Music Conference and Festival
Nick Halkes is a music industry executive known for signing and breaking dance act The Prodigy. Halkes was one of the founders of independent record label XL Recordings where he worked with acts such as House of Pain, SL2 and Liquid before taking up a position as a director at EMI and launching the Positiva label. The Positiva label is now home to David Guetta and Deadmau5 amongst others.
Maria Forte is the Co-Founder and Director of Public Affairs at V2 and works on digital rights management for Radiohead/ sample clearance for The Prodigy.
Maria has worked in the music industry for three decades. She has worked at Virgin Music (Publishers) Ltd and with many contemporary bands/writers including The Police; The Human League; Culture Club; Soul II Soul; The Clash; Stereo MC’s and The Prodigy. She’s also worked at EMI Music Publishing running the copyright department as well as establishing the sampling department. She continued to work with the Virgin Music catalogue as well as the rich and varied catalogue belonging to EMI.
n 1996, she was a co-founder and Director of Commercial Affairs at V2 Music Publishing Ltd., Richard Branson’s second venture into music publishing. In July 2006 she created Maria Forte Music Services Ltd. Her clients include Warner Chappell music, for the implementation of their pan European Digital Rights Initiative.
Zoë Ball is an English television and radio personality, best known as the first female host of The Radio 1 Breakfast Show, as well as for presenting the 1990s children’s show Live & Kicking. Ball first worked in radio, after she became co-host of The Radio 1 Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 1 in October 1997 with Kevin Greening. She became the sole host, the first female DJ to do so.
She returned to radio in mid-2002 when she joined London rock station XFM, where she presented the weekday drivetime show until December 2003, and then in January 2004 took over a Friday evening music show for the station.
Karen Piper is the director, founder and social media promotions manager of Radar Maker. Karen has previously worked at Traffic Marketing as a Project Manager running both online and offline campaigns for artists and labels. More recently, she worked as co-head of digital Marketing at V2 Music UK looking after a wide range of artists conceiving the strategy and delivery of digital campaigns. Karen started Radar Maker in 2007 where she now works with majors and indies across approximately 30 artists. Karen was one of the finalists of the UK YCE Music Award 2010.
Pat Pope is a portrait photographer with over 20 years of experience. Pat has worked for a variety of press, record companies, publicity and private clients. He has also travelled extensively including stints in former war zones. Starting his career at the emergence of Brit Pop in the early 90’s, his first job was with Britain’s hottest new band Suede, which resulted in Pat’s photograph being used on Suede’s first album. Pat also worked with The Prodigy, Dido, Morrissey, Melody Maker and many others.
Gallows are an English hardcore punk band from formed in 2005. After releasing Gallows’ debut album, Orchestra of Wolves, they were signed to Warner Bros. Records for a £1 million album contract. The band has been particularly successful in the UK, with three songs charting on the UK Single Charts, and have been featured in magazines such as Kerrang!, Alternative Press and Rolling Stone.
Mark Cann has worked with the Glastonbury Festival as the deputy for Michael Eavis for 30 years. Mark has run the festival’s main stage, Pyramid, as the production manager along other stages, and is now involved in the festival’s political message.
The Blackout are a post-hardcore band from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, formed in 2003. Having performed with the likes of fellow Welsh bands, including Funeral for a Friend, Kids in Glass Houses, The Automatic and Lostprophets, as well as Reuben, Fightstar, and other big name bands The Blackout released their EP The Blackout! The Blackout! The Blackout! on 23 October 2006 through Fierce Panda Records, this led to Kerrang! nominating The Blackout for Best British Newcomer. Across late November and December 2006 The Blackout accompanied Lostprophets on their UK headling tour alongside Bring Me the Horizon.
Tom Taaffe is an artist agent at International Talent Bookers. Tom began his music industry career as an agent with Trading Post Agency in Australia, where he represented acts including Frenzal Rhomb, The Butterfly Effect, Karnivool and Gyroscope. In 2004, Tom started his own touring company in Australia, Hill 16 Entertainment, touring U.S. acts including From Autumn To Ashes and Eighteen Visions & Rufio.
As of 2010, Tom works at The Agency Group and represents alternative and heavy rock talent including August Burns Red, Every Time I Die, Chiodos, Asking Alexandria, Bless The Fall, Whitechapel and A Skylit Drive, among several others.
Dave Spoon is the alias of DJ and producer Simon Neale. He currently hosts Radio 1’s ‘In New DJs We Trust’.
Signing ’21st Century’ to Toolroom Records in 2004 was a key point for Spoon, an instant success supported by the likes of Pete Tong and Roger Sanchez. The piano led ‘Sunrise EP’ followed and was instantly signed to Seamus Haji’s Big Love imprint. With a lot of buzz surrounding his releases, the remixes poured in with re-works for the hottest underground labels including Stealth, Cyber, Toolroom & Cr2.
In 2006, keen to push musical boundaries and break new sounds, Spoon released ‘At Night’ – a dance floor killer. Championed by everyone from Deep Dish to Tiesto, the track caused a stir on dancefloors. With an added vocal in 2007 from Lisa Maffia the track crossed over as ‘Bad Girl (At Night)’ on Universal, it was one of the biggest records last summer, earning Spoon his first top 40 hit.
With a Ministry Of Sound “Summer Sessions” compilation under his belt, remixes of artists like Dizzee Rascal, Pet Shop Boys plus updates of classics such as Gat Décor’s ‘Passion’, 2007 has moved Spoon further into the limelight. Having landed himself a show on Radio 1’s ‘In New DJs We Trust’, writing his artist album and writing with the likes of Pete Tong, it seems a string of new material is soon to be heard on a sound system near you.