The Live Agent – Alex Hardee

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"SHOW ME THE MONEY!" The Hollywood depiction of an agent doesn't really apply to the world of live agents in music. Alex Hardee – a partner in Coda Agency – unpacks exactly what he does (repping Liam Gallagher, Sia, Janet Jackson and Lewis Capaldi), and how it started with his nose getting snapped in Manchester for telling someone they looked nice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Swanson co-founded the record label Secretly Canadian in 1996. He's now the head of the group that also includes labels Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar and the Numero Group, as well as Secretly Distribution. Here's how he built America's ultimate indie label from nothing? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guv Singh had to make a choice – between his desert company delivering puddings to stoned students, and turning his rave promotions hustle into a management company at the heart of Afroswing. Spoiler: he chose the latter, after a flood, investing in a trampoline park and a job at Philip Green's Arcadia that sucked. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An investigation into the world of professional songwriting with Eg White – a man who believes that how much he stands to make from writing songs with artists is intrinsically unfair on THEM, having penned huge hits for Adele, Will Young, James Blunt, Celine Dion and countless others.This is the story of how being a songwriter for others can be the most profitable profession in the music industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barbara Charone is affectionally known as BC, and is a legend in the world of music PR. She's represented Madonna for her whole career, as well REM, Foo Fighters, Mark Ronson and Metallica.This is BC's story of how she became the music industry's leading press officer and co-founded her own company (MBC PR), having already built a successful career for herself as an American music journalist in London in the early 1970s. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does a Mastering Engineer do, and how can you become one? Mandy Parnell is a legend in the game, mastering records for everyone from Bjork and Aphex Twin to Nick Cave and Snoop Dogg. She's been nominated for Grammys and has formed her own studio, called Black Saloon. This is how Mandy built a career for herself in the music industry, obsessing over sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you turn a decorating business into a renowned music festival within 9 months? 15 years ago Simon Taffe did just that with zero experience of putting on shows, working with bands or any knowledge of the music industry. He went to the then fledgling Green Man festival, thought, 'I could do this', and got on it with, losing a hell of a lot of money and flipping a Land Rover in the process. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What exactly does a music manager do and how do you become one? Carol Crabtree is the founder of Solar Management, and her story of building a career in music involves a fraud that led to her adopting a book of clients overnight. Fate meant that she met a young tape-hop at Rak Studios called Nigel Godrich, and today she still represents the Radiohead producer, as well as artists Four Tet, Zero 7, Jimmy Somerville, audiobooks and Floating Points. This is Carol's inspiring story, and strong case for choosing to become a manager over every other career in music. https://www.solarmanagement.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've all dreamed of starting a record label, but only one person has managed to do what Martin Mills has. The founding chairman of the Beggars Group, Martin's label – which started life as a mobile disco in the 1970s – is now the biggest independent record company in the world, and includes within it XL Recordings, Matador, 4AD, Young Turks and Rough Trade Records.This is Martin's story of how he started a label that would go on to release records by Gary Numan, Pixies, Pavement, The Prodigy, Adele, Radiohead, Grimes, The National, Dizzee Rascal, The White Stripes and so many more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.