The Great Escape has announced a raft of music legends and industry leaders as keynote speakers for its newly revamped conference, including Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, Warner Music UK EVP Darcus Beese OBE, and Tom Gray and YolanDa Brown OBE DL, Chairs of the Ivors Academy and BPI respectively.
Jarvis Cocker will present ‘Biophobia’, a special climate-themed talk about getting to grips with nature. Taking place on Saturday 18th May, the session will be presented by EarthPercent - the charity founded by Brian Eno to help the music industry support the most impactful organisations addressing the climate emergency.
Giving the conference’s opening keynote conversation on Wednesday 15 May, Darcus Beese OBE will reflect on an incredible career as the UK’s first black record company CEO and one of the greatest A&Rs of his generation, having signed and nurtured venerated artists like Amy Winehouse, U2 and Florence and the Machine. This conversation will come soon after the publication of his upcoming memoir ‘Rebel With A Cause’.
Providing one of the keynote conversations on Thursday 16th May, which is curated by conference collaborator The Council of Music Makers, will be Tom Gray, Chair of the Ivors Academy and Labour Party PPC for Brighton Pavilion, and YolanDa Brown OBE DL, musician, broadcaster and Chair of the BPI. Representing songwriters and record labels across the UK music industry, both are also successful artists in their own right. The session is set cover what the industry needs to do to protect music copyright and culture on a legislative level.
They join two previously announced keynote speakers: Lauren Mayberry, the lead singer of CHVRCHES, and Sacha Lord, Chair of the NTIA, co-creator of Parklife Festival and the Warehouse Project and Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester.
Also announced today, The Association of Independent Music (AIM) joins as the revamped conference’s newest industry collaborator, representing the independent music sector with three sessions taking place on the beach on the opening day, Wednesday 15th May.
Rory Bett, CEO, MAMA Festivals said: “From cultural icons to industry legends, our revamped conference has truly been supercharged with the calibre of these keynote speakers. Without a doubt, this is set to be an unmissable event for the UK industry.”
Silvia Montello, CEO, The Association of Independent Music, said: “AIM are delighted to partner with The Great Escape this year, kicking off the conference programming on Wednesday. As a key element of AIM’s 25th Anniversary campaign, we’re excited to be bringing the Big Conversation, with a host of expert discussions and conversations looking at the State of Independence, past present and future. We look forward to being joined by AIM members, partners and industry friends for informative and thought-provoking discussions at one of the UK’s key annual events."
Dozens more speakers are joining the event’s packed schedule, which will feature experts from EarthPercent, Music Support, BBC Asion Network, BBC Introducing, PPL, PRS for Music, AIM, NTE Advisor Bristol, Kuvo, DJ Monitor, GAY Times, Inferno, THE FUTURE IS, AudioActive, AWAL and many more.
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