditional setup of the music industry via tech solutions/products. We’re a one stop shop ! (Enhancing the music industry forever !). I’m a hustler and a lover of music !

Julie Hough

Julie Hough is a musician and label co-founder based in Dublin. She is most well known as the singer and bassist in the grunge-indie band, HAVVK. Born in Galway, Julie began her music career as a folk-indie solo artist after moving to London in 2014. Here she met producer and bandmate, Matthew Harris and they formed the band HAVVK. HAVVK have toured across Ireland, the UK and Europe, playing with the likes of And So I Watch You From Afar, Nova Twins and Drums, and capturing the attention of BBC 6 Music’s Steve Lamaq, Lauren Lavern, as well as appearing in the Guardian, Irish Times and Line of Best Fit. HAVVK have released two studio albums produced by Belfast’s Rocky O’Reilly. Since their inception, the band have been based in Berlin and now Dublin, where they have developed their label and collective VETA Music, working with artists such as Maria Kelly, Sive and St. Bishop. Julie specializes in release strategy, social media marketing and creative development. She also co-runs the artist organisation, SelfMade, which hosts speaking and networking events for musicians in Dublin and across Ireland, focussing on topics such as DIY release strategy, live development, and mental health in music.

Gill Dooley

A proven senior leader in music, Gill Dooley is an independent artist manager, music consultant, mentor and the CEO of AIM Ireland, Ireland's national association for independent music. Bringing more than 20 years experience with her, Gill's solution driven approach has seen AIM Ireland grow into a leading advocacy organisation since she took the helm in 2021. Gill began her career with EMI…

Brian Scally

Brian Scally is co-founder and co-CEO of Paragon Records, an independent label established in 2018.

With leading independent FUGA as their distributor, Paragon has a multi-genre roster that includes singer-songwriters Pa Sheehy (former lead singer with Walking On Cars) and Curtis Walsh, NI Music Prize Album Of the Year Winner Kitt Philippa, Belfast-based producer, top-line specialist and performer Jessica Hammond, electronic act and sync favourites The Sei, female-fronted rock band Sick Love and all-girl indie band Florence Road.

Paragon were an early signatory to the Keychange pledge to bring underrepresented genders in the music industry to the main stage and are also members of the 1% For The Planet initiative, where a minimum of 1% of their annual sales go to environmental and climate justice causes.

Brian is also a Board Member of The Association of Independent Music (AIM) Ireland, is a Mentor for Keychange’s We Grow mentoring programme for women and gender-expansive artists and innovators and is also a mentor on the Minding Creative Minds programme."

Aine Cronin-McCartney

Aine Cronin-McCartney is a freelance radio presenter, producer, artist manager and label manager. A regular voice on BBC Radio Ulster’s ATL Introducing show, Aine has played a key role in helping to champion the best new acts and bands emerging from across Ireland, supporting artists across an array of genres. Alongside her presenting work, Aine has sat on the panel of the NI Music Prize and the AIM Music Awards…

THE ART OF EVENT CURATION
Programming line-ups, nailing creative direction, championing visual arts, representing marginalised communities and grassroots movements from homegrown talent to unsung heroes – AVA assembles four promoters working across different areas of the industry to talk about what makes a great festival tick. The best curation is the sum of its parts and a little bit of festival magic. Moderated by Dylan Murphy of District Magazine.

ROOM: TBA

Dylan Murphy, Head Of Content, District Magazine
Emmett Costello, Senior Curator - AVA Festival, Inside Moves
Molly King, Head Of Development, Other Voices
Rich McGinnis, Director - Mama Group, Warehouse Project
Will Rolfe, Senior Curator - All Together Now, Forbidden Fruit

Featured

Dylan Murphy

Dylan Murphy is a journalist, broadcaster, podcast host, manager and taste maker from Belfast. Operating as Head of Content at District Magazine in Dublin, he oversees live events across the country, documents alternative culture in Ireland and has interviewed acts like slowthai, JPEGMAFIA, Annie Mac, Arlo Parks, Mike Skinner and more. He also manages fellow Belfast native and rising teenage producer WhipItConall…

Emmett Costello

Biography coming soon

MARSHALL LAW: INSIDE THE MARSHALL PLAYBOOK FOR MANAGEMENT, MUSIC AND TOURING
Hear from Marshall reps Steph Carter and Megan Devereux on how they are disrupting the music industry, one element at a time with radically new ways of operating their label, artist management and live agency. They’ll be joined by Hannah of NI pop rock band CHERYM, who are signed to Marshall as their live agency, to delve into the ways Marshall have been working with bands to structure deals and offer resources (such as studios) in a way that’s proving to be genuinely artist-friendly.

ROOM: TBA

Steph Carter, Head of Education, Marshall
Megan Devereux, Education Coordinator, Marshall
Hannah Richardson, Artist, CHERYM

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Hannah Richardson

As the lead singer and guitarist of Pop-punk trio CHERYM, a Derry native, Hannah Richardson has seen a shift over the last few years in how artists from Northern Ireland have been viewed and the influx of independent labels and other music executives turn their eye to Northern Ireland and the wealth of talent that is just across the Irish Sea…

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Aaron Casey

Involved in the business of music since 2006, Aaron has both a practical and academic interest in the global music industry. He holds an MA in Music Business Management from the University of Westminster in London as well as years of experience working with songwriters, music publishers and collection societies in a variety of roles during his time at the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO). More recently, as Head of Music Business at BIMM Institute Dublin, he supported other staff in achieving academic excellence and industry alignment across all music business modules…

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Steph Carter

Steph Carter is a professional musician, educator, and producer. Best known for his work on stage and in the studio with the critically acclaimed punk band Gallows, The Ghost Riders in the Sky and Lyoness. Steph has an extensive background in both mainstream and private education, working as a Peri-teacher, Higher Education Programme Manager, Curriculum Developer, Project Manager for the Creative Industries, as well as a Consultant in the private sector…

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Megan Devereux

Megan is the Education Co-ordinator at Marshall Amplification, working closely with Steph Carter (Head of Education), to support grassroots talent, local schools, colleges and universities by providing real industry experience and opportunities. After graduating with a BA(Hons) in Professional Musicianship - specialising in Vocals from BIMM Brighton, Megan has worked in many areas of the music industry. With experience in teaching music performance and vocal techniques across Level 3 Diploma to BA (Hons) degree level to actively working as a session musician and performer she has developed the skills to sustain a career in the music industry.

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IVORS ACADEMY PRESENTS - COMPOSING FOR FEATURE DOCUMENTARIES
Hear from composer of Oscar nominated and BAFTA and Cannes-winning feature documentaries, Nainita Desai, on the nature of working with delicate subject matters and creating scores that honour the rawness of feature documentaries. Moderated by Sarah Glennane of SCGI.

ROOM: TBA

Sarah Glennane, CEO, Screen Composers Guild of Ireland
Nainita Desai, Award-Winning Composer

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Sarah Glennane

Sarah Glennane is CEO of the Screen Composers Guild of Ireland, the representative body for Irish and Irish based composers of original music for Film/TV/Advertising and Games. In 2017 Sarah authored the IMRO/MCPS report entitled: Music for Screen in Ireland, which was instrumental in the formation of the SCGI. Sarah also works as an independent music supervisor on Film and TV productions, she is passionate about creative music supervision and the role music plays in the development of narrative and depth in audiovisual productions…

Nainita Desai

Emmy and RTS award winning composer, Nainita Desai, was World Soundtrack Awards 2021 winner for Discovery of the Year. A double BIFA and Cinema Eye Honors nominee; BAFTA Breakthrough Brit. Nainita was described by Empire magazine as one of the top 5 composers to watch for 2022 and won the Women In Film & TV Award for Creative Technology 2022. She has been nominated in 2023 for the MPSE Golden Reel Award for Best Music Editing on a video game, an ASCAP Composer Choice award and two G.A.N.G awards for her score for acclaimed Bafta winning video game Immortality.

Amongst various BAFTA, Oscar and Emmy acclaimed productions, Nainita’s recent projects include the Netflix hit documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, exec produced by Oscar winner Jimmy Chinn, for which her score earned Emmy, HMMA and ASCAP Composer Choice nominations. Desai’s other credits include Oscar 2020 nominated and BAFTA & Cannes winning feature doc For Sama, and Sundance winning The Reason I Jump, an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity. Recent projects include BBC1 action thriller series Crossfire, Bafta nominated American Murder, ITV crime drama series The Tower (Mammoth Screen, Gemma Whelan), land mark natural history series Predators for Sky/Netflix and Interactive film / video game Telling Lies, (Annapurna Interactive).

Current projects include SKY comedy drama series Funny Woman (Gemma Arterton), a major fantasy, adventure series for Disney+, and other landmark series for Apple TV+, James Cameron, National Geographic and video games for EA Originals and Activision. Following a degree in Maths and studying sound for film at the NFTS in the UK, Nainita began her career as a sound designer on feature films for directors including Werner Herzog and Bertolucci, as well as assistant music engineering for Peter Gabriel. Nainita moves seamlessly between working with orchestras, to scores utilizing her collection of custom-made instruments, incorporating electronics, found sound, and experimental sound design which has informed her experimental, deeply immersive approach. She is also an elected senate member of the Ivor’s Academy, and sits on the BAFTA Film Committee and AMPAS Intl Committee.

MUSIC MINDS MATTER PRESENTS: ‘I GET KNOCKED DOWN’ DOCUMENTARY Q AND A WITH DUNSTAN BRUCE (CHUMBAWAMBA) AND SOPHIE ROBINSON
Dunstan Bruce of Chumbawamba joins director Sophie Robinson to discuss the creation and reception of their 2023 feature documentary ‘I Get Knocked Down,’ based on the rise of the band Chumba and their epoch defining anthem “I get Knocked Down”.

ROOM: TBA

Dunstan Bruce, Chumbawamba
Sophie Robinson, Director, ‘I Get Knocked Down’

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Sophie Robinson

Sophie is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. She has an exceptionally strong reputation for bringing her stories to life through powerful and emotive characters that are at the core of her films.Most recently she has been nominated for her BAFTA and RTSnominated film ""My Dead Body"" (CH4) about a single mother from Deal whose death bed decision will go on to save thousands of people after her. Just before that ‘Living Donor’ a film about the worlds first female transplant surgeon Nancy Ascher, for the Netflix four-parter ‘Surgeon’s Cut’ which was awarded an Emmy, a BAFTA and an RTS award. Prior to that her feature documentary, also a Netflix Original My Beautiful Broken Brain’ featured the story of Lotje Sodderland, a woman who's life was turned upside down by a brain haemorrhage and was executive produced by David Lynch and nominated for an Emmy as well as receiving a special mention from the jury for best female director. Sophie is also behind award winning films such as BBC2’s ‘Me, My Mouth and I’ about disability activist Jess Thom, the highly acclaimed, ‘Your Life In Their Hands’, ‘Edge of Life’, 'Nicola Roberts and The Truth about Tanning’' and ‘Do You See What I See?’ and many more.

Dunstan Bruce

Dunstan was lead vocalist with Chumbawamba for 23 years. He produced a soundtrack for Channel 4s ""Whatever A Teenage Musical"" in 2004, which was nominated for the RTS Craft Award for Best Original Soundtrack. He is Executive Producer on Jeanie Finlay’s “Sound It Out” [2011] and Toby Amies’ film “The Man Whose Mind Exploded” [2013]. In 2009 he toured China with Sham 69 and made a feature length documentary about the experience called ""This Band Is So Gorgeous!” which was nominated for the IDFA Melkweg Best Music Documentary 2012. His feature documentary about the UK folk-punk band the Levellers “A Curious Life” [completed 2014] charted at number 2 in the DVD music chart in Spring 2015. He appeared in and co-directed “I Get Knocked Down” with Sophie Robinson which has screened extensively around the UK. He has recently written and performed a one man show “Am I Invisible Yet?” which was directed by Sophie Robinson and toured around the UK throughout 2022.

SING WHEN YOU’RE WINNING - TOP TIPS TO SING HARDER, BETTER, FASTER AND LONGER
Join The Voice contestant, Dave Jackson, for the best tips in singing - including how to warm up correctly and get the best from your voice in every performance. Whether you’re a backing vocalist, solo singer, theatre performer or you're preparing for a studio recording - this is an unmissable vocal masterclass on how to use your voice.

ROOM: TBA

Dave Jackson, Singer // The Voice Contestant

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David Jackson

David Jackson has been a professional singer in Ireland for over 10 years, performing in the busy bars around belfast to hosting events including awards ceremonies and a wee jaunt on TV on The Voice 2017.

THE CONVERGENCE OF MUSIC AND AR
Join Nexus Studios, the global creative agency behind the Gorillaz Skinny Ape immersive AR experience and Deepa Mann-Kler, artist and director behind The Metaverse & Me AR and AR Street Art to discuss the opportunities for audience experiences in this exciting new area of imagined realities, that is giving artists and creators unlimited opportunities for creative expression in three dimensions.

ROOM: TBA

Alex Jenkins, Executive Creative Director, Nexus Studios
Deepa Mann-Kler, CEO, Neon
Nigel McAlpine, Immersive Technology Lead, Catapult Digital

Featured

Convergence of Music and AR

Nigel McApline

Convergence of Music and AR

Nigel is an experienced and innovative consultant with a passion for problem solving, creativity and technology, having spent over 20 years at the BBC, leading teams to produce unique digital projects including: explaining 30 years of the Northern Ireland Troubles in 3 minute motion graphics, strapping heart monitors to bikers travelling at 200mph, bringing Titanic’s last moments to life in 3D and rebuilding a WW1 trench in Virtual Reality…

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Convergence of Music and AR

Alex Jenkins

Convergence of Music and AR

As Executive Creative Director at Nexus Studios's Immersive division, Alex brings an exceptional level of craft and detail to every brief he meets and takes a holistic approach to projects ensuring every experience has meaning and contextual value. Inspired by a passion for interactive storytelling, Alex places the protagonist and their motivations at the centre of every experience, whether that is the character or user, creating an emotional relationship with the medium and subject matter…

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Convergence of Music and AR

Deepa Mann-Kler

Convergence of Music and AR

Deepa Mann-Kler is CEO Neon; Director Belfast XR Festival; Visiting Professor in Immersive Futures Ulster University, Artist and member BAFTA Connect. Neon harnesses the power of immersive technologies to create authentic augmented and virtual reality narrative driven experiences. As Director and Producer, Neon has won multiple awards most lately with Discover ME. Neon launched AR Peace Wall and AR Street Art apps freely available on iOS and Play Store. A TEDx speaker…

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Convergence of Music and AR

1.30PM - 2.30PM PANELS

OUTPUT BELFAST IS PRESENTED BY: