Personally based in London, although the company also has offices in Berlin, Stockholm, Dublin and Brighton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I work as an agent at the live booking agency Pitch & Smith<\/a>. We look after the live booking for our roster of artists, working with them to develop their live career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This morning I put on the Thomas Ad\u00e8s recording \u2018Ad\u00e8s\u2019 Conducts Ad\u00e8s\u2019 from last year which is nice morning music, but moved on to Buzzcocks in the shower. Taylor Swift\u2019s \u2018evermore\u2019 has been my work soundtrack but right now listening to lots of MF DOOM :(. Been listening to Wipers the most in 2021, probably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From as many different ways as I can! Largely through recommendations from friends and colleagues as there tends to be more there that I wouldn\u2019t have otherwise come across. Plus they know their own scenes so intimately they\u2019re usually the first in the know. If a friend posts a song on their social media feed I try and listen to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently all the end of the year lists have been good, I try to check as many of those out as I can. NPR\u2019s was particularly interesting for 2020, where I heard that Thomas Ades record in fact. I try and get down early to check the supports at shows as well, although not been much of that in the last 12 months!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I suppose mostly streaming services because it\u2019s the most convenient for when I\u2019m doing other things, although I do try and listen to whole records rather than just top tracks etc. I do buy physical where I can as I think there\u2019s a real art to the physical product that I miss with downloads, and I want to support the artists. The Bandcamp Fridays in 2020 prompted me in that respect too, got a few zines and exclusive downloads which was fun. Radio, particularly NTS, has been a good source of stuff outside my comfort zone recently too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I listen to music pretty much everywhere! We have a small bluetooth speaker at home which I use in the kitchen or shower, and we have a wireless speaker and record player set up in the living room. When I\u2019m working, travelling or commuting I have some bluetooth headphones (not having to mess around with tangled wires changed my life) and just some small earphones for running. I do like to purposely spend time walking or travelling not listening to music though as it\u2019s nice to have some brain space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the perks of the job is that we get to hear a lot of music before it\u2019s released, which tends to come through managers, labels, PR etc. But first plays on radio are really useful. I also do some production work with BBC Introducing and those regional Introducing shows are really a treasure trove of amazing, brand new music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hate how reliant I am on streaming and how weighted against artists it is. I do pay for my streaming services but I know it\u2019s not enough. I am a bit of an anorak so I miss the collecting aspect of it too. I\u2019m also not so keen on how the recommendation features don\u2019t really give you anything outside your comfort zone, that being said I have discovered some of my favourite new bands through those same features, ha!<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I hate how reliant I am on streaming and how weighted against artists it is. I do pay for my streaming services but I know it\u2019s not enough.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n I make a playlist at the start of every year for the best new music of that year. Every new release I listen to that I like I move it into that playlist so I can go back and revisit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Yes totally! Thankfully that\u2019s quite a large part of my job, but really the reason I wanted to work in music was because I wanted to help the bands I love by sharing their music with as many people as possible. Now that mostly means sharing their music with managers, promoters, labels etc. so I do it as much as I can. Mostly just through ongoing conversations I have with friends and colleagues. Also I always make sure to compile an end of year list!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well any of the bands on the Pitch & Smith<\/a> roster deserve your time, very proud to work alongside all of them. Death By Unga Bunga<\/a>, LICE<\/a>, LIME<\/a>, Home Counties<\/a>, Yung<\/a> and Zooni<\/a> are all acts I\u2019m particularly close to who all have really incredible new music coming out in 2021 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"template":"","tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat are you listening to?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do you discover new music?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What formats do you usually listen to? LP, CD, Cassette, Digital, Streaming Services? Why?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Where do you do most of your music listening?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do you find and listen to pre-release music?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What are your frustrations with listening to music digitally? Any benefits?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do you keep track of everything you are listening to?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Do you tip other people off to new music? How?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Anything you want to \u201cpromote\u201d?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n