Gigomi with Dave Holley

In today's episode Dave has not 1 but 2 guests to talk about some of the stresses and strains that can be peculiar to a musician's life, what you can do to keep an eye on them and how to look after yourself physically and mentally.Claire Cordeaux joins us from BAPAM (which stands for the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine) whose mission it is to provide information and training to prevent poor health, provide care when things go wrong, support healthy careers and aid recovery from illness. They work across all the performing arts including music.Liam Hennessy is from Help Musicians UK, which focuses on UK musicians only, helping them in may ways from starting out through to retirement. They have a wide brief including providing funds for creative development of artists, health & welfare services, a mental health helpline and a hearing health scheme which aims to preventhearing problems which could otherwise bring musicians careers to an untimely end.Useful stuff mentioned in the podcast includes:BAPAM websiteHelp Musicians UK websiteEmerging Musicians Health SchemeLiam Hennessy musicAartwork musicMental health concerns? Call MusicMindsMatter & look at the Health Musician UK resourcesPhysical health concerns? BAPAMHearing concerns? Get in touch with Help Musicians UK

Today’s guest is Ian Anderson, the driving force behind rock band Jethro Tull.Ian formed Jethro Tull in 1967 and this year – 55 years later - they released their 22nd studio album, The Zealot Game, which hit the Top 10 in the UK and beyond.Ian has always stood out. His instrument of choice is unusually the flute, which he is in the habit of playing while standing on one leg. Jethro Tull have had huge success with multiple gold and platinum albums that topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, they appeared on The Rolling Stones’ Rock & Roll Circus and alongside Jimi Hendrix at the legendary 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.Ian feared that his career as a professional musician might be a brief one and so set out to learn exactly how the music industry works to give himself the option of moving into a role in a record company or as a producer should the paying gigs dry up. They never did but he has used that knowledge to sustain his career over the decades and it has allowed him to become increasingly self-sufficient. These days Ian manages himself, manages the release and distribution of his records and even manages the day to day logistics of his tours.There is not much Ian does not know about the life of a gigging musician and the business of music.

Today's guest is Keith Harris, OBE. Keith began his career as a song plugger, getting records played on the radio at Translantic Records and EMI, where he became General Manager of Motown in the UK. It was doing that job that he met Stevie Wonder who asked Keith to be part of his management team - which he continues to be to this day.Alongside his management career, Keith lectured on the music business as a Senior Fellow at the University Of Westminsterand has led many industry organisations and initiatives including the Music Managers Forum.Keith's career has been punctuated by many remarkable achievements and it's all the more impressive because of the prejudice that he has suffered throughout his life.Born to West African parents in the North of England, he experienced racism on a regular and repeated basis, not least during his early days in the music industry. His response was "Don't be bitter, be better" and he became, as Billboard described him, "a tireless campaigner for equal opportunities".More than anything, Keith is one of the most respected and widely liked people in the music industry. He has some fantastic advice for people starting out in it which he shares in this interview.Keith was awarded the OBE in 2015 and in 2021 was elected Rector of Dundee University.Keith talks about managing Stevie Wonder, overcoming racial prejudice, teaching the business of music & why this is the most exciting time to be entering the music industry since the 1960's.He wrote an open letter to the music industry on racism which you can find here.

Today's guest is Ayla Owen. Ayla is one of the UK's most experienced and successful music supervisors, having set up and led the music division of advertsising agency BBH, founded themostradicalist blog and co-Chaired The UK and European Guild of Music Supervisors.In recent years, Ayla has crossed the line into Synch. She oversees the European Synch and Creative Services teams at Warner Chappell and now spends a lot of time pitching to music supervisors.

Today's guest is Sara Lord. In her job as SVP at Concord Music Publishing, she oversees Synch teams around the world.Sara's done an awful lot of things in the music industry. She managed Top Loader, Reef and Tom Baxter, taking Top Loader, in particular, to huge success.But throughout her career, Sara has had a close connection to that sweet spot where audio meets video, music meets film.She started in the video department at Sony, helping create videos to promote singles. She went on to work as a music supervisor sourcing music for Hollywood movies and now promotes the catalogue of Concord for use in Films, TV and Adverts.In this episode, Sara explains what Synch is, how it differs between Film, TV and Ads, what music supervisors are looking for and how to pitch your music to them.This is highly a recommended listen for those of you looking to get your music more well known and make more money.

Today's episode is about the live side of the music industry. My guest is Paul Franklin. Paul is one of the leading live agents in the world. He started his career at Primary Talent, moved to Helter Skelter where he represented Amy Winehouse and helped guide her career. For the last decade or so he has been at CAA.Paul has looked after so many huge acts including James Bay, McFly, Busted, Corinne Bailey Rae, Laura Mvula and Yungblud.