Are you a U.K. based artist, manager, or a creative business owner looking to make the most of your time at The Great Escape? Alongside our incredible line-up across live music and conference for 2022, this year we welcome back some of the very best international delegates for our much coveted speed meetings.
Presented by the Department for International Trade, these limited sessions offer U.K. delegates the unique opportunity to schedule focussed meetings with key international bookers, agents, music supervisors, labels and more - many of whom have travelled from around the world specifically to speak to U.K. artists and businesses.
Spaces are very limited, so please familiarise yourself with the delegates taking part. Those who wish to speak with any of the below can submit their meeting requests here .

The list of participating international delegates is as follows:
Dan Koplowitz - Friendly Fire Licensing (USA) - Owner.
Dan has been involved with the music industry in one way or another for the past twenty years. He owns the boutique sync agency Friendly Fire Licensing, which represents about fifty label and publishing catalogues (including Cherry Red, One Little Independent, Now-Again, District 6, Alter-K and lots more) for inclusion in TV shows, movies, commercials, and video games. He previously ran the indie label Friendly Fire Recordings (Asobi Seksu, Fanunts the Phenomenal Handclap Band) and is focused primarily on working with international acts in the USA.

Ryan Farlow - Arrival Artists (USA) - Agent.
Ryan is an agent at Arrival Artists, representing acts such as Andy Shauf, Billie Marten, Charlie Cunningham, Connan Mockasin, Georgia, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Lido Pimienta, Mercury Rev, Patrick Watson, and more...

Kodi McKinney - Marauder (USA) - Partner/Co-Founder.
Kodi has years of experience developing talent and businesses in the music industry. He has played an instrumental role in US media campaigns for domestic and international acts. He also spearheaded the development of Marauder's event production services, utilising a background in marketing, curation, and performance to help connect US audiences and industry with artists and organisations from around the world. From beginnings in college radio through hands-on experience with the hurdles facing artists at all levels, he is driven by creative energy and a core belief that cultural exchange makes art and culture better.

Milena Fessmann - CINESONG (Germany) - Music Supervisor & Film Producer.
Since 1991, Milena Fessmann has worked as a full-time DJ (2001-2014 Radio Eins After Work Lounge, Trompete/Berlin, European Film Awards 2015 etc.) and has worked for various radio stations. Since 1997 she works for Radio Eins/RBB and her own weekly show called "Free Falling". In 1989 she founded CINESONG.
She is moderator of several national events and panels such as the "Cartoon Movie Award"/Postdam 2002-2008, Reeperbahn-Festival 2014-21, c/o pop Cologne 2014-2021 and many more. Milena Fessmann teaches music supervising and copyright clearing at film schools such as DFFB Berlin and is advisory board member of the World Soundtrack Academy and Member of the European Film Academy and in the nomination Committee of Grimme-Institut. She founded a film production company called Sugar Town Film production Gmbh & Co.kg in 2011. Her newest documentary project is called "Jung kaput spart Altersheime", directed by Christine Franz about female punk and new wave in german speaking territory from 1979-89 which is currently in pre-production.

Dev Sherlock - SXSW (USA) - Music Festival Programmer.
Dev Sherlock is a Music Festival Programmer for SXSW, overseeing the UK and Ireland. Each year, SXSW brings together the global music community, alongside the film and tech industries, for a week of networking and live showcases featuring 2,000 artists from 60+ countries. Dev's background includes music journalism (Rolling Stone, NME, Aquarium Drunkard, Q Magazine), radio/broadcasting and music tech.

Ben Buchanan - CAA (USA) - Booking Agent.
Ben Buchanan is an agent for CAA. Having gotten his start at The Windish Agency, he has been at CAA since 2015. Ben represents a number of clients in the US that include, but not limited to; Bloc Party, Charli XCX, Christine & The Queens, DJ Shadow, Ezra Collective, Fiona Apple, Gorillaz, Primal Scream, The Rapture, Yellow Days and many more.

Tom Larkin - BIGSOUND (AUS) - Conference Programmer. Tiny Triumphs Artist Management, Founder.
Based in Melbourne since 2003, Tom is the founder of Tiny Triumphs Artist Management, who are responsible for overseeing the careers of The VANNS, Eliza & The Delusionals, Hein Cooper, Woodlock & Emma Dilemma.
New Zealand born but Australia based, Tom Larkin has been a career musician for the past 30 years, as the founding member of the NZ rock band Shihad. Shihad have sold over 330,000 records; secured 2 x Gold albums and 6 x ARIA award nominations in Australia; In New Zealand have 9 x Platinum albums and hold the outright record for most chart hits, the most Number #1 albums, the most NZ music Award nominations and wins. The band have toured with Black Sabbath, Faith No More, Guns & Roses, Metallica, Korn, Tool, as well as touring four times with AC/DC.
Over the last decade, Tom has carved out a niche as an artist developer with his work as a producer and owner of HOMESURGERY RECORDINGS, a project studio with a fearsome reputation based in Brunswick, and in 2019 was appointed as the Conference Programmer for BIGSOUND - the largest music conference in Australia. In November 2019 Tom joined the Board of SUPPORT ACT - an organisation providing vital crisis support for the music industry.

Brendan Bourke - The Syndicate (USA) - Senior Director, Publicity.
Brendan Bourke has over 25 years of experience in the music and entertainment industry, and currently is the Senior Director, Publicity at The Syndicate. Previously, he owned Canvas Media with offices in New York and Toronto, and co-owned Tag Team Media in New York. Over the course of his career he has worked with a wide range of artists (Tegan and Sara, Feist, Death Cab For Cutie, Broken Social Scene, Clinic, Calexico, The Rentals, Tokyo Police Club, Nation of Language), non-profits (HeadCount, The Ally Coalition), corporations (DREAMSTAGE, Audible Reality), festivals (Sasquatch, Hudson River Rocks, POP Montreal), along with representing independent labels (Domino, Arts & Crafts, Barsuk Records, Tru Thoughts).

Pia Hoffmann - Music Supervisor (Germany) - Film and Television.
Pia Hoffmann is Music Supervisor for Film and TV. She has been the creative hub for directors, producers, composers, publishers and labels alike for 15 years. Her setups and concepts are tailor-made, always finding the perfect equilibrium between a unique artistic style and budgetary demands, always connecting the right kind of people. Her services include rights clearances as well as contract negotiations. Pia strongly believes in creative teamwork and various ways of making the music heard, and is therefore not only responsible for Schwesterherz Records (a label for emerging talented artists), she is also a frequent speaker at music congresses and an ardent lecturer for film students and festival participants.

Steve Ferguson - Paladin Artists (USA) - Talent Agent.
Steve Ferguson is an industry veteran, with a career spanning 30+ years. Starting as an intern at the infamous FBI Agency (run by the late Ian Copeland), he has worked at such prestigious firms as ICM, The Agency Group, ARTISTdirect, Paradigm and APA. In May 2021 he joined Paladin Artists.
Ferguson lives in New York City along with his wife, two daughters and their dog. When he is not travelling, seeing shows, and booking the likes of Ingrid Michaelson, Paul Weller, The Afghan Whigs, OMD, Doves and many others, he can probably be found catching up on sleep.

Adam Lewis - Planetary Group (USA) - Owner.
Adam Lewis heads Planetary Group, an artist development and promotions firm based out of Los Angeles that focuses on helping new and upcoming artists be heard and discovered through radio and blog exposure in the US and Canada. Recently Adam has worked with such acts as Soccer Mommy, The Districts, Yard Act, Courtney Barnett, Cate Le Bon, Arlo Parks, and Portugal, The Man. In addition Adam also currently handles all publicity, promotion and media buying for Great Northeast Productions. Prior to Planetary, Adam was the Northeast Sales and Promotion Manager for TVT Records, working with Sevendust, Guided By Voices, The Black Crowes and Snoop Dogg.

Lio Cerezo - New Colossus Festival - (USA) Festival Programmer. Kanine Records - A&R/co-owner.
Based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY since 2000, Lio has worked in pretty much every aspect of the music business. From small indie record stores (Rebel Rebel, Rough Trade), to running club nights, managing bands, A&R and Sales at various indie labels (Mexican Summer, Rough Trade), working in physical and digital distribution (Alternative Distribution Alliance), to currently co-running their own record label and helping start The New Colossus Festival in NYC.

Layli Odamura & Yoshi Hirayama - CreativeMan (Japan) - Festival Promotions (Summer Sonic) & Marketing Manager/Booking/Label Relations.

Khadijat El Alawa - Afrochella (Ghana) - Talent Manager
Nicolas Kuitica - Cordoba Music (Argentina) - Director
Wendi Putrano - M Bloc (Indonesia) - Founder
Alejandra Gomez - Biche (Colombia) - Director/Founder
Rizky Sasono - Koalisi Seni (Indonesia) - Indonesian Arts Coalition

Sign up will close at 5pm Friday 29th April. You will be notified of any meetings you have been allocated within the following week. Please note: this opportunity is open to U.K. based delegates only.

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