Anastasiya Babicheva (UA). Anastasiya is a PR and communications specialist with more than 10 years of experience. She has worked as a PR-stategy specialist and PR-consultant in different business sectors. In the cultural sphere, she was the PR-director of Svitlo Concert (concert agency) and PR-agent of YUKO (Ukrainian band). Since 2021, she has been Head of PR and communications at Masterskaya (music label and house of culture in Kyiv) and PR-agent at YUYU (artist and singer).

Alex Bondarenko (UA). Alex is editor-in-chief at LiRoom, a Ukrainian music media platform he founded in 2012. LiRoom works to provide comprehensive coverage of the Ukrainian music industry and currently ranks TOP-3 among Ukrainian music media platforms. Alex also works as a freelance journalist for some of Ukraine’s largest media outlets, including Ukrainska Pravda, Babel, Inspired, INSIDER, and many others. A consulting expert at the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, Alex also participates in the Ukrainian Music Trade Union and has been a jury member of the Global Battle Of The Bands and other music competitions. Previously, he worked as a marketing manager at Karabas Live, a Ukrainian media outlet.

Anton Volovyk (UA). Anton is Chief Business Officer at Reface. Reface is a leader in applying AI/ML technologies for personalized content creation. The Reface app hit #1 in the App Store soon after release and was listed among the best apps of 2020 by Google Play. Celebrities including Elon Musk, Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, and Miley Cyrus have shared refaced videos. As of October 2021, the Reface app has been installed 180 million times, and users have generated more than 4 billion pieces of synthetic media. At Reface Anton oversees revenue generation which entails the app B2C side, such as subscription and advertising, as well as the B2B side, corporate and business development, and fundraising. Prior to Reface Anton worked at BCG, the global strategy consulting company, and Horizon Capital, the leading private equity fund in CEE. Anton holds the Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School (US), as well as Master in Finance from IE Business School (Spain).

Ben Wynter (UK). Ben Wynter is a UK based music and media executive with twenty years of experience in the music industry, including roles in management, Major and Independent Record Labels. He is founder of Unstoppable Music Group, a group of companies consisting of Management, Production, Record Label and Marketing. At the PRS Foundation he created and launched the Hitmaker Fund to support behind the scenes songwriters and producers with grant funding, as well as the Future Hitmaker grant and the Momentum Accelerator grant.

Wynter now works with A.I.M (Association of Independent Music) as Entrepreneur & Outreach Manager where he helps music entrepreneurs and rights holders navigate the music and media ecosystem to maximise the potential in the rights that they own. Ben is Co-Founder of Power Up! - an initiative to end anti-black racism and create a fairer and more equitable music industry in the UK.

Beril Sarıaltun (Turkey). Beril Sarıaltun is a musician, sound designer & producer based in Istanbul, Turkey. She graduated with a degree in Political Science and studied in the undergraduate film certificate program at Boğaziçi University. She is one of the founders and producers of BGST Records which supports alternative sounds and contemporary approaches in the music industry. Currently, she produces a podcast programme - K’nın Sesi (Voice of K).

On K’nın Sesi you will hear audio-drama plays and conversations based on the experiences of women and LGBTQ+s with diverse backgrounds pertaining to class, ethnicity, age, sexuality and ability. She succeeds in designing workshops and courses in several subjects like the Fundamentals of Music, Making Music with Ableton Live, and Principles of Rhythm & Percussion. She is founder of Beats By Girlz Turkey which is a chapter of Beats By Girlz. Beats By Girlz is empowering the next generation of women and gender-expansive individuals through music and technology.

Claire O'Neill (UK). Claire is CEO of A Greener Festival (AGF), Director of Sustainability for HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant, Producer of the Green Events & Innovations Conference with ILMC, Chair of the Green Group for the Association for Electronic Music (AFEM) and sustainability advisor to industry body LIVE Green. A disruptor to business as usual in the industry with 15 years at the forefront of event sustainability. Claire developed AGF as an global operation providing certification, consultancy, training and sustainability support, with clients including Glastonbury Festival, RHS, The O2, UTA, AEG, FKP Scorpio, Kilimanjaro Live and Wembley Arena.

Claire worked with Paradigm Agency to launch the Green Artist Rider in 2019. Continually challenging the status quo, Claire pushes the sector to improve and live up to its green aspirations and provides the tools to do it. Claire has also been an Aerialist for over 10 years, performing with productions such as Arcadia Spectacular, the 80m ArcelorMittal Orbit, and as Mary Poppins, flying in from the London Olympic Stadium roof for the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Donna Close (UK). Donna Close is a creative director and cultural strategist developing strategy, policy and new creative programmes all over the world. A festivals specialist, Donna has led award winning multi-disciplinary arts festivals with a focus on new work and new types of audience experience. She has a particular interest in supporting artists in making use of new and emerging technology. As Digital Culture Associate for Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival Donna developed the concept of the 5G Festival: a £3.4m multiple partner consortium project and part of the UK’s 5G Create project. The 5G Festival is led by Digital Catapult and explores the future of remote artistic collaboration and hybrid performances. Donna is part of the leadership of the national Digital Democracies for Threshold Studios project. As a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Brighton she developed the projects XR Circus, 5G:XR Brighton Istanbul and Arts DRIVA, all of which explored artist engagement with tech.

Elizaveta Dzhulay (UA). Elizabeth studied journalism at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv graduating with a BA in 2021 and continuing in a post-grad Master's programme. For four years she has been working at Neformat.com.ua, an independent media about Ukrainian underground music. Initially, she worked as a freelance writer, worked as an editor of English texts and currently works as a news editor. She played in a brass orchestra as a child.

Ellie Giles (UK). Ellie has been managing artists/producers for the past 10 years, setting up her own company Step Music Management 5 years ago. Previously at A&R at Polydor she brought in such artists such as White Lies and Ellie Goulding. Ellie is also a board member of the MMF (Music Managers Forum) and EMMA

Feimatta Conteh (UK). Feimatta is the Environmental Sustainability Manager for the Manchester International Festival. She has worked across sustainability, technology development, digital culture and the arts for over 15 years, for organisations including the LSE, Arcola Theatre and FutureEverything. Outside of work, Feimatta is deeply involved with an educational children’s camping charity – she enjoys building communities and helping young people interact with nature.

Gareth Stewart (UK). Gareth Stewart is the festival director of Celtronic, Ireland’s leading electronic music festival. Since its inception, the festival has remained non-profit, with ticket prices kept to a minimum to ensure accessibility to all. The festival focuses on the highest quality production in the best intimate venues in the city, a mix of clubs, pubs, art galleries and other interesting spaces in the city ranging in capacity from 100 - 700. 

There continues to be a lack of electronic musicians from the northwest making an impact nationally/ internationally. With the opening of Celtronic Studios, the next generation of aspiring creatives have technical access and comprehensive information to be successful in the electronic industry. It is hoped that the experience of working with successful and experienced international producers will inspire a new generation of electronic music producers/DJs and musicians to forge career paths in the industry and increase the quality/quantity of electronic music emerging from the region.

Ira Lobanok (UA). Ira Lobanok is a musician, sound producer, educator and cultural manager who graduated from University of Westminster (London, UK) where she studied Commercial Music Performance.She's also a Founder and civic leader in Sofar Sounds Lviv (2018-Present) secret music concerts, programme producer and teacher at the Music Up (2020-Present) school of marketing and management for musicians. Ira was the initiator of the online showcases for female and non-binary musicians in Ukraine - Play Like A Girl (2021) and an online community for female and non-binary producers and engineers in Ukraine (2020-Present). She is programme producer for an international residency for female producers, musicians, songwriters and managers - She Makes Music - funded by the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation (2021).

Jennifer Allan (UK). Jennifer Lucy Allan is a music writer and broadcaster. She has been a journalist for over a decade, writing on underground and experimental music for publications including The Guardian, The Quietus, and The Wire, and was previously The Wire's Online Editor. She is a presenter on BBC Radio 3's Late Junction, and wrote and presented the documentary Life, Death and the Foghorn for BBC Radio 4. She also runs the record labels Arc Light Editions and Good Energy. Her first book, The Foghorn's Lament, will be published by White Rabbit in 2021.

Jon Dunn (UK). Jon began his career as an independent promoter in 1989 working small venues outside London, booking acts that include Radiohead, Oasis, Pulp, Cranberries and more. In 2003, he moved to London, joining Live Nation (formally known as Clear Channel), where he took on national promotional duties, booking shows in major cities across England. Acts he picked up in this capacity that continue to work with Jon include Arcade Fire, The National, MIA, Anthony and the Johnsons and more. He began booking and curating festivals with 35,000 capacity including Latitude, The Big Chill and Electric Picnic. Jon left Live Nation in 2013 and started Parallel Lines. Currently, he promotes exclusively in London, working with acts like The National, Arcade Fire, Jungle, Glass Animals, Sharon Van Etten, St.Vincent, Future Islands — all told, more than 140 artists.

Jyoty (UK). Jyoty has established herself as the voice of Saturday morning on Rinse FM over the past six years. Her introduction to the industry came through the online channel Boiler Room, where personality managing the door at events landed her a spot hosting shows for the burgeoning platform.

 

A regular spot on the world-renowned radio station Rinse FM soon followed, where her knack for discovering new music and ability to connect with guests shone through, quickly racking up regular listeners in the thousands from all over the globe. As a born grafter, when she isn't DJing at clubs and festivals the world over, including Good Room (NYC) Music Box (Lisbon), Razzmatazz (Barcelona) and Melt Festival, Jyoty is keen to use her platform to give back to communities. In a nod to her Indian heritage, she hosted DJ workshops for women in Calcutta alongside the British Council, and taught a six week course for young British Asian women looking to break into the music industry. 

Kate Lowes (UK). Kate Lowes is Head of Programmes and Development at Brighter Sound - a music charity that supports and champions young and early career musicians and industry professionals. Kate has worked in music for over 15 years as a performer, in community focused-work, artist development, event production and more recently as a researcher. She has just finished writing up a PhD at the University of Manchester researching the gender gap in the British Music industry. Kate’s research is practice-based and connected to her development of the Both Sides Now initiative which runs across the North of England to support early career female artists and influence change with regards to gender equality in music.

Mohammed Abood aka DJ Mocity (India). DJ MoCity is an award-winning selector, promoter and co-founder of South Asia’s first online community radio - Boxout.fm. Born and raised in Baghdad and New Delhi, he spent his early days as a hip-hop loving teenager in India’s capital city. MoCity has since grown into a highly experienced and respected musical tastemaker, playing an instrumental role in the development of creative communities across Asia and the Middle East. He ensures that no matter what role he's performing - as a DJ, promoter, label-owner, music entrepreneur or radio host - he is stretching culture to the maximum. 2018 saw DJ MoCity invited to curate a monthly hip-hop focused residency called Off-Air at Auro in New Delhi, featuring urban sounds from around the globe alongside local talent. In 2019, MoCity continues his upward trajectory, continuing to work on established projects as well as new undertakings with his trademark enthusiasm.

Oleksandra Kol'tsova (UA). Author, producer, vocalist for the group Krykhitka and civic activist.

Paul McGivern (UK). Paul is Booking Agent at Pitch & Smith, international agency booking EU/UK and Worldwide tours for a diverse roster of artists including Cut Copy, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Roo Panes, Penelope Isles, This Is The Kit, Dillon and many more. He manages the building of artists' live careers through club touring and placements at EU/UK/Global festival stages. Paul also is a part of the programming team for Concert Studio events in Barcelona, including the Festival Jardins de Pedralbes (voted Best Medium Festival in Spain 2019), and the Festival Mil.lenni.

Shauni Caballero (UK). Shauni Caballero is a former Universal Music and PRS for Music Exec, founded The Go 2 Agency a Music Publishing and Consultancy company to help Artists, Writers and Producers make money from their Music. Having had success with some of the biggest acts in black music, Shauni quickly became the ‘Go 2 Girl’ for publishing and royalties. Shauni’s company The Go 2 Agency has now also partnered with a US and Caribbean based admiration company to expand the royalties consultancy service into new territories. Shauni is also the author of her educational Book ‘A Quick Guide 2 Music Royalties

Vera Kravchenko (UA). Vera is a psychologist working in the gestalt approach since 2013. She practices individual and group therapy. Her main focus of interest is the relationship with the Self, others and the world.

Vera Logdanidi (UA). Vera is a Kyiv-based artist and musical activist. After discovering a few local communities she quickly became much more involved: firstly by becoming a DJ and then by hosting her own events. Eventually, that led to the establishment of 22:22 studio and Rhythm Büro, which became hugely successful party brands — the fame of the latter reaching far beyond Ukraine. Vera is also really into making music and her efforts were duly noted by the community as well. Debuting on the Rhythm Büro imprint, her work has appeared on Semantica Records, On Board Music, Corridor Audio and been remixed by artists like Eric Cloutier, Artefakt and Svreca. Vera is constantly active within the music community and provides support to many upcoming and established artists. Aside from touring, Rhythm Buro events and her own musical output, she hosts the Kashtan radioshow dedicated exclusively to local artists and music personalities, and has established the Kashtan label.

Richard James Foster (UK). Richard Foster is a writer and artist. His written work focuses on popular and alternative culture in Britain and Europe. He is also Communications Manager at WORM, Rotterdam. Richard writes regularly for The Quietus and Louder than War and has written for Vice (Noisey), The Wire, Gigwise and Drowned in Sound among others. Between 2005 and 2015, he was Editor-In-Chief of Incendiary magazine. Richard's ongoing research on the Dutch post-punk movement is published by Palgrave, Intellect Books and Cambridge Scholars. Photograph (Richard in Kreenholm, Narva, Estonia) courtesy of Masha Kunina.

Jane Beese (UK). Jane Beese is currently the Head of Music at the Manchester International Factory responsible for overseeing the music content in the biennial Festival and planning for the music programme for The Factory, due to open in 2022. She was previously Head of Music at the Roundhouse where she oversaw the choreography and the balance of the schedule for 100+ shows per year. She managed the Paul Hamlyn Roundhouse Studios project production team and curated new festivals. Prior to that role, Jane was the Head of Contemporary Music at the Southbank Centre where she initially coordinated and later served as director of Meltdown Festivals alongside artistic curators including David Bowie, Patti Smith, Morrissey, and David Byrne. Early in her career Jane oversaw touring schedules for talent ranging from Radiohead to Suede and also tour managed the legendary New York Dolls. In 2009, she was nominated to the British Council's Cultural Leadership Programme and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the CPA and the Creative Advisory Board at Help Musicians UK. A graduate of the London School of Economics in Government and History, she is committed to supporting the next generation of new artists in an ever-changing industry climate.

Elif Cemal (Turkey). Since the age of 11, Elif has been an incurable enthusiast and eager student of music in all genres. She has uniquely broad experience in the live music business lasting over 20 years while building innovative, challenging projects and crafting artistic content. Starting her career in programming and booking at Pozitif Muzik (an Istanbul promotion company launched in 1989) and at the city's leading live music - Babylon, Elif has aksi co-curated and booked for the Int'l Akbank Jazz festival, One Love Festival, the Rock'n Coke & Cappadox festivals and many more. Since early-2020, she has been working as a freelance music programmer and booker for events and venues in Istanbul.

Giorgi Kikonishvili (GE). Giorgi Kikonishvili is a Music Promoter, Publicist and Queer Activist. His works to promote collaborative initiatives in the fields of music, writing, civil activism and club culture interplay in order to examine, study and present social and cultural issues from Queer-Feminist and Non-Dominant cultural perspectives. He’s the founder, booker and music promoter at project Muzame - curating the live performances of local and international alternative & DIY artists in Tbilisi. Co-founder and Board Member of Equality Movement - the largest LGBTQ rights organization in Georgia; Co-founder of Horoom Nights – prominent Queer party series at BASSIANI; Co-Founder of Spectrum - a creative collective of artists, researchers and publicists who study and elaborate non-dominant cultural thought and practice.