LGBTIQ+ List 2024: Paul Lomas, WME

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 Luke Mulligan (he/him), director at Circa 41.

The series continues with Paul Lomas (he/him), booking agent at WME.

Paul Lomas is a booking Agent at WME, having previously worked at X-ray Touring, Festival Republic and Eventim Apollo. He currently lives in Hackney with his boyfriend and their three-year-old dog named Melon. He’s lived in London for the best part of 16 years after coming to university in 2008 to study media and cultural studies. He enjoys live music and festivals, dining out, travelling, and dog walks on the weekend.

Tell us about the professional feat you’re most PROUD of in 2024 so far.
Watching clients I work with take huge steps in their careers. One of my acts Somebody’s Child went from playing Omeara in Feb 2023 to selling out their biggest headline show to date at Heaven in April. Seeing that growth from 300 to 1,100 people in the space of 14 months was really amazing for me and I’m very excited for the next album and what’s to come. I work on Cigarettes After Sex alongside my boss Josh Javor and to watch their rapid rise over the last 18 months has been incredible. Three sold out nights at Eventim Apollo last year and now two nights at The O2 later this year. They are a great band that I love working with.

“Diversity and inclusion are becoming a massive part of working life in general and it’s great to see it being taken seriously”

What’s your most pressing challenge in the agency business right now?
I wouldn’t say it’s pressing but I think managing expectations for new artists is important. As much as we’d all love to get every festival slot and a big tour support for our developing acts in the first year, it’s not as easy as that, so I think it’s important to be honest from the get-go with any new artist you start working with on what is possible in the early stages and not make too many promises. There are certain things you should work towards rather than rush into right away. Also not taking on too many artists too quickly. It’s easy to get caught up in a buzz act that everyone is after and want to sign everything, but if you end up with too many at the same level you end up competing with yourself. 

 Name one thing the industry could do to be a more equitable place.
I think as an industry, the live world is doing pretty well. This IQ Pride List is a great example! Diversity and inclusion are becoming a massive part of working life in general and it’s great to see it being taken seriously. At WME, we have dedicated colleagues who work on inclusion and advocacy and have inclusion programmes you can sign up for where there are organised events and conversations on an ongoing basis. It would be great to see more companies do this.

“It’s important to support anything that has to do with mental health or homelessness due to issues with coming out and not being accepted by family and friends”

Name one queer act you’re itching to see live this year.
Chappell Roan! Her album has been on heavy rotation since it came out last year and I’ve watched loads of videos of her playing on talk shows, live sessions and her Tiny Desk performance – she’s just amazing and so much fun.

Shout out your biggest ally in the live music industry.
Maddie Arnold at Live Nation (who was on this list in 2021!). We met at university in 2008 and have been best friends ever since. It’s great to have such a close friend doing the same thing as you and it’s a pleasure to watch her do so well and I have no doubt that she’ll be one of the top promoters in the country in no time!

Shout out any LGBTIQ+ cause(s) you support.
MindOut and akt are great causes that stand out to me that are helping people in need. It’s important to support anything that has to do with mental health or homelessness due to issues with coming out and not being accepted by family and friends.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.