RAAP

Involved in the business of music since 2006, Aaron has both a practical and academic interest in the global music industry. He holds a Bachelor of Business in Business and Management Studies from TUS, an MA in Music Business Management from the University of Westminster, a PGCert in Learning and Teaching in Further and Higher Education from the University of Sussex and is also a Teaching Fellow with Advance HE.

As International Operations Manager at Recorded Artists Actors Performers (RAAP) Aaron collects royalties on behalf of performers from outside of Ireland. He is a part of both the Business and Operations Working Group and the Audiovisual Forum within SCAPR, a worldwide federation representing performers and collective management organisations. Aaron is also part of the Streaming Working Group with IMARA which leads international efforts to ensure that Music Performers receive fair remuneration from streaming, AI, and audiovisual exploitation of their performances globally.

Aaron has previously held roles at IMRO, the Irish Music Rights Organisation collecting on behalf of authors and music publishers, was Head of Music Business at BIMM University Dublin and operated as an independent music rights and royalties consultant across a range of clients.

Content Creator, Videographer, Photographer

Abby Davidson is a Belfast-based artist, photographer, videographer and social media content specialist. They have a particular interest in live music and the arts, having worked with local bands and festivals with a focus on short form video content.

Shine & The Limelight

Addison is a Promoter / Booker at Shine in Belfast, the operators of venues The Limelight and Telegraph Building; and CHSq, The Summer Series, & Belsonic festivals. With an early career background in Feature Writing, Music Journalism/Broadcast, Addison moved into grassroots live promotion in 2020 (greatly timed). She launched 'table it!’ as a multi-genre platform, booking Belfast headline debuts for acts like Mabe Fratti, ROÍS, Rachael Lavelle and Body Clinic, while programming in-house at The Black Box. Acts she currently promotes include John Grant, BIIRD, Le Boom, Joshua Burnside, Divorce, Huartan, SexyTadgh.

Dolby Atmos Mixer

London-based engineer Al Lawson is one of the UK’s most experienced Dolby Atmos mixers, working out of Jay Reynolds’ Mix London studios. He has had successes in Fred Again..’s Grammy-winning album “Actual Life 3” and Grammy-nominated single “Leavemealone”, LF System’s UK#1 single “Afraid To Feel” alongside albums and singles for Rudimental, Kylie, Swedish House Mafia, Luude, James Blunt. Pa Salieu, Badger, The Blessed Madonna, Tiësto, Nines, Lily Allen and Freya Ridings.

Creative Designer & Art Director

Alice Cinnamond is a Belfast-based Creative Designer & Art Director working across branding, advertising, and music projects. Alice has worked with brands including Bushmills, Smirnoff, Cadbury and Zalando, alongside a long-term collaboration with Northern Ireland’s Oh Yeah Music Centre, creating identities for projects including NI Music Prize and Sound of Belfast, and bands including The Wood Burning Savages and Beauty Sleep.

NewParadigm Music

Andy Skinner is an award winning songwriter and Ivors Academy Senator with over 20 years' experience working with artists and songwriters internationally. Known for his ability to develop songs from early-stage ideas into creatively successful recordings, he has collaborated across multiple genres and earned recognition for both his creative work and his commitment to artist development.

A prominent advocate for disabled and neurodivergent musicians, Andy campaigns for greater accessibility and representation across the music industry. A founder of initiatives including Building Blocks Belfast, The All Ireland Ivors Council and NewParadigm Musics OFFBEAT Songwriting sessions. He is dedicated to supporting grassroots talent, fostering collaboration and creating pathways for under-represented songwriters and music creators.

Earth Agency

Angie Rance is an Agent at Earth Agency, an independent music agency in London, founded in 2014. With over 15 years’ experience in the music industry, Angie began her career working with touring classical artists and orchestras, before moving into commercial music management and ultimately deciding, in 2013, that her real passion was working on the live shows. Her current roster at Earth Agency comprises live acts across an array of genres ranging through folk, indie, experimental jazz, instrumental, electronic, post-classical to psychedelic rock.

She studied Music and Philosophy at Cardiff University and continues to (occasionally) tour and record with her own band. Having performed at countless festivals alongside touring around the UK and Europe, she has a valuable and unique perspective from both sides of the stage. Angie is a passionate advocate of honesty and fairness in the workplace, including speaking openly about the challenges of balancing mental health, neurodiversity and physical health within the working environment of the live music industry. She is also committed to greening the music industry and is a founding committee member of Brian Eno’s charity EarthPercent.

Composer

Anna Rice is a multiple-award winning Irish composer, lyricist, arranger and music producer. Notable composition credits include Re-Creation (starring Vicky Krieps & Aidan Gillen, dir. Jim Sheridan/David Merriman), Our Blue World (narrated by Liam Neeson), the Royal National Theatre UK & Abbey Theatre’s inaugural co-production of Juno and the Paycock (dir. Howard Davies, starring Ciarán Hinds, Sinéad Cusack and Clare Dunne). As lyricist and orchestrator her credits include theme songs to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (The Weinstein Co. / Neflix) and The Wasted Times Channel 4s Chimerica, God of War (dir. Gordon Chan) and the E3 trailer for Playstation's Ghost of Tsushima (Sony). In 2022 she produced, arranged and orchestrated The Christmas Album for Andrea Corr (Warner).

She has scored over 200 episodes of episodic TV in the field of animation and in 2019 she co-founded Ash and Harold, a collaborative music studio specialising in music for animation.

Twice nominated for a Camille Award (European Film Composer Award) Anna became the first Irish composer to win this honour for her score to the documentary I Dream in Photos (dir. Gary Lennon) in 2004. She has written arrangements and orchestrations featuring Lang Lang, Gidon Kremer, Ronnie Wood (The Rolling Stones), The Chieftains, Avishai Cohen, Donal Lunny, Zoë Conway & Mairtín O'Connor, Jam Hsiao, Coco Lee and longtime collaborator Shigeru Umebayashi.

Electric Picnic

Anna-Marie is an experienced live-events and entertainment professional whose career spans music, major venues, television and touring productions.

As Lead Production Coordinator at Electric Picnic, she plays a key role within one of Ireland's leading live-events, bringing practical insight into the delivery of large-scale festivals and productions.

Her work with Oh Yeah Music Centre has further strengthened her connection to Belfast's vibrant music and cultural sector, while her previous role supporting the Directors of Audiences and Programming at the Royal Albert Hall gave her valuable experience within one of the world's most iconic cultural venues.

Across her career, Anna-Marie has contributed to an impressive range of productions and projects, including working with Dolly Parton, Katy Perry, Rihanna and Marianne Faithfull.

She brings to the conference a distinctive perspective shaped by creativity, collaboration and hands-on experience across the many moving parts of live entertainment.

McCusker Pro Audio Ltd

Live sound engineer and Director of McCusker Pro Audio Ltd, Barry supplies full-service sound, lighting, and AV production across the live event world. With an international touring resume that includes backing Emmy Award-winner Eamonn McCrystal across the US, he brings arena-grade audio precision to stages of every scale. Beyond concert touring, Barry has built an extensive portfolio in live theatre, frequently collaborating with Belfast’s iconic Lyric Theatre, working on major productions at the Grand Opera House, and working on acclaimed shows like Good Vibrations both locally and on its run in New York. He is currently on the road as live sound engineer for country-pop star Lisa McHugh.

Beyond Skin

Behnaz Mafakheri is a Kurdish woman from Iran. After she finished her studies at the University of Urban Engineering and Architecture she came to Northern Ireland to find freedom away from the regime. Behnaz comes from a creative entrepreneurial family with previous restaurant and Persian weaving businesses. Behnaz is working with Beyond Skin managing music projects and events and job sharing with The Learning Machine to assist women and girls in Afghanistan.

DHP Family

Ben has been working in live music for the independent national promoter DHP Family for almost two decades. He is the lead booker on Bearded Theory festival (a 15,000 capacity camping festival in Derbyshire) and part of the team programming Dot to Dot festival (a 5,000 capacity multi-venue festival in Bristol and Nottingham). He is also a national promoter organising shows and tours throughout the UK.

Singer-Songwriter

Folk and traditional Irish singer-songwriter Bernadette Morris is an engaging performer who takes audiences on an emotional journey with a repertoire of songs that speak from and to the heart. With a captivating story to introduce every number, Bernadette draws in and charms her audience – a gift that is matched only by her wonderful voice once the song begins.

Bernadette is not only an extremely talented singer, performer, fiddle player and entertainer, she is also an exceptional songwriter. Ten years on from the release of her critically acclaimed debut album ‘All the Ways you Wander’ at the CQAF, Bernadette has released her latest album” To the Well for Water” recorded with Ben McAuley. The recording has an array of talented musicians including Seán Óg Graham and Gerard Thompson on guitar. The album is a stunning mix of self-penned songs and co-writes with Johnny Brady, Declan Sinnott, Cormac Neeson and Matt McGinn, amongst others. This album was longlisted and considered for Folk Album of the Year in the Grammys® 2023.

The album comes after 4 singles launched in 20/21, including co writes with stellar members of the Irish music scene Eleanor McEvoy, Ríoghnach Connolly and Arborist’s Mark McCambridge, which garnered radio play nationally and internationally including Playlisting on RTE Radio 1 and plays on the Mark Radcliffe Folk Show on Radio 2 and BBC & TG4 television appearances. Bernadette was named by Hotpress Magazine as ‘One to Watch’, and rightly so.

RTÉ

Beta Da Silva is a Radio Broadcaster & Voiceover Artist on RTE 2FM. Beta worked up through the ranks in the RTE beginning in the digital radio station RTE Pulse in 2016 where he presented a Hip-Hop & RnB music show. From 2021 he moved on to 2FM where he took over as the presenter for Weekend Breakfast.

As of 2023, Beta has been in the hot seat as the official presenter for “The New Music Show” where he shares the most recent fresh singles from around the world, dives into full length album breakdowns, news on upcoming projects & gigs as well as Takeover shows with your favourite Irish and international acts.

You can check out “The New Music Show with Beta Da Silva” Mondays - Fridays from 6pm on RTE 2FM.

MPG

Cameron is a two time Grammy award-winning Producer-Mixer-Engineer. A hugely impressive credit list notably also includes several albums with U.N.K.L.E., along with names like Adele, Annie Lennox, Bjork, Tina Turner, Baxter Dury, Grace Jones, Joe Strummer, Duffy, Amy Winehouse and many more.

His work has encompasses an enormous spectrum of musical styles including indie, dance, film soundtrack and orchestral recording, picking up a Grammy award for ""Album of the Year"" for his part in recording Adele's 25 and collecting another Grammy award for ""Best Engineered - Non classical” in 2008 for his contribution to the Suzanne Vega album Beauty and Crime also recording the orchestra on Duffy's Grammy and Brit award-winning Rockferry album.

Other notable accolades are Grammy nominations for Annie Lennox’s Nostalgia album that he mixed, Bjork’s Biophilia album that he recorded a track on, a nomination for MPG’s Recording Engineer of the Year 2015.

Having started out in his native Australia he achieved great success with many multi-platinum albums and a nomination for ARIA Engineer of the year in 1995 to his name. it is then Cameron decided to move to the UK to further his career.

Cameron is an Executive Director of the MPG and sits on the board of UK music representing the MPG to the wider music community.

The Anchorees / Songwriter

Catherine Anne Davies is a Welsh producer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. As The Anchoress, she writes, plays and self-produces every element of her records, with two studio albums nominated for the Welsh Music Prize and named Album of the Year by outlets from The Sunday Times to Record Collector, with Elton John naming The Art of Losing among his favourites. A three-time Music Producers Guild Awards nominee and winner of a PRS Writer/Producer Award, her most recent album, As We Once Were, hit the UK Top Ten Album charts. She has made collaborative albums with Bernard Butler and Paul Statham and spent five years as a member of legendary Scottish band Simple Minds. Catherine is a Senator for the Ivors Academy and board member of the Featured Artists Coalition.

Ben Goddard & Ross Cullen

Musicians Union

For the last 23 years Charlene has worked to give power to working musicians in Northern Ireland. In her role at Musicians Union she works to support members in their work and to advocate for dignified working conditions for musicians.

Oh Yeah Music Centre

Charlotte Dryden is Chief Executive of the award winning Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast and has worked across music and the creative industries for over 20 years. She is a strong advocate for developing and strengthening Northern Ireland’s music sector, supporting grassroots and emerging talent, and bridging gaps in music education and access. Charlotte leads initiatives including the NI Music Prize and Sound of Belfast, and played a key role in Belfast’s successful designation as a UNESCO City of Music.

EmuBands

Chris is a Glasgow-based music professional working at the intersection of artist development, digital distribution and festival programming. In his role in Artist Relations at EmuBands, he supports independent artists and labels worldwide in navigating the digital music landscape and releasing music effectively.

Alongside his work in distribution, Chris runs the folk and roots label and promotions company Holy Smokes Records, manages artists including Alice Faye, and programmes stages for Eden Festival, where he curates diverse line-ups spanning emerging and international talent. His work is grounded in grassroots music culture and a practical, artist-first approach across multiple areas of the industry.

CMU

Chris Cooke is co-Founder and MD of CMU, a company that helps people navigate and understand the music business. It does this through media like the CMU Daily bulletin and Setlist podcast; a consultancy unit and training business; and a future talent programme.

Chris regularly writes, talks, teaches and consults about the music industry, and wrote the ‘Dissecting The Digital Dollar’ book and ‘Music Copyright Explained’ guide.

Chris also pursues other projects via UnLimited Media, through which he also publishes cultural media ThisWeek Culture and ThreeWeeks at the Edinburgh Festival; and helped launch PR training charity the Taylor Bennett Foundation.

Anthem Vinyl

Chris leads commercial and digital functions at Anthem Vinyl, with responsibility for driving sales performance and revenue growth across the business. His role centres on commercial strategy, customer engagement, and expanding their presence in key markets.

He oversees the full sales function, spearheads new business development, and strengthens relationships with customers, distributors, and strategic partners. In addition to his commercial remit, Chris also leads their digital, social, and ecommerce initiatives, ensuring their online presence and digital channels support the company’s wider growth ambitions.

Soil To The Sun Recordings

I work across A&R and marketing at Soil To The Sun. We are a label focused on alternative/rock music. It’s a really varied role where I get to wear a lot of different hats, working closely with the artists on our roster throughout their entire campaign journey, from A&R to digital strategy and creative. I’m also naturally at a million gigs, which is a pretty great part of the job.

Trailer Music Composer

Ciarán Birch is a composer and music producer specialising in high-impact music for global media, film, and television. Best known for crafting cinematic tracks for major Hollywood marketing campaigns, his work has backed high-profile blockbuster trailers including Avengers: Doomsday, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and The Odyssey.

​Beyond the silver screen, Ciarán’s production music catalogue is a mainstay across international television, featuring heavily on networks including the BBC, ITV, Sky, RTÉ, Paramount, E4, CBBC, ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, ProSieben, and SAT.1. His tracks provide the dramatic sonic backdrop for many of prime-time TV’s biggest shows, including The Grand Tour, The Voice, Survivor, Big Brother, Married At First Sight, Ireland's Fittest Family, Next Top Model, The Biggest Loser, My Kitchen Rules, and The Taste.

Composer

Claire Batchelor has composed for a huge variety of projects including ""Field of Vampires"" Sky / PBS, ""Fiennes Return to the Wild"" for Nat Geo / Disney / Woodcut Media, BBC One’s ‘Gentleman Jack Changed My Life’, BBC Three's The TikTok Effect, an arrangement for ITV’s ‘The Masked Singer’, original music for ‘Chateau DIY’ for Phase Music / Channel 4 and ‘The Wonderful World of Puppies’ for Zinc Media / Channel 5, alongside many independent documentaries and short films across drama, thrillers and comedy.

Claire has been part of the BAFTA Jury in the Original Music Category, judge for the Ivor Novello Awards Best Television Soundtrack Category, RTS West awards and sits on the IVORS Academy Media Committee and PRS LCAG. Claire is a BAFTA Connect member.

Claire’s music has been used in a multitude of international programmes including BBC News, ITV News, BBC Royal Wedding coverage, This Morning, Lorraine, Good Morning Britain, Horizon, Panorama, MasterChef, Dragons Den, Location, Location, Location, Gogglebox, Mary Berry’s Quick Cooking, The Apprentice, Big Brother, Neighbours, Hollyoaks andCoronation Street. Work for brands and commercials include Google, Disney, McDonald’s, American Express, NatWest, Ribena, Majestic Wine, Curry’s PC World and Sky Movies.

Claire plays guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin, keyboard, percussion and sings. She graduated in Music Composition for Professional Media with First Class Honors in 2007.

Orange Amplifiers, Sustainable Music Education

Cliff Cooper is a seasoned entrepreneur with a proven track record of successfully steering new companies towards growth through innovation. His advocacy for sustainable equal access to education and qualifications has helped shape the music education industry. His father Cliff Cooper invented the iconic Orange Guitar Amplifiers and father and son still manage the Orange Company business. Cliff through another one of his companies 'The Learning Machine' is helping 1000's of women and girls in Afghanistan remotely access education including music and arts.