The New Bosses 2024: Raven Twigg, ASM Global

The 17th edition of IQ Magazine’s New Bosses, in association with Futures Forum, was revealed in IQ 129, recognising 20 of the most promising 30-and-unders in the international live music business.

To get to know this year’s class a little better, IQ conducted interviews with each one of 2024’s New Bosses, discovering their greatest inspirations and pinpointing the reasons for their success.

Raven started her career in 2012 as a freelance music blogger, before taking on a part-time position in customer services at Manchester Arena. There, she became a bookings assistant, before moving south to join Metropolis Music as assistant to MD Raye Cosbert. Raven was festival coordinator for the annual Somerset House Summer Series and Cloud X Festival, but now, back in booking mode, she is currently programming a number of UK arenas for ASM Global.  

Your passion for music obviously drove you to be a blogger and to get a foot in the door at Manchester Arena. What advice would you give to teenage Raven now, given your experience of working in the business?
Teenage Raven is almost unrecognisable to me now, I would tell her that life doesn’t just present opportunities, you must grab them with both hands and never be afraid to throw your hat in the ring.

You are a volunteer advisor to the UNICEF Music Group. What does that entail and what is the aim of the group?
Being a voluntary advisor for UNICEF Music Group means that I offer my time and utilise my professional relationships to create ways in which the music industry can raise vital funds for the UNICEF Children’s Emergency Fund. I was privileged to be able to visit the supply warehouse in Copenhagen last year and it was completely sobering to see the amount of work they do, and the vast amount of aid needed for children stuck in conflict and in crisis all over the world. It was certainly a contrast to then return to tour rehearsals at AO Arena the next day that’s for sure…

Having worked for a promoter operation for a few years, you returned to the venue world last year. How does that experience help you in your day-to-day work as a programming manager?
After my five years in promoting world, I have been able to take a promoter insight with me to ASM Global. I better understand the concerns with the pricing of tours, which decisions lead to booking specific venues over others, and the best decisions for different artists. I also gained an understanding of the relationships between international touring, promoters, agents, and managers which I didn’t really have too much of an insight of before joining Metropolis Music.

My job at ASM Global is to keep our portfolio of UK venues booked and busy as well as fairly representing the promoter with each of our venue teams to ensure everything is smooth sailing from the initial avails request to the night of the show. Understanding the industry politics and flexibility of our industry is invaluable and I will forever be grateful for everything my time working at Metropolis has taught me.

“Life doesn’t just present opportunities, you must grab them with both hands and never be afraid to throw your hat in the ring”

In terms of expanding your network of contacts, are there any events, platforms or forums you attend that you would recommend to others?
On the conference front, I always try to attend The Great Escape and ILMC and I’ve been both a mentee and mentor at Futures Forum and I do find this to be tangible. I remember having a mentor session with Emma Bownes and discovering that she went to Hull University and, with me being a Grimsby girl, I felt really inspired to have that connection to the North with someone of her level.

Festivals are also a great place to mingle with names behind the emails and even just attending gigs and making sure to check in with people who may be there in advance so you can say hello in that setting, however this can of course be more costly. Women Connect UK, and She Said So events were helpful for me when I first moved to London, they’re free or pay-what-you-can events, and you meet so many like-minded peers in those rooms.

What has been the highlight of your career, so far?
I have to say, being stood outside Björk’s dressing room at The O2 was an absolute ‘pinch me’ moment. To then see her show transform the arena into this eclectic spectacle was surreal. Raven, from Grimsby, worked on a show with Björk, at The O2 Arena? That sentence still doesn’t compute in my brain.

Also working across shows with Tyler, the Creator after lawyers worked tirelessly to have his visa ban revoked so he could visit the UK again and sell-out three nights at Brixton Academy in minutes. Working on tours with queer icons and allies Charli XCX, St. Vincent, Jessie Ware, Kaytranada, and Janelle Monae, as well as working with Raye ahead of her BRITs success is priceless.

What events or tours are you most looking forward to in the year ahead?
Ah! There are so many. Maggie Rogers at Hackney Empire, Garbage at OVO Arena Wembley, Chappell Roan at O2 Academy Brixton, Charli XCX at The O2 – I can barely contain myself. I am unashamedly a Swiftie so I’m looking forward to seeing the show at Wembley Stadium in August. And I’m hoping to go to All Things Go festival in New York in September. That line-up… *chefs kiss*. I have to say, Troye Sivan’s most recent Arena tour was outstanding, we were lucky enough to have the show at AO Arena Manchester and OVO Arena Wembley.

“Being stood outside Björk’s dressing room at The O2 was an absolute ‘pinch me’ moment”

Before you started in music, did you know about roles such as programming managers? If so, how did you find out? And if not, likewise, how did you discover that such jobs existed?
Absolutely not. The sole reason I ended up programming was because my manager at the time, Miriam Stone, director of operations at AO Arena Manchester, refused to let me give up my arena host role when I was offered a job elsewhere back in 2016. She didn’t want to see me go so put in a good word for me in the central bookings department and the rest is history. I’m so pleased that I get to work with Miriam and the team again now I’ve rejoined ASM Global, some of the people in our Manchester HQ have known me from being a 19-year-old, hungover student. It’s remarkable they have any respect for me at all, haha!

You’re obviously enjoying learning about the business as your career progresses. How would you encourage the next generation to choose the live music sector for their chosen career path?
I would say if you had an interest in music and/or live events in general then look at your strengths. My strengths were writing and networking. So, I wrote about music and made sure to get to know everyone I could in each department at a venue to truly understand their roles. There are so many roles within the live music industry which go unnoticed but without the tour accountants, marketing execs, graphic designers, production crews, sound techs, event managers etc… then none of this would be possible.

Do you have a mentor, or anyone you rely on to bounce ideas off?
I couldn’t make it through this article without mentioning what a mentor Raye Cosbert has been to me over the years. I know that I could still pick up the phone to him any time and he would help me where he could (I think he’s forgiven me for leaving him now!) and he comes to me for advice with the queer artists he represents and has ideas for, which I really love.

More recently Brian Celler and James Harrison have been so supportive of me in my new role as senior programming manager and really put me on a pedestal. They come to me for my input and champion me in ways I’ve never known in my career to date and it’s given me the confidence to really excel in my role. I learn a lot from them and I’m looking forward to seeing how my career progresses during my time at ASM Global with both Brian and James to look up to!

And of course, my partner, Kelly Piercy. She’s a senior producer at Show and Tell Comedy and learning how comedy and podcast events can vary with music is insightful for my role with ASM Global. We both learned the ropes of promoting and touring through being promoter assistants and watching her thrive in her industry inspires me every single day. She offers me advice and support in a way that brings out the best in me and for that, I am forever grateful.

As a New Boss, what one thing would you change to make the live entertainment industry a better place?
The one thing I would change would be the lack of diversity and inclusion in higher positions. I’m keen to see a more inclusive picture dominating the industry. Having inspiring women to look up to like Lucy Dickins who has always made time for me, is super important to me and I don’t doubt that it is for other women as they tackle the ranks of this unequal, male-dominated industry.

As a proud, queer woman myself, I’m excited about the LGBTQ+ movement happening in pop music right now. Seeing Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, MUNA, Troye Sivan, Renée Rapp, Phoebe Bridgers, Lil Nas X, Ethel Cain, Kaytranada, Kim Petras and likes dominating the charts is a HUGE step in the right direction.

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