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Holding Up The Ladder

Money Talks

Season 2, Ep. 0
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In this special bonus episode of Holding up the Ladder, we’re talking money! Money and the music industry. 

I’ve brought in some formidable women to talk about these issues and made a point of including not just artists but people who work in what I call the administrative side of the industry - law, label management etc. So, let me introduce you to my guests:

  • Producer, songwriter, composer and singer, Alev Lenz
  • Music and media lawyer, Honey Onile-Ere
  • Creative business consultant, Sam Campbell
  • Composer/Producer, Shruti Kumar

We talk about how to navigate the vastly complex and amorphous world of the music industry and how to do it as women and also women of colour. We talk about how to self advocate, how to negotiate, how knowing your value has a direct impact on the price you place on your work. We talk about allies and creating strong networks. We talk about the role that art generally and music more specifically plays in society - how do we quantify the value of music, not the person making the music but the music itself? We talk about the importance of protecting and therefore valuing the arts at a governmental level, how this impacts the value we place on artists and how all of this connects to money.


Guests: Alev Lenz, Honey Onile-Ere, Sam Campbell & Shruti Kumar

Title: Money Talks - Navigating the Music Industry


Guest bios:

Alev Lenz

Alev Lenz is a German-Turkish producer, songwriter, composer and singer. Alev released her first album in 2009 Storytelling Piano Playing Fräulein, her sophomore record Two-Headed Girl came out in 2016 and her latest album 3 came out at the end of 2019. Her music has featured on critically acclaimed TV shows, Netflix series Dark, Black Mirror and the third season of The Rain. Alev has been working in close collaboration with Anoushka Shankar, featuring on her Grammy-nominated album ‘Land of Gold’ as well as writing and co-producing for Anoushka Shankar's EP 'Love Letters' which culminated in a Grammy-nomination. Alev has also worked in close collaboration with Spitfire Audio creating an interactive sound library.

Website: https://www.alevlenz.com/

IG: @alev_lenz



Honey Onile-Ere

Honey is a qualified lawyer, with several years of music and media legal and business affairs experience. Honey was Head of Legal & Business Affairs at Warner/Chappell Music Publishing for 10 years, after which she was Director of Legal & Business Affairs at BMG Rights Management. Prior to taking up her role at AMRA, Honey worked as a freelance Business Affairs consultant, working with a wide range of media businesses, from major labels / publishers (such as Universal Music and what was then EMI Records) to independents, including Imagem Music (now Concord) and Perfect Songs. Honey has also consulted for a range of businesses focused on the development of the music business in emerging territories, with a particular emphasis on West Africa, working with both labels and publishers, as well as collecting societies in the region.

Website: https://www.amra.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/honey-onile-ere-57973135/



Sam Campbell

Sam is a creative business consultant, consultant music publishing manager and consultant label manager with an MBA from Imperial College Business School. With over 25 years music industry experience, Sam creates monetisation models for independent artists and SMEs. She also develops and structures revenue streams for creative individuals.

Website: https://www.cdasoundldn.com/

Instagram: @cdastylelondon

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-campbell-mba-8552bb26



Shruti Kumar

Shruti is a musician, composer/producer based in LA. Her work has spanned film/tv, pop, and concert worlds and she often finds herself in projects that mix genres and experiences. Her work has been used by/for The National Geographic, NPR, The United Nations, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, FOX India, A24, The 2016 Summer Olympics, UNICEF, and The Nederlander Organization. She spent the majority of the past year in London doing a residency with Spitfire Audio as well as producing out of Strongroom Studios in Shoreditch working with other artists as well as weaving together several years of collected sounds from her travels around the world for her upcoming album "Nodding Terms". She is also a Dublab radio host, "Let's Shake On It” and founder of Sound Travels engaging with culture & arts advocacy as well as aiming to level the musical playing field.

Website: https://www.shrutikumar.com/

IG: @tamingoftheshruti

Radio show, Let’s Shake on It: Website: https://www.dublab.com/shows/lets-shake-on-it & IG: @lets_shake_on_it

Sound Travels: Website: https://soundcantravel.com/ IG: @soundcantravel


Reports:

UK Music

PRS

Billboard

Music Week/Sunday Times Rich List



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