Suzanne Bull MBE joins Zaid in the latest episode of Almost Famous. She is the founder of Attitude Is Everything, the charitable organisation that connects disabled people with the music industry to move as one and to improve accessibility to live events for performers and audiences.

In this episode, she talks about how she said she “fell” into the music industry being surrounded by creatives at Goldsmiths and through her first volunteering role in Deptford. From there she talks about how Attitude Is Everything came into existence and how it has continued to grow its reputability to the point where venues are approaching them to work with, and the public assumes AIE is working events that they are not- she notes the difficulties that this has created. We’re grateful to her for sharing her unique COVID story and telling us about how lockdown forced her to acknowledge the necessity of music in her life.

In the episode, you will learn about the barriers that disabled performers face that you might not already know about. Suzanne touches upon the controversies surrounding Wireless and tells us about what she wants promoters and managers to realise when booking disabled artists. We’re so thankful to Suzanne for coming on the show and speaking so honestly to us.

Almost Famous is produced by Digital Bulls.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re really excited to welcome onto this week’s show Naomi Palmer - the Managing Director of Earth Agency, the booking agency who’s roster includes the likes of Children Of Zeus, Chaos in the CBD, Erika De Casier and Kassa Overall. She was there at the birth of Brownswood Recordings with Gilles Peterson and has gone on to be an important player in the development of the beautiful Worldwide Festival in Sète.

This is an important podcast for artists and people who are looking to take a step into the booking agency world. Zaid asked the questions you have always wanted to ask and Naomi was there to break down exactly what we wanted to know: what do they do that artists can’t do themselves? What do they look for in artists? How do you choose a booking agency? How do festivals pick the line-up? She was also on hand to help newer artists with knowing your worth when having the awkward conversation of negotiating your gig fees.

In the episode, she talks about her own unique journey of entering the music industry, proving there’s no clear cut way of doing it. She discusses the importance of working as a team, how she discovered Portico Quartet and what she really thinks of the inimitable Gilles Peterson.

Almost Famous is produced by Digital Bulls.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Zaid was joined by the one and only, Lewis Jamieson - co-founder and communications manager of the environmental movement Music Declares Emergency, which has attracted interest from big names like Billie Eilish, Radiohead, The 1975, and many many more. He has been working in the music industry for over 30 years, across A&R, artist management, and PR, and has worked the press for some of the biggest UK names such as Oasis, Elbow, and Madness.

Zaid and Lewis chat about not only how he entered the industry, and the imprint he has left on the music industry but what it was that inspired him to take environmental action and form Music Declares Emergency. They talk about the unifying force of music, how it has been a vessel to carry the messages of MDE in order to trigger systemic change in the music industry, as well as Festival Republic being one of the latest organisations to work with movement which will inspire more to get involved.

In this episode, you will find out what “No Music On A Dead Planet” really means, and how the music industry can be working to combat climate change. Plus tune in to hear what happened when the incredible Billie Eilish got involved!

Almost Famous is produced by Digital Bulls.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.