Ayup gals. The legends at DHP Family are backing a national campaign to help the next lot of young female music promoters break into the male-dominated grassroots music scene in the UK...
Over the course of almost forty years, the DHP Family have grown to become a musical empire and a leading name in the live music industry within Notts, attracting a wide range of A-Listers and beyond. The Fam has also over ten years’ worth of experience in producing, promoting and managing all aspects of major indoor and outdoor festivals, national tours and standalone shows, quickly earning them some major street cred with international acts.
The enterprise from Music Planet Live and Music Venue Trust originally aimed to find 100 new female promoters, however there was such a high demand that the scheme widened and over 175 gals signed up. The initiatives will match them up with experienced industry professionals to put on their first shows in grassroots venues.
DHP venues including Rock City basement, Black Cherry Lounge, Rescue Rooms, and The Bodega in Nottingham; Thekla in Bristol; Borderline in Soho; Oslo in Hackney and Thousand Island in Highbury have all offered to stage a show by one of the new promoters.
Every promoter at DHP Family, the live music company that stages 1500 gigs per year ranging from tours by stars like Ed Sheeran to grassroots shows by up-and-coming artists, will be mentoring the young ducks to help them avoid the pitfalls of putting on a show and guide them through the steps they need to master the art of artist relation, and all that noise.
The lovely mentors that’ve put themselves forward include Director of Live and Promotions Anton Lockwood, DHP’s MD George Akins, Ed Sheeran’s own promoter Dan Ealam alongside promoters like Amy Lawson, Scott O’Neill, Alex Kirkland, Dan Roberts, Sam Laurence and venues area manager Michelle Phillips, as well as head of marketing and independent promoter Kelly Bennaton.
Amy Lawson, promoter, DHP Family, said: “I’m really excited to be taking part in this initiative to mentor an upcoming promoter. There is a notable lack of women in the live side of the industry, particularly when it comes to promoting, so schemes such as this are really important in addressing the imbalance. The lack of visibility of female promoters will prevent young women from believing they can pursue a career in live music, so it’s great to raise awareness of the issue as well as providing practical support for women making their first steps into the industry. I’m really looking forward to seeing the positive impact this will have across the board.”
The £100,000 campaign will underwrite the shows being staged to offer a no-risk entry point for young women and remove one of the barriers, providing nothing but a platform for positive change in the industry.
Beverley Whitrick of Music Venue Trust also said: “We’re delighted to have DHP on board. It’s so important to give these young women access to experienced professionals who have the knowledge of how to put on a show, who to speak to, how to get the best deal and what connections they need. Many of the DHP promoters who have come on board as mentors are also female, which is fantastic as they can give that added insight and inspiration to the young women who want to learn the skills to become an independent promoter.”
DHP Family is also planning further Women in Music events following the successful inaugural event in March. The “glass ceiling” continues to be an issue in the music industry while some particular areas such as sound engineers, venue managers and promoters are still mostly male dominated. Boo.
Music Venue Trust website
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