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The LGBTIQ+ List 2024 – IQ Magazine’s fourth annual celebration of queer professionals who make an immense impact in the international live music business – has been revealed.
The ever-popular list is the centrepiece of IQ’s fourth Pride edition, sponsored by Ticketmaster, which is now available to read online and in print for subscribers.
To get to know this year’s queer pioneers a little better, we interviewed each of them on the development of the industry, the challenges that are keeping them up at night and more.
Throughout the next month, IQ will publish a new interview each day. Catch up on yesterday’s interview with Buğra Davaslıgil (he/they), a senior booker and talent buyer at Charmenko in Türkiye.
The series continues with Caterina Conti (she/her), an operations manager at 432 Presents in Glasgow, Scotland.
Caterina grew up in Imola, a small town near Bologna in Italy. Her journey with music started at the age of nine, and she started her first band aged 14. Since then, music has been her unwavering companion. Conti attended higher education at the University of Bologna, studying Management and Marketing, juggling studies with gigs. After graduation, she moved to the UK to follow her passion for music.
In 2016, Conti pursued a Master’s in International Events Management in Glasgow. Post-graduation, she worked in the hospitality industry, swiftly moving to management roles in different venues across Glasgow. In 2018, Conti started her journey at 432 Present as an intern for 6 months and then started working as a show rep.
The pandemic halted live music until late summer 2021. In autumn 2021, Conti started to work in live music again, stepping into the role of operations manager for a few festivals. Since November 2021, she’s been working full-time as operations manager at 432 Presents, overseeing the company’s day-to-day operations and ensuring that budgets are balanced and targets met.
Tell us about the professional feat you’re most PROUD of in 2024 so far.
We do a lot at our office, lots of different projects to be proud of, but what satisfies me more is the positivity in our team. My role is about managing our team and making sure the spirits are high to deal with stressful situations. A friendly work environment with staff that supports each other is extremely valuable to me and I am very proud of being part of it!
“The crisis of the grassroots music venues is real and is impacting our jobs and the music industry”
You moved from your hometown of Bologna to Glasgow – what attracted you to Glasgow’s music scene?
The British music scene has always inspired me. Many of my favourite bands are from the UK, and I’ve always aspired to immerse myself in this world. Glasgow stood out as the perfect fit for me. It’s energy, an endless array of activities, and the promise of live music every single night.
Coming from a very different musical landscape in my hometown, Glasgow’s scene felt like a breath of fresh air. The abundance of intimate venues and the sheer talent of local artists made it an irresistible choice. It was clear to me that I had to become part of this community of passionate music enthusiasts and advocates.
As a local promoter, what are the most pressing challenges you’re facing?
We are a small independent promoter company organising some 700-900 events a year and operating two grassroots music venues in The Hug and Pint and The Voodoo Rooms. Alongside most small businesses, we are facing very challenging circumstances operating in these economic conditions. Rates and costs are higher every year, without any financial help from anyone. The crisis of the grassroots music venues is real and is impacting our jobs and the music industry. As a local promoter, we try our best to keep smaller venues alive and full of amazing acts, making sure that those stages for upcoming artists are protected. I’m proud to spend most of my time building resilience into our organisations so that we will be around for many years to come.
“By creating an environment where all employees feel valued and respected regardless of their background, the industry can become a more equitable and welcoming workplace”
How do you see the live music business developing in the next few years?
The fundamental demand for quality live music has never been stronger as more and more artists at the highest level present maxed-out ticket prices. The developing section of the market will become increasingly price-sensitive with a focus on the quality of artists and venues. The challenge will be to be able to meet the demand and manage to keep alive the grass music venues where smaller artists start.
Name one thing the industry could do to be a more equitable place.
I think actively promoting and hiring individuals from underrepresented groups, creating safe spaces for marginalized voices and implementing policies that combat discrimination and bias. By creating an environment where all employees feel valued and respected regardless of their background, the industry can become a more equitable and welcoming workplace. I think there has been a great effort to have minorities represented in the music industry but there is still a lot to be done to wipe out the patriarchy. The top executives of the largest music companies are still mostly men and mostly white (mostly straight).
“Coming from a very different musical landscape in my hometown, Glasgow’s scene felt like a breath of fresh air”
Is there a queer act that you’re itching to see live this year?
I think it’s going to be Lambrini Girls again! I’ve had the pleasure of catching their act before, even sharing the stage with them alongside my band, BIN JUICE, during their Glasgow gig. Great energy and super fun band! The party does not stop with them! Their infectious energy and mad performance never fail to leave a lasting impression. It’s always a blast with them!
Do you have a favourite queer space in Glasgow?
There are a few queer safe spaces in Glasgow. The majority are also great small music venues. My favourites are The Hug and Pint in the Westend, Rum Shack Southside, and for late-night dance Stereo in town.
How do you plan to celebrate Pride this year?
I just bought a house with my partner, so we will celebrate by having a barbeque in our garden with our friends hopefully on a sunny day in Glasgow!
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IQ Magazine has revealed the LGBTIQ+ List 2024 – the fourth annual celebration of queer professionals who make an immense impact in the international live music business.
The list is once again the centrepiece of IQ’s annual Pride edition, sponsored by Ticketmaster, which is now available to read online and in print for subscribers.
The 20 individuals comprising the LGBTIQ+ List 2024 – as nominated by our readers and verified by our esteemed steering committee – are individuals that have gone above and beyond to wave the flag for an industry that we can all be proud of.
The fourth instalment comprises agents, promoters, venue directors, bookers, consultants, sustainability experts, talent buyers, managers and sound engineers from across the world.
In alphabetical order, the LGBTIQ+ List 2024 is:
Anna Sjölund, EU programming director, ASM Global (SE)
Ary Maudit, sound engineer/producer, RAK Studios/Strongroom/Saffron Records (UK)
Buğra Davaslıgıl, senior talent buyer, Charmenko (TR)
Caterina Conti, operations manager, 432 Presents (UK)
Chris May, general manager, BC Place Stadium (CA)
Dustin Turner, music marketing agent, music touring, CAA (US)
Emma Davis, general manager/agent, One Fiinix Live (UK)
Gwen Iffland, senior marketing & PR manager, Wizard Live (DE)
Jason Brotman, founder, Five Senses Reeling (US)
Joona Juutilainen, Booking Assistant, Fullsteam Agency (FI)
Luke Mulligan, director, Circa 41 (AU)
Paul Lomas, booker, WME (UK)
Pembe Tokluhan, production/founder/diversity consultant, Petok Productions (UK)
Priscilla Nagashima, VP of engineering, DICE (UK)
Rhys France, corporate & private events booker, CAA (UK)
Rivca Burns, acting head of music, Factory International (UK)
Ross Patel, green impact consultant & board member, LIVE/MMF (UK)
Sam Oldham, venue director, The O2 (UK)
Sam Booth, director of sustainability, AEG Europe (UK)
Zoe Maras, founder & artist services, Joyride Agency (NZ)
Throughout Pride Month (June), IQ will be publishing full-length interviews with each person on the LGBTIQ+ List 2024.
However, subscribers can read the full Pride edition now. Click here to subscribe to IQ from just £8 a month – or see what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below.
Check out previous Pride lists from 2023, 2022 and 2021.
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Let’s talk about Scottish independence. We’re referring, obviously, to Gerry Cinnamon, the staunchly indie, Glaswegian guitar-basher who has packed a career’s worth of touring milestones into the past two or three years.
There was the pair of sold-out shows at Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom in 2017 – the first unsigned artist to manage such a feat. Then Cinnamon really went up in the world, with two Christmas 2019 gigs at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro and one at Aberdeen’s 15,000-capacity P&J Arena – the biggest indoor show ever in Scotland. And, surely capping it all off, next summer’s show at Hampden Park: 50,000 tickets… all long gone.
“He grew up literally a stone’s throw away from Hampden, in Castlemilk,” says Geoff Ellis, CEO of DF Concerts. “We sold it out in a day.”
The fact that Cinnamon has also quickly converted local-hero status into arena-filling UK and Ireland success underscores Scotland’s status as a rigorous proving ground for its own artists, of whom he and Lewis Capaldi, are just the latest to break in a big way.
“If you go down well here, you are not going to be too shabby when you go out in the rest of the world,” theorises Hold Fast Entertainment’s Donald MacLeod, who operates Glasgow venues the Cathouse and the Garage.
Scotland in 2020 isn’t necessarily an easy place to get ahead, but it is bursting with local talent, busy promoters and full venues. The nation’s live industry added £431 million to the broader economy last year and sustained 4,300 full-time jobs, as well as drawing 1.1m music tourists – a jump of 38% from 2017 [source: UK Music].
Scotland in 2020 isn’t necessarily an easy place to get ahead, but it is bursting with local talent, busy promoters and full venues
There are all sorts of storylines in the wider drama of Scotland’s live music business. Edinburgh is on the up, with the tantalising prospect of an arena on the horizon at last. Glasgow, traditionally a supercharged music city with a perpetual tendency to steal the thunder of the more genteel capital, a 45-minute journey away, still does the business, but it isn’t having its best moment after losing the pivotal O2 ABC to a devastating fire last year.
Meanwhile, the festival scene evolves – out with T in the Park, in with TRNSMT and others. The Highlands, islands and notable towns and cities work hard to make the case that there is life outside the Central Belt. And Scotland’s thriving trad scene makes the case that there is more to life than pop.
But still the talent keeps coming. “We are not short of talent and bands coming up. We punch well above our weight,” says MacLeod.
Biffy Clyro, Franz Ferdinand, Calvin Harris, Young Fathers, Chvrches, Paolo Nutini, Amy Macdonald and Tom Walker have all attested to that in recent years, and Scottish venue calendars are reliably stuffed with local favourites: Capaldi, Simple Minds, Texas and Deacon Blue at the SSE Hydro this year; Jesus & Mary Chain and The Twilight Sad at Barrowlands; Edwyn Collins and Susan Boyle at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall.
And new artists, too: “Walt Disco, Slow Readers Club, Tamzene, The Snuts, The Dunts – are all selling out venues above 1,000-cap,” says Ellis. “We have got a really good, healthy scene at club level and that gets people engaged a bit more in terms of live music.”
“We have got a really good, healthy scene at club level and that gets people engaged a bit more in terms of live music”
Promoters
You might imagine Scottish promoters were a tough, rivalrous bunch, but a photo tweeted by Donald MacLeod in December was a picture of harmony: the key figures from DF Concerts, Regular Music, PCL Presents and Triple G, smiling on the fairway at Loch Lomond Golf Club at an away-day put on by SSE Hydro.
“Aye, that was a good laugh,” says MacLeod, who in addition to his Glasgow clubs is a director of promoter Triple G, chair of Nordoff-Robbins Scotland and a columnist for The Sunday Post. “It’s a lot of promoters for the size of the market. But we all get on well. We are not bitter rivals, we are frenemies. We will all, at times, work with each other.”
Glasgow-based DF, part of LN-Gaiety Investments since 2008, is Scotland’s largest promoter, proprietor of the three-year-old TRNSMT at Glasgow Green, and the Summer Sessions series in Edinburgh and Glasgow each August, as well as shows from club- to stadium-level, and the celebrated King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut on St Vincent Street in Glasgow.
“2019 was a great year for us as a business,” says Ellis. “I think it was great for the market generally in Scotland. But it’s not easy – you have to get the pricing right, and you have to really work it. Scotland is only five million people. If you are doing a show at the Hydro, you are selling to all of Scotland.”
There are numerous independents, including PCL, Triple G, Synergy, 432 Presents, EDM specialists Fly Events and Electronic Edinburgh, and Highlands and islands specialist Beyond Presents.
“Scotland is only five million people. If you are doing a show at the Hydro, you are selling to all of Scotland”
But the largest is Edinburgh’s Regular Music, which continues to do large-scale business. Its properties including the annual concerts at Edinburgh Castle’s Esplanade and Summer Nights at Kelvingrove Bandstand in Glasgow. Eleven of the latter’s twelve 8,500-cap nights sold out in 2019, with stars including Teenage Fanclub and Hue & Cry, plus Suede, Patti Smith, Burt Bacharach and The National.
“We only promote in Scotland, and that’s our identity,” says Regular’s John Stout. “We are always conscious that Live Nation and AEG can offer Europe-wide and kind of exclude us. But we have got good relationships with a lot of bands that come back to us year after year. Stereophonics come back to us every time; we are working with Bon Iver and Lana Del Rey, so it’s not all going to the big guys.”
Another Regular regular are local boys The Proclaimers, who are in a career purple patch. “In Scotland alone, between September 2018 and September 2019, we did just over 70,000 tickets,” says Stout. “That includes two sold-out Edinburgh Castle shows, a sold-out Hydro, and a theatre tour. They will tour any town that has a 500-capacity venue. They have built that audience through hard work and quality.”
Beyond Events, which operates from Ullapool on the north-west coast, 45 miles from Inverness, has operated for 20 years across the great open spaces outside the two largest cities, from festivals down to tiny rooms, and latterly sometimes in Glasgow and Edinburgh, too.
Continue reading this feature in the digital edition of IQ 88, or subscribe to the magazine here
Brian Reynolds-led 432 Presents is bringing the Great Western, a new multi-venue music and arts festival, to Glasgow, Scotland this November.
The festival, taking place on Saturday 23 November, will host over 50 live acts across ten venues in the west end of Glasgow, including Malian desert blues collective Songhoy Blues, Californian dance punks !!! (Chk chk chk) and US singer-songwriter Cass McCombs.
Alongside live music programming, the Great Western is working with local restaurant and bars to provide a range of food and drink options. A variety of community workshops will also be on offer.
Veteran Scottish promoter Reynolds, formerly of Synergy Concerts, launched 432 Presents in January this year, along with the majority of the former Synergy team.
432 Presents promotes over 500 events each year, including ongoing collaborations with Scottish events Celtic Connections, Doune the Rabbit Hole and Edinburgh International Festival.
Venues under 432’s operation include Glasgow’s Hug and Pint (100-cap.) and the Blue Arrow Jazz Club (200-cap).
Limited early bird tickets for the Great Western have already sold out. Full price day tickets are still available for £28 plus booking fee.
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Veteran Scottish promoter Brian Reynolds, formerly of Synergy Concerts and now-closed Glasgow clubs the Arches (2,000-cap.) and Barfly (400-cap.), has launched a new concert business, 432 Presents.
After six years, Reynolds and his Synergy partner, Grainne Braithwaite-Vedamanikam, have parted ways in an “entirely amicable” split, with Reynolds and team establishing 432 Presents and Synergy Concerts continuing under the direction of founder Braithwaite-Vedamanikam.
Despite the rebranding as 432 Presents, the majority of the former Synergy team – which formed in 2012 and promote more than 500 shows annually – remain in place, as do the former company’s operations, with 432 Presents retaining ownership of the Hug and Pint (100-cap.) and the new Blue Arrow Jazz Club (200-cap.), both in Glasgow.
“It goes without saying that the coming year is set to be the busiest yet”
432 Presents will also continue to promote the National Whisky Festival and work closely with Celtic Connections, as well as booking Doune the Rabbit Hole in Doune and the Spree Festival in Paisley, which last year hosted Martha and the Vandellas and post-punk legends Gang of Four.
Other upcoming shows include the Dandy Warhols at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow on 30 January, Poppy Ackroyd at the Blue Arrow on 16 February and Daughters at CCA Glasgow on 18 April, as well as a collaboration with Edinburgh International Festival in August.
“It goes without saying that the coming year is set to be the busiest yet,” says the company in a statement, “and with that in mind, the team at 432 Presents are very excited to be kicking off 2019 with a fresh start.”
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