Join key music industry figures & decision-makers from across the world for an unmissable conference and networking event in London.
Delegates will have the chance to attend a mix of insightful talks, group sessions and one-on-one networking opportunities with music industry experts, offering unsigned musicians an incredible opportunity to receive invaluable advice on how to advance their careers.
Speakers
Plus more to be announced soon...
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James Walsh
James Walsh has helped to support & promote many successful artists and labels at all stages of their journeys. James has also worked closely with the major music platforms as well as some of the UK’s biggest grime artists including Stormzy, AJ Tracey and Dave.
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Abbie McCarthy
Abbie presents shows for BBC Radio 1 and BBC Introducing, and has hosted festival stages at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, Glastonbury and The Great Escape. Abbie has discovered and championed a vast array of great acts thus far, including the likes of Slaves, Everything Everything and Jacob Plant.
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Lee Parsons
Lee Parsons is the CEO & co-founder of Ditto Music. Ditto distributes, promotes and supports over 150,000 independent artists at all stages of their career in every corner of the world, and has previously worked with global superstars including Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith.
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Rodrigo Ratto
Rodrigo Ratto has over 23 years of experience in the music industry and worked with Universal Music for over 12 years, reaching the position of VP for Commercial Affairs. He now leads operations for Ditto Music in Brazil, where he has built an impressive portfolio of artists and labels.
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Jinno Mina
Jinno is a former A&R for SonyBMG/Sony Music and Warner Music. No stranger to the indie scene, he started out in the industry some 15 years ago when he joined the Manila office of the UK jazz label, Candid Records. Now, Jinno heads the Ditto Music office in Manila, works closely with independent artists and labels.
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John Fischer
John has been promoting shows for over 15 years and has earned a reputation as one of London’s key independent music venue promoters for global brand VICE. John is currently the chief VICE booker for London’s best small capacity venues including The Old Blue Last, Birthdays and Sebright Arms.
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Matt Parsons
Matt Parsons founded global distribution & record label services company Ditto Music more than a decade ago with his brother Lee. Ditto now supports over 150,000 artists worldwide and, as an expert in music distribution & promotion, Matt is a regular speaker at music events across the globe.
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Sarah Hamilton
A seasoned music industry influencer and speaker, Sarah runs Ditto Music’s Australian office. With a background in digital distribution since its beginning in Australia, Sarah loves helping independent artists get their music online and understand the constantly changing digital world.
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Lewis Varrilly
Lewis Varrilly is Deezer UK’s Artist Marketing Manager. Since starting out in digital music PR almost 10 years ago at Radar Maker, he has worked for music platform Last.fm, Transgressive Records and Three Six Zero management, gaining a wealth of experience managing artists, running digital operations for Indies and working on worldwide campaigns geared towards growing artist profiles across streaming and social properties.
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Nick Gatfield
Nick Gatfield is a British music industry executive, entrepreneur and investor. Nick was previously Chairman & CEO of Sony Music UK and has held President positions at EMI (North America and UK), Island Records UK and Polydor Records/Polygram Music Publishing USA. He is also the founder of Twin Music Inc and during his long music industry career has developed and worked closely with artists including Amy Winehouse, Radiohead, DeadMau5 & many more..
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John Robb
John Robb is an award-winning journalist and boss of music and culture website Louder Than War. In a 30-year music writing career, John was the first to write about bands such as Stone Roses and Nirvana and has several best-selling music books to his name. He constantly tours the world with Goldblade and the Membranes playing gigs or doing spoken word and speaking at music conferences.
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Shane Hawkins
Shane Hawkins in WMA’s senior digital publicist and an integral part of the company’s history and culture. Coming from an editorial background, Shane was previously online editor at Wonderland Magazine, following stints at Dazed and Tank. Shane has run and contributed to successful campaigns for artists including Laura Mvula, The Chainsmokers, Ella Henderson, DJ Fresh and Nicole Scherzinger, as well as brands including Vevo and MTV.
What's on
Opportunities for unsigned artists
There are now more opportunities than ever for unsigned artists to prosper. Experts from all sectors of the industry will share their opinions and advice on how independent artists can further their career in the modern music landscape, discussing opportunities all over the world.
Playlisting & radio airplay
Getting your music playlisted & on the radio is arguably the most effective way to reach new fans. Discover how to get your tracks featured on the world’s top playlists & radio stations from the people responsible for both curating and pitching artists on the biggest platforms.
Getting booked for major shows
Want to play bigger and better live shows? Learn how independent artists and upcoming bands can boost their chance of being booked for increasingly important gigs from the people in the industry responsible for finding acts and making the decisions.
Exclusive networking sessions
This event will offer the chance to ask your own questions, listen to and meet one-on-one with leading figures from across the global music industry during Q&A sessions, seminars and group chats, all focusing on ways in which unsigned musicians can thrive.
“We’re bringing together music industry experts and influencers from all over the world for Ditto X. This is an incredible chance for independent musicians to network and speak with figures from the global music business.”