Meet the Members

Denise Allan – Director, 677 Media Management

A bit about you:  I am a Director at 677 Media Management and we have been in business for 14 years. Our clients include Glasvegas, Freakwave, Lamaya, Cherry and Steph Johnstone.

Greatest career success to date: Taking Glasvegas to platinum success with over 300,000 album sales in the UK.

Most significant challenge: The lines between personal life and professional life can be easily blurred. It’s ingrained in the culture to be accessible 24/7 but it’s not sustainable. I’m still grappling with how best to look after my mental well being and have a more balanced work/life relationship.

Women’s Day Shoutout: Honestly, it’s my kids nursery in Dennistoun, Glasgow! Sorry tha’ts quite UN-RocknRoll, but without their understanding and early support there would be no management career for me. I am forever grateful.

If you could make 1 change in how the music industry supports women, what would it be? In big bold writing TARGETED SUPPORT FOR MOTHERS!!! So they stop having to choose either to be a parent or having a career in music.

Hopes for the future (for you or for women in music more generally):  Like the rest of the UK women are underrepresented in Scotland too. There are 2 maybe 3 other full time female music managers that have children. My dream is that one day I’ll turn up to a showcase in Glasgow and recognise a great plethora of fellow female (or those who identify as female) music industry executives and live crew in the venue. All different ages, filling the room with perfume, high pitched chatter and big bouncy hair.

Jackie Davidson- Founder and Director,  JD Management

A bit about you: I’ve been a manager for quite some time now, nurturing and developing careers for a range of talented creatives in the industry, including artists, producers and songwriters. I run JD Management and our current roster includes prolific songwriter Wayne Hector, multi-faceted artist Samm Henshaw, the wonderfully creative duo WESLEE, the incredible songwriter and producer Josh Grant and the versatile songwriter Emma DD. We also have a couple of other creatives in development. 

Greatest career success to date: I’d say my biggest success/achievement is what I’ve built with Wayne Hector. I’ve been blessed to have worked with him over the years and our growth together has been really humbling and exciting.

Most significant challenge: The lack of opportunities for women generally across the industry is something I’ve had to deal with since I joined the business, and more specifically the lack of opportunities for black women. I have seen privilege afforded to others that was not extended to myself, and I have been overlooked for things as a result. For this reason I’ve taken it upon myself to promote and encourage diversity/inclusion in the industry wherever I can, so that things are fairer, regardless of your gender and regardless of the colour of your skin. 

Women’s Day Shoutout:  I’m fortunate and blessed to know all 4 of these wonderful ladies:

Sylvia Rhone, who has paved the way for so many black women with what she has accomplished, she’s powerful, she’s a woman of integrity, and is an encyclopaedia of the business. She’s a real trailblazer and an inspiration to many, including myself. Dyana Williams is a pioneer and an award-winning powerhouse who I’m grateful to call her a friend. She’s helped me to understand the importance of my voice and how I can instil inspiration into others myself.  Ethiopia Habtemariam has had an incredible journey and it’s amazing to see her recent promotion to Chairman and CEO of Motown Records.  Shani Gonzales has an incredible business mentality with limitless A&R skills and knowledge. She’s a real dealmaker and has an amazing eye for talent across all genres. We have some powerful black women in America and it would be amazing for the UK business to follow suit.

If you could make 1 change in how the music industry supports women, what would it be? It would be great to see an equal and level playing field. I feel that opportunities should be open to all and based on merit before anything else, and in conjunction with this, it’s important for us to pay women correctly so we can reduce the gender pay gap. It is time for us to nurture women behind the scenes in creating music; we should shine a spotlight on the female songwriters and female producers out there, and provide them with the right opportunities to grow and build successful careers.

 Hopes for the future (for you or for women in music more generally):  I’d love to see more women in more influential positions across the various aspects of the industry – whether it’s publishing, producing, DSPs, songwriting, radio plugging, managing, booking, or elsewhere.

Jill Hollywood – Founder and Managing Director, Echo Beach Management

A bit about you: Echo Beach Management is a busy and successful management company, guiding the careers of writers, producers and engineers. We represent some globally successful producers – Jacknife Lee/ Cam Blackwood/ MyRiot / Chris Zane / Ash Workman as well as some of the best and most successful mix engineers such as Ash Howes and Dave Bascombe. I am also extremely proud to represent Lorna Blackwood who is an incredible vocal producer and works with some of the biggest names in pop – Dua Lipa, Ellie Goulding, George Ezra, Mabel etc. We work with a diverse range of talent but are always looking to collaborate with artists who prioritise pushing the boundaries of pop music, rather than chasing chart success.

Greatest career success to date: Setting up my own company in 2016 was hugely challenging but really rewarding. Prior to that I had always worked for someone else and was lucky enough to work with real visionaries like the late Jazz Summers at Big Life. I learnt a lot during those years but working for yourself and being able to steer your ship whichever way you want is the best! The other thing I am proud of is how long I have been working with my clients – some of them for over 15 years. It’s been a real privilege to share their successes and navigate a path through the tougher times.

Most significant challenge: Definitely getting established as a music professional when I first started working for record companies. I was scouting for a major publisher and then a large indie for 8 years (prior to management) and it was tough to be taken seriously. This was back in the late 90s and there was definitely a whiff of a masculine work culture at an executive level. It’s been great to see brilliant female executives like Rebecca Allen, Kim Franciewisz and Alison Donald reaching top levels at major corporations.

Women’s Day Shoutout: Having a posse of super smart female managers around me that I can bounce ideas off and ask questions when I’m unsure of a scenario is a godsend! Sandy Dworniak, Hannah Joseph, Celia McCamley, Polly Comber, Vicky Dowdall are all amazingly creative and so hardworking. Watching their successes is always inspiring to me.

If you could make 1 change in how the music industry supports women, what would it be? Definitely having more women running companies. At the risk of sounding sexist (!), it seems to me that women have a more holistic approach to managing their teams. Issues of juggling childcare with work in the music business are really demanding as you are expected to work long hours and lots of evenings. For women to be able to rise up through the ranks they will need support through their 30s and 40s when they have young children and having a boss that has experienced that juggle and is willing to accommodate that is vital.

Hopes for the future (for you or for women in music more generally): To see a lot more women producers and mixers coming through. Currently they represent about 2% of the gene pool which is terrible. Technology has really helped democratise the production process and there are some incredible female artists that are producing their own records now… FKA Twigs, Christine & The Queens, King Princess, Maggie Rogers, Saint Vincent to name a few. It’s going to be exciting to see some of them transition to producing records for other artists. 

Phoebe Gold – Music Manager

A bit about you: I’m Phoebe Gold, a 26 year old music manager from London. I’ve been working in management for about 3 years now, although I studied music at university and have been really invested in the industry for almost 6 years. I founded my own management company in 2019. My roster consists of an upcoming artist called tendai, a producer/DJ called Tommy Gold and an emerging Bay Area artist called kezia.

Greatest career success to date: The answer to this is forever changing! I think, at this moment in time, it’s been getting to a place in my career that I’m now able to only work with artists whose music I really love. I listen to their music out of choice! I’ve paid my dues of working in different genres of music to learn the ropes and get a well-rounded view on the industry, but I feel like it’s a big achievement to be building something of my own with artists whose music and talent genuinely brings me joy.

Most significant challenge:  The music industry is definitely still a boys’ club. Women are making amazing moves to rise up the ranks, but harassment and misogyny are still rife. I was sexually assaulted by someone who worked in music when I started out in the industry, and when I eventually acknowledged it publicly, the response from women was amazing, but it was met with silence from almost all of the men who I know. The majority would prefer to turn a blind eye. 

Women’s Day Shoutout: My lawyer, Olivia Aikins. She never makes me feel stupid for asking her hundreds of questions and supports me professionally and emotionally in everything I do. 

If you could make 1 change in how the music industry supports women, what would it be? Consequences for misogynoir. Consequences for racism. Consequences for misogyny. Consequences for sexual assault. Women have historically had to learn to live with these things in this industry because they’re so common. That shouldn’t be our norm anymore. 

Hopes for the future (for you or for women in music more generally): More women at the top. More women managers. In my mind, it makes the most sense for artists to be managed by people who can relate to them. I’d love for there to be a new generation of young black female managers; it’s our time.