Music Industry Q&A at House OF Commons

• 1st Feb 2008

On 4th February 2008, from 7pm to 9pm, David Lammy will be hosting a Q&A session about the music industry at the House of Commons.

Those asking the questions will be a diverse range of 14 to 30 year olds keen to get ahead in the business, while those answering the questions will be a broad spectrum of entrepreneurial music moguls. Panellists include Guy Holmes (Gut Records), Dave Laub (Darling Artists), Peter Robinson (Popjustice), Fergal Sharkey (The Undertones, Chairman of the BMI) Mervyn Lyn (SonyBMG), artists Sandi Thom and Sway. The compare for the evening will be Radio 1 Xtra presenter Jenna G.

The Q&A session is part of a wider campaign to encourage those in their teens and twenties to make their ideas happen within the music business has been launched. Make Your Mark in the Music Business is aiming to demonstrate the opportunities available within the music business, outside of the surplus of performance and song-writing competitions.

An online resource [link] will provide young people with the information, advice and general encouragement they might need to get ahead in the music business. Featuring interviews and tips from a wide variety of experts specialising in all sides of the music industry, the site will provide a one-stop shop for information on everything from record and publishing companies, through live promoters and agents to pr/promotion and management companies.

To launch the site an online record label game will give young people a rare taste of the life in the music impresario hot-seat, challenging them to sign and promote artists against other players from the music industry. Anyone aged 14-30 who is interested in discovering more about the behind-the-scenes jobs across the music industry, including A&R, Artists Manager, Studio Manager, PR and promotion, is being encouraged to take part. The game will provide young people with the power to sign new talent, select studios, organize tours and compare chart successes. Players will face real-life dilemmas and tough decisions like all top music executives.

Players can register online now and the competition runs for 7 days from the 3rd March. Once registered, players will make or lose money and gain credibility points for how well they manage their label. The winner will receive £5,000 towards starting their own music business as well as meetings with some top music executives in London to help them on their way.

The competition is supported by the British Phonographic Industry [BPI], International Federation of Phonographic Institute (IFPI), Music Manifesto, Young Enterprise and British Music Rights [BMR], and Sony BMG.

Danica Wilson of Make Your Mark commented: “Many young people are not aware of how naturally enterprising they are. We hope the format of an exciting record label competition whereby young people can play against each other and top industry professionals will open their eyes to the incredibly varied opportunities that exist across this exciting sector.”