ALEX OMISESAN Late Bloomer Consultancy
What did 2025 teach you? “When you are independent, you are essentially thrown in at the deep end with two choices: sink or swim. So I don’t know that I know anything different, but my biggest thought is on the rise of AI and just how that is going to impact the business. My objective is to view AI not as a threat, but as a tool, and I would implore all artists to do the same.”
How did UK rap change this year? “Rap has always been unapologetically different, but recently I have found that it has become boring and, dare I say, a bit predictable. That said, I still think there is an opportunity for rappers to
stand out by taking it back to the essence and the artistry.”
What was your favourite track and album of 2025? “The song of the year is Kwn’s Worst Behaviour, feat. Kehlani. To see another UK artist involved in the R&B revival is really exciting. My album of the year is Dave’s: proof that no matter what is going on, true artistry always wins. A big win not just for UK rap, but rap all over the world.”
ANNABELLA COLDRICK Music Managers Forum
How has the first year with the new leadership team at the MMF gone? “Fast! So much has happened and the new team have brought new priorities, such as our focus on alternative
finance and our renewed membership structure to meet managers’ needs at different career stages.”
How significant is the MMF’s new training & development programme? “It’s groundbreaking. To our knowledge, the MMF Manager Certification is the first formal validation of managers’ core knowledge in the world. We hope it will become a real desired standard.”
What was your favourite track and album of 2025? “The NewDad single Everything I Wanted and Wet Leg’s Moisturizer. No difficult second album for them, but a great creative step forward.”
PAUL
HITCHMAN AWAL
How did Laufey find a path to mainstream success this year? “Laufey has never limited herself to being a niche artist and while she celebrates her jazz and classical influences, she has always welcomed a very wide audience. She is brilliant at engaging with them and bringing them into her world, something that we have worked hard to facilitate with her and her team. At AWAL we
are often working with artists who are a little left of centre but we don’t let that affect our ambition for an artist.”
Can you share your top track and album of 2025? “Luvcat had several stand-outs, including Lipstick and the new version of He’s My Man featuring John Cooper Clarke. In terms of albums, I’ve been getting into Geese’s Getting Killed. It just doesn’t sound like anything else today and reminds me of classic originators such as Tom Waits and Captain Beefheart.”
38 | Music Week
NADIA KHAN CTRL Music/
Women In CTRL
The Seat At The Table initiative aims for gender-balanced leadership by 2030 – is it on track?
MOLLY
NEUMAN CD Baby
What was the main reason to be cheerful in 2025? “As a music fan, Oasis brought me the most joy this year. When I saw them the first time in 1996, I already felt like I was late to the party, but having seen them many times over the years, this show really brought the celebration and love that songs and live music can generate. With so much of my professional life focused on industry dynamics, technological developments and their impact on music creation and listening, reconnecting with guitars, drums, voices and the alchemy created in a live space was a much-needed spark.”
And your own biggest personal success? “I’m really proud of the work we have done at CD Baby towards a repositioning of the company in 2026. Having been in business for nearly 28 years, it took a great deal of work to pause and inventory the things being done that might be reconsidered, and the things we can do if we reorient our work towards being more in service of our artists and their ever-changing needs. I’m also proud of having found time to play music myself, to spend time with my friends performing and, more importantly, laughing a lot.”
What was your track of the year?
“Cradle The Pain by Morgan Nagler.”
And your favourite album?
“Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party by Hayley Williams.”
“This year we released the first Seat At The Table report with LIVE and the findings were clear. There is momentum in certain areas, but women are still underrepresented in senior leadership and boardrooms. We also launched the 2025 LIVE Inclusion Pledge, through which LIVE industry organisations made commitments to concrete actions on governance, recruitment, progression and data transparency. It is an essential step. However, the sector will need consistent follow-through to stay aligned with the 2030 ambition.”
What’s next for Seat At The Table? “Seat At The Table returns in 2026 with a new report in partnership with the BPI. This edition will widen the scope again and provide a cross-industry view of representation, progression
and leadership. We are also working on an accredited inclusivity leadership programme, and a new platform to share insights, guidance and learnings from our work across the industry.”
What was your favourite track and album of 2025?
“Akhir Sarkha by Seera, my new signing, a four-piece, all-women psychedelic rock band from Riyadh. My album is That’s Showbiz Baby! by Jade: explosive, fun and confident, with a sharp edge.”
PETER TAYLOR Cuffe & Taylor
How was the year in live music for you?
“It’s been an amazing year, our best ever. We sold more than one million outdoor tickets across the UK, the highest number in our history. We also opened new sites in Cardiff at Blackweir Fields and in Exeter at Powderham Castle. Both are 35,000 capacity and involved a huge amount of work. Alongside that, we’ve strengthened our existing partnerships, including The Piece Hall in Halifax and with Forestry England on the Forest Live series. Our customer service team has been hard at work enhancing customer experience and the proportion of customers using public transport to access our events increased by almost 10%. Accessibility has also been a key focus across all of our sites, and we’ve seen double-digit improvements in our satisfaction scores.”
What was your favourite track and album of 2025?
“Where Is My Husband! by Raye – it’s just a brilliant song and I expect it will become an anthem of 2026. My favourite album was Teddy Swims’ I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2). Did I mention I’m promoting his outdoor tour in the UK next year?! It’s an incredible album and I can’t wait to see what he’s got planned next.”
ALEXI
CORY-SMITH Bella Figura
What did you make of the way the industry harnessed the power of catalogue this year?
“Boiling it down to Bella Figura’s perspective, streaming consumption is up massively. For example, David Gray’s Spotify listeners have doubled since we started working his catalogue.”
And what took you most by surprise in the business this year? “Oasis not cancelling their tour?!”
Can you tell us your track of 2025? “At the risk of sounding like a chancer, David Gray’s Babylon.”
And your favourite album? “West End Girl by one of my favourites, Lily Allen. I am not telling you why.”
musicweek.com
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