Earth Agency and Evolution Artists join forces

Evolution Artists, a UK-based international agency for DJs and MCs, is joining forces with London-based Earth Agency.

Under the partnership, Evolution founders Clive Mill and James Smith will bring their roster of revered drum & bass acts – live and DJ – to Earth.

2Shy, Emperor, DJinn, Fabio & Grooverider, Jubei, Monty, Annix, Hadley, Foreign Concept, Simula and Skantia are among the artists represented by Mill and Smith.

The pair are the latest agents to join Earth following a raft of recent hires including Sam Gill and Angie Rance from UTA, Serena Parsons from Primary, Ben Haslett and Alba Martin from Stepping Tiger and Jan Bouwhuis from BLip.

“We are all really happy to welcome these wonderful agents to our team at Earth”

“We are all really happy to welcome these wonderful agents to our team at Earth,” reads a statement from Earth.

“They each bring real specialist knowledge and experience, and all share the same independent ethos and values that we created Earth Agency to support and be a home for.”

Earth Agency was founded in 2014.

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Fuji Rock booker James Smith joins Live Nation Japan

Live Nation has hired talent buyer James Smith, formerly of Fuji Rock promoter Smash Corporation, to attract more major international acts to the company’s events in Japan.

Tokyo-based Smith becomes VP of touring and festivals, reporting to John Boyle, president of Live Nation Japan, in an appointment the company says “signals its ongoing investment in Asia”.

At Smash, Smith focused on securing talent for both Fuji Rock – Japan’s largest outdoor festival, which draws more than 100,000 attendees annually – and the promoter’s touring business, where he worked on international tours by artists such as James Blake, Grimes and Bonobo.

“James’s knowledge of Japan’s music industry runs deep, and he has a true passion to unite artists with fans, existing and new,” says Boyle.

“My ultimate goal is to bring acts from all over the world to Japan”

“His dedication and expertise makes him the perfect addition to Live Nation’s team to help us expand our business as we continue to meet the growing demand for international concerts in Asia.

“I can’t wait to see what amazing shows we create together for the people of Japan thanks to his extraordinary vision.”

Live Nation currently operates across ten markets in Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Recent successes include Bruno Mars’s 24k Magic world tour, whose Asian leg sold out 14 shows across seven cities.

“My ultimate goal is to bring acts from all over the world to Japan, which is why I’m so excited to be joining Live Nation entertainment and begin tapping into their unparallelled artist pipeline,” adds Smith. “There is enormous potential in this market and I plan to maximise these opportunities for growth with a hands-on and artist-centric approach.”

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