Who is actually making money in the music industry? Labels? Venues? Promoters? Managers? And how can it be right for anyone to expect gigging musicians to play for free? A Nestival of Ideas Panel Discussion to explore what’s happening, where the money really is, and how to make a career out of creating music.
In the latest of our Nestival of Ideas conversations, we unpick some of this with the help of our brilliant panel, which includes: Ellie Ball – Music Publicist and Radio Plugger
Finlay Turner-Berry – Founder of Underbelly Promotions
Ammo Talwar MBE – CEO Punch Records
Charlie Tophill aka Bar Pandora
The discussion will be chaired by Derek Nisbet, Composer and Co-Artistic Director of Talking Birds.
Spaces free but limited, so please book your space via this link:
https://talkingbirds.co.uk/booking
Ellie Ball is Head of Press and Radio at Someone Great PR, where she has spent the past decade running bespoke campaigns for independent artists and labels. Specialising in national radio, print press and online coverage, she has worked with acts across genres to amplify their stories and build sustainable careers in music. Ellie began her career at Tin Angel Records, overseeing press and radio for the label’s roster, and co-founded Boudica Festival, a Midlands-based, all-female music event.
Finlay Turner-Berry - Underbelly is a Coventry based promoter that brings underground and left-field sounds to the Coventry masses. I was born and raised in Coventry and in my late teens was frustrated with the lack of alternative and left-field music available to me. Any time I wanted to see music that excited me live, I had to see them in other cities. It was no surprise then, that I left for the green pastures of Bristol for university and discovered a world of alternative music, an inclusive scene, and thriving DIY venues. Post-uni I moved back to cov and decided that I wanted to try and build a similar vibe in Coventry. I’ve been back in Coventry for three years now and the music scene has exploded in that time. There are so many great promoters, bands, and Venues all doing their thing in the city and it is fantastic. I think for the first time in a very long time a kid in their late teens now has a choice of DIY gigs to go to weekly, something I would never have pictured for Cov when I left the city at 18.
Ammo Talwar started life as a music maverick selling vinyl at his specialist record shop in the late 90s, which became a hub for DJs and artists from across the country. This laid the foundation for a long-term commitment to supporting artists, building infrastructure, and shaping cultural policy. His vision and strategic leadership built Punch Records from a shop into a nationally recognised agency, partnering with major institutions including Google, Coca-Cola, the British Council, and the 2022 Commonwealth Games to support grassroots music and creativity. He is currently Chairman of the UK Music Diversity Taskforce, where he recently led on developing the innovative 5 P’s (UK Music Industry’s Action Plan), a major music industry intervention to drive change to rebalance the industry’s workforce diversity deficit. He is also a BPI Council Board member.
Bar Pandora is the stage name of experimental alt-pop artist and producer Charlie Tophill, taken from a literary café in La Latina, Madrid, where she used to hang out with friends talking life, literature and feminism over red wine and fizzy sweets. Inspired by the empowerment these friendships engendered, Tophill started Bar Pandora in 2021 as a project to redress the balance of a life shadowed by self-imposed limitation and baseless inhibition. Her shape-shifting electronic alt pop and first two EPs (2022 & 2023) earned Bar Pandora early support from BBC Radio 6 ’s Amy Lamé , Steve Lamaqc and Tom Robinson , and have seen her appear on BBC Radio 4 ’s Woman’s Hour.
Also check out other Music events in Coventry, Entertainment events in Coventry, Arts events in Coventry.
