Indie Champs 2024: Primary Talent, Untitled Group & more

To celebrate the hard work of the numerous independent operators that make the live entertainment industry such a vibrant – and growing – business worldwide, IQ is publishing its inaugural Indie Champions list.

Our shortlist of 20 companies were chosen by the IQ readership and have headquarters across 11 different nations but service live events the world over, thanks to their various satellite offices and the artists and partners they work with.

The Indie Champions will become an annual staple of IQ, so if your company did not make it onto this year’s debut list, fear not, as you have a full ten months to prove your credentials to friends, colleagues, and business partners ahead of next year’s nomination process.

IQ will continue to publish entries across all categories over the coming days, and you can find the whole cohort in the latest edition of IQ here.

Find part one here, part two here, and part three here.

One Fiinix Live (UK)
The coronavirus pandemic was the driver behind Jon Ollier creating agency One Fiinix Live. The company launched in November 2020, and for the first few months, its sole employees were Ollier and Emma Davis, before Jess Kinn joined the firm.

“I think our point of difference is in our philosophy of inclusivity,” says Ollier. “We offer clients a genuine and demonstrably safe place for them to stand and for their creativity to flourish.” The company has since opened a US office, allowing it to offer a global service to clients. It has also launched management and digital marketing offshoot One Fiinix North, which Ollier describes as an attempt to take a little bit of responsibility for both breaking artists and developing talent.

The company’s payroll now includes 18 staff, and this year, the company’s roster of acts has racked up 1,600 shows, across all levels of the business – clubs, theatres, arenas, stadiums, and festivals.

Looking to next year, 1.5m tickets were snapped up for Sheeran’s European tour within the first two weeks of on-sale

Boasting Ed Sheeran as a client, One Fiinix took his world tour across Asia and Eastern Europe this year, as well as headlining both the Portugal and Brazil legs of Rock in Rio. In the UK, Hauser played at the Royal Albert Hall, while Ed Sheeran support act Calum Scott sold out Hammersmith Apollo.

Looking to next year, 1.5m tickets were snapped up for Sheeran’s European tour within the first two weeks of on-sale; Jess Kinn is working on Olly Alexander’s new project; and on the development side, the agency is working with exciting new talent including Tash Sultana, Allie Sherlock, Finn Forster, and Joel Sunny.

Primary Talent International (UK)
Celebrating its 34th year in the agency business, Primary Talent International boasts an eclectic roster of over 450 clients spanning all genres. Notable clients include The Cure, The 1975, Noel Gallagher, Justice, Kings of Leon, Dropkick Murphys, Mitski, Wolf Alice, Rina Sawayama, Patti Smith, and Pet Shop Boys. In 2024, the Primary team booked 3,500 shows around the world.

Primary Talent’s staff specialise in supporting their clients to help them build long-lasting careers by catering to their individual needs and have a long history of building artists from clubs to festival headline level. The company has an impressive track record in developing the careers of emerging artists to bring them to commercial success.

In March 2023, Primary announced the company’s decoupling from CAA following CAA’s acquisition of ICM

For example, 2024 saw Belfast rap group KNEECAP play their first European summer festival season, appearing at Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, Rock Werchter, Down The Rabbit Hole, Roskilde, Super Bock Super Rock, and others, as well as selling out five nights at Vicar Street in Dublin and their entire November UK tour.

In March 2023, Primary announced the company’s decoupling from CAA following CAA’s acquisition of ICM, Primary’s former parent company. Primary re-established its independent status with a buy-out led by COO Rick Levy and CEO and managing partner Matt Bates. Primary’s renewed independence also saw the company introduce a new management structure, with partners Simon Clarkson, Laetitia Descouens, Sally Dunstone, Martje Kremers, Pete Nash, and Ed Sellers.

Runway Artists (UK)
Having been made redundant by ATC Live early on in the pandemic, Matt Hanner persuaded a handful of his clients to take a punt on him going solo. “It probably helped that the prospects of touring any time soon were rapidly disappearing over the horizon, so perhaps they didn’t think it mattered all that much who their agent was,” Hanner tells IQ.

“I think I earned £500 in my first year of trading and had to pick up some lecturing work to tide me over, but Steve [Backman] and I began talking, and in April ’21, we made it official. That to me is when Runway really began.”

Runway is a booking agency that has also dabbled in running a showcase and a conference. “We want to try and bring value to our artists and the independent ecosystem we’re a part of,” explains Hanner. The roster of 120+ acts includes British singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram, who has a new album on the way, and Welsh rockers Punk Rock Factory, plus upcoming artists like Welsh band Melin Melyn, hyper-pop artist Babymorocco, and Australian country artist Fanny Lumsden.

Runway Artists employees have contracted more than 1,500 shows this year – 25% more than 2023

Having celebrated its third birthday earlier this year, Runway now employs 11 people full-time, part-time, and freelance, who have contracted more than 1,500 shows this year – 25% more than 2023.

“We generally use a freelance model as a way to engage with those who we believe have the potential to be great agents but don’t yet have a roster and need a framework and support to begin learning the trade properly,” notes Hanner. “Our investment in talent in that way is pretty unique: we’re very open to new voices and want to bring in talent to the team and be proactive in their development.”

Toutpartout (BE)
Currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, Toutpartout began life in the bedroom of Steve Thomassen when he was in his final year of a visual arts degree at university, with his mother acting as his secretary.

As part of his degree, Thomassen undertook a traineeship as a production assistant at a television company, and on his first day, one of the acts had cancelled, allowing him to impress his new bosses by bringing in a band that included his friends. That opened the door to his involvement in music, first managing acts, before doing PR in Belgium for labels such as Sub Pop, Method, and Secret Canadian, while progressing his career in broadcasting as a freelance TV director.

In 2023, the company was involved in around 950 shows, while this year that number will be closer to 1,075

These days, Toutpartout is a European agent for a roster of international acts, promoting shows in Belgium and the Netherlands, while Thomassen also runs a small record label and a home-based record store. In 2023, the company was involved in around 950 shows, while this year that number will be closer to 1,075.

While Toutpartout is renowned for its Autumn Falls Festival, which runs across Belgium from September to December, staff are currently counting down to the company’s 30th birthday concert series in Gent’s Club Wintercircus and De Vooruit. Acts confirmed for those shows include DIIV and Jessica Pratt from the US; CHVE, Psychonaut, Briqueville, Takh, Cobra The Impaler, Endlingr, and Ronker from Belgium; the UK’s Joe Gideon and King Hannah; Australia’s Jess Ribeiro; and Tuareg songwriter Mdou Moctar.

Untitled Group (AU)
Identifying a gap in the market, music entrepreneurs Michael Christidis, Christian Serrao, Filippo Palermo, and Nicholas Greco self-funded the first Beyond The Valley festival in 2014. As they added more festival brands and a touring division, they recognised the need to consolidate their businesses, leading to the creation of Untitled Group, which with 70 staff, now claims to be Australia’s largest independently owned music and events company.

Untitled’s festival portfolio includes Beyond The Valley, Pitch Music & Arts, Wildlands, and Ability Fest. It specialises in curating unique experiences, from large-scale festivals to intimate day parties in unconventional venues.

“We work closely with both domestic and international acts, fostering long-term relationships to grow their presence in the region”

“Our services encompass end-to-end project management for artist tours, ensuring each performance reflects the artist’s vision,” says Christidis. “We work closely with both domestic and international acts, fostering long-term relationships to grow their presence in the region.”

The company’s operations include its Proxy talent agency, artist management, marketing agency Underscore, and even a sustainable vodka brand called UGLY that is made from apples that otherwise would have been discarded for landfill.

Untitled sells over 500,000 tickets per year and has worked with artists such as Dom Dolla, Christina Aguilera, Zach Bryan, Kesha, Marlon Hoffstadt, I Hate Models, Rüfüs Du Sol, Kaytranada, Black Coffee, Patrick Topping, DJ Boring, Ice Spice, Fisher, Solomun, Chase & Status, Nelly Furtado, Ben Böhmer, Lithe, STÜM, Patrick Mason, Nothing But Thieves, Overmono, Romy, Jayda G, Honey Dijon, Peggy Gou, Central Cee, and DJ Heartstring.

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LGBTIQ+ List 2024: Emma Davis, One Fiinix

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 Dustin Turner (he/him), music marketing executive at CAA.

The series continues with Emma Davis (she/her), general manager/agent at One Fiinix Live.

Tell us about the professional feat you’re most proud of in 2024 so far.
The first one was when I went to Bangkok for Ed Sheeran’s shows out there. To be on the other side of the world and see shows I’ve played a part in making happen play out was just such a huge privilege and something I’ll never forget. My second one was seeing RØRY play to a sold-out Electric Ballroom in February, surrounded by the whole team at One Fiinix Live. She’s an incredible artist with a truly inspirational story and deserves all the success she is getting. To be surrounded by such a supportive team of people from the agency that I have been a part in putting together too just made that feel so special.

What’s your most pressing challenge in the agency business at the moment?
Avails!

The vast majority of your extensive roster identifies as queer, was this intentional on your part?
I don’t know if I’ve done it intentionally, but I connect more with music and artists that are relevant to my personal interests. I’m a big believer that you get back what you put out into the world, so I guess the more I’ve embraced my authentic self the more queer my roster has got, and I’m totally here for it.

“I’d love to see more women and queer people in leadership roles, I think this industry would be a much kinder, more considerate and equal one if that were the case”

As a queer agent, are you able to better serve your queer artists?
I definitely think it makes me more empathetic – I know what it is like to turn up at a venue and be the only non-straight white male in a room, how intimidating and even unsafe that can feel. I make effort to make sure the best provisions are in place for my artists. I really think about who the right promoter is – will they understand the artist, their needs and their audience? Even things like making sure to discuss appropriate show reps so the first person artists meet on a show day is going to appreciate their needs and ensure they have the best possible experience.

Last year I had two of my US artists over and we met in person for the first time, they both said “You’re just like me!”, and it really hit home for me how important representation can be for artists. 

Name one thing the industry could do to be a more equitable place.
I’d love to see more women and queer people in leadership roles, I think this industry would be a much kinder, more considerate and equal one if that were the case. When I first started working as an assistant at one of the major booking agencies, someone said to me: “Don’t be too good at your job, or they will never promote you”. One of the most frustrating things I see in this industry is really talented women getting stuck in support roles because they still aren’t considered in the same way as their mostly mediocre male counterparts. Some of the best agents, promoters, and managers in the business are women who spent YEARS in support roles and have had to work ten times harder and shout WAY louder than they should to be heard.

“I’m a big believer that you get back what you put out into the world; the more I’ve embraced my authentic self the more queer my roster has got”

Name one queer act you’re itching to see live this year.
The Japanese House. This is cheating, but I also can’t wait to see Chappell Roan, and we are very excited to bring Alice Longyu Gao back over here – Jess Kinn and I represent her, and genuinely think she is one of the most exciting artists out there right now.

Shout out your biggest ally in the live music industry.
Jess Kinn. She (as well as Jon Ollier) is my number-one cheerleader, always has my back and gives the best pep talks you’ll ever get. She always stands up for what she thinks is right and I find her so inspiring in so many ways. Jess, along with her sister Martha, and the work they do for the LGBTQIA+ community goes above and beyond allyship.

Shout out any LGBTIQ+ cause(s) you support.
Mermaids. It’s a charity that supports transgender and non-binary young people and their families. Also would love to mention West London Queer Project too.

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