Here we are. Episode 80 of this little podcast that I launched back in 2018. Since then I have spoken to music business execs from the world of record labels, publishing, artist management, sync, artists themselves and also live music which is where my very special guest number 80 comes from. Russ Tannen is the president of DICE. At their core DICE is a ticketing business but as you will hear from our conversation they have become so much more than that and are continuing to grow and develop...

Very excited about getting ever closer to episode 80 of the podcast which is mad when I think about it. Episode 79 is with Emily Ardagh-Walter of This is Music. Emily recently moved into the world of artist management after leaving her breakthrough role as part of the finance team at Universal Records. I had the pleasure of teaching Emily in my first year of university lecturing at the University of South Wales in Cardiff and it would an absolute treat to catch up with her to hear about her...

Big thanks to Liam for jumping on a Zoom call with me to talk about all things live music (pre and post Pandemic). I reached out to Liam as he and his agency ‘Echelon Talent’ currently look after the live side of things for a couple of acts I work with as DC Music Publishing. The Hyena Kill and Blanket. Liams agency look after a whole host of acts based in the UK and beyond who I am a big fan of so it was great to speak to him about how he has built his business, especially during such a...

As I hurtle (slowly) closer to episode 80, this weeks conversation is with Head of Publishing, A&R and Label Manager at A&G Group/Power Haus Creative Livia Cruz. I reached out to Livia via Linkedin as she is another guest of the pod that I am yet to meet in person. I was very pleased that she was able to jump on a Zpom call with me at short notice to have this conversation. We spoke about her relationship with music having grown up in Brazil and how she got into the business over...

This episode is with a fellow podcaster. If you haven’t checked out the MeloCompass podcast already you definitely should. If you are listening to this then Nicky’s pod will be right up your street. Check it out on Spotify, Apple, Google or wherever you get your podcasts from. Nicky reached out to me to talk about podcasts and podcasting and in doing so we managed to set up a time to get her on BTB which was awesome. Nicky has had a varied career in the business and has loads of insights for...

Episode 75 of my little podcast!!!! Three quarters of the way to the big 100. Thanks to everyone who listens and shares these episodes. It really means a lot. This episode has been a long time in the making. My guest for this episode, Vikrum Gudi, is an incredibly busy man. He currently runs a number of different businesses that we spoke about when we finally managed to find time in both of our schedules that worked. Elephant Music is a music production company that focuses on the world of...

This is one of my all time favourite conversations. This episode, I chatted to the wonderful Jack Williamson about his journey through the music business and his current relationship with the industry as a coach, psychotherapist and mental health activist. During the chat we realised that our paths had crossed back in the day. Whilst I was the head of sync at peermusic in the UK Jack was co-manager of Gabrielle Aplin. We were keen to sign Gabrielle and Jack and I definitely spoke about all...

I’m back for part 2 of the podcasts for 2022. This first episodes is a cracking chat about music publishing with Deborah Smith who is the Director at Anara Music Publishing based in Leicester in the UK. I reached out to Deborah online as I had never met her and managed to find a window of time in her busy schedule (Anara do a lot of work over in India which Deborah has been getting involved with now that travel is that much easier again) and the conversation was about her start in music and...

We’re into April 2022 and this is episode 72 of the pod. It’s a conversation with music industry lawyer Dean Marsh. Dean is based in Brighton and runs a company called Creative Law and Business. I first knew of Dean waaaay back in 2003 in my first music business job and since then he has worked with many individuals and businesses that I have done work for and with. He is a fountain of knowledge about the business and the legal side of it and it was a real pleasure to talk to him about the...

Here is another conversation with someone doing great things in the world of metal and heavy music in the UK. I reached out to George via Instagram on the off chance he would be interested in speaking to me as I am a fan of the work he has done with bands including: Monuments, Loathe and Sleep Token as well as newer acts who I have discovered via diving further into his work like Kubrick and Graphic Nature. It was an interesting and insightful conversation. George is a very open and honest...

This conversation was an extra special one for me as I have grown up listening to many of the bands that Julie has been responsible for putting out into the world. For those out there who love their UK Heavy Metal from the late 90s/early 00s you will know of her work via Visible Noise, the indie label she started who discovered bands like Bring me the Horizon and Bullet for My Valentine (and deeper cuts who I love like Number One Son and Kilkus). Now she is the label head of Sony Music’s rock...

Welcome back and thanks for coming. Here is episode 72 of my little podcast and this episode's origins are a little different to the rest of the podcasts that I have done. I was reached out to by representatives of Kirt to see if I would be interested in talking to him for the show (something I was very flattered by, I never thought i’d get to that stage) and I of course jumped at the chance to speak to someone in his position. Kirt is the CEO of US based B2B sync platform ‘Syncfloor’....

This weeks conversation for the podcast is with Matt Allen. Account Director at The Famous Company (@thefamousco) and Company Director of podcast Agency Digital Bulls (@goteampod). I had the pleasure of being interviews for the Famous Music companies podcast last year and Matt very gladly returned the favour and jumped on a call with me to talk all things music, Bristol and Cornwall (amongst other things). I really enjoyed this one. I had only ever spoken to Matt via email before we had the...

Here is yet another wonderful Uni of Hertfordshire alumni for you. Emma is an amazing music and brand partnerships lawyer who has spent time both in house at Universal records as well as part of law firm SSB working on behalf of the talent rather than the companies who sign the talent. It’s always lovely to chat to Emma. She is open, honest and full of information about her profession and she is so passionate about it as well which is always a great thing. We talked about her journey to...

Episode 2 for 2022. Sorry it’s a bit late. At time of release its Half term so I’m going to have to be that guy and blame my children (how awful is that…) Anyway, this episode is a very special one as its a conversation that I have wanted to have for some time. Remi Harris MBE is a business consultant and business coach who has and does work with a huge range of people in and around the music business. Remi has held really interesting position in organisations such as the Association of...

Hamish Duff is a talent agent working for First Artists Management (FAM), managing its UK and European business representing composers and music supervisors for film, television, and video games. Its roster includes: Carter Burwell, Vangelis, Craig Armstrong, Rolfe Kent, Anne Chmelewsky, Clark, Hannah Peel, Blanck Mass, Dan Deacon, Emily Rice and many others. FAM recently launched its own record label to further serve the specific needs of its clients. The first release was BBC Back To Life...

Welcome back and here is the final Behind the Music Business Podcast of 2021. I am going to take a break for the rest of the year from releasing episodes but I am hoping to come back in 2022 with brand new conversations with some amazing music industry professionals. To round things off for 2021 and for my 65th episode I have the founder and CEO of UK based independent music publisher Max Music Publishing Max Odell as my guest this week. We talked about all things music publishing and the...

This week's episode is a conversation about songwriting with professional songwriter Dee Adam. I know Dee from our time together at peermusic and I am immensely grateful that she found the time in her schedule to talk to me. I always like talking to songwriters about how they do their thing. Dee herself is a writer and producer who has worked with a whole host of household names including Dido, Mel C and The Kaiser Chiefs to name a few. Following a run of success in 2019 and 2020, 2021 and...

Here is one of my favourite of all the episodes that I have done of this podcast. A chat with artist and producer manager Ellie Giles. Ellie has had an amazing career in A&R and management for the best part of 20 years and set up her company Step Management in 2018. This was an amazing chat about the creative side of the business, about A&R in general and as a female in the industry and Ellie was amazingly honest and candid about how she operates and what she looks for in the...

Lucie is the General Manager and Chief Policy Officer of the Music Publishers Association (MPA). The MPA represents over 95% of the UK’s song rights, through its membership of over 200 music publishers, ranging from iconic Independents to the international Major Publishers. Prior to the MPA, Lucie was the CEO of performing artists’ collective, the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC). Lucie has over 17 years’ experience in the music business, including time at PRS for Music in digital licencing...

Today (August 13th 2021) is my birthday and to celebrate I am doing the most self indulgent thing I could think of and releasing an episode of my podcast that is about me :) I found it very hard to do and it is thankfully MUCH shorter than the rest of the episodes. If you would like to know more about me or if you think that I could help you out in a professional capacity please get in touch via the email address [email protected] or go to my website www.dannychampion.co.uk and...

The big 6-0. 60 episodes and counting. To some that probably means very little but I’m pretty proud that I have got here all on my own. This episode is with yet another Uni of Hertfordshire alumni. Graham was part of the group that I was involved with at Uni. We had a wonderful time and have remained firm friends 10+ years on from when we graduated. Graham is now one of the regional Officers (for London) at the Musicians Union. So if you are based around the capital and have an issue and are...

Episode 8 of this latest run of podcasts (episode 59 overall i believe) is a conversation about artist management with Jamie Osman. Owner of Easy Life Entertainment group. Jamie’s focus through the years has been on artist management and he has been independent and also part of a larger team at Red Light Management. Recently though his attentions have shifted focus to building a group of independent businesses that add value to each other but also work wonderfully well individually. He has a...

It’s already July 2021!!! Doesn’t time fly when you’re in a pandemic. This weeks conversation, like last week, focuses on the world of sync. However this time around from a slightly different point of view. Sergio Pimental has worked around music and computer games for as long as I have known him and it would great chatting with him and finding more about this area of the business and his journey through it. We talk about his beginnings and his time at Sony Games and Activision as well as...