Youth Music Awards 2022 judges

Alice’s career highlights include signing global hit songwriter Sam Roman (who since singing to Sony ATV wrote Lewis Capaldi’s US and Global # 1 Someone You Loved). Alice’s passion lies in finding and developing talent from a formative stage- she first saw soul / pop artist Lola Young play at 16 and signed her over 2 years later. She has been in the industry for over 11 years and has worked closely with world- renowned artists, songwriters and producers including Ellie Goulding, Two Inch Punch and TMS. She started in marketing, overseeing album campaigns at Parlophone records and previously at Polydor and subsequently developed songwriters at Sarm Studios before her time in management and publishing at Black Butter then spent 5 years at Sony Publishing before moving over as a Record A&R at EMI at the end of 2020.

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Belfast-born, London-based duo BICEP (Matt McBriar and Andy Ferguson) released their critically acclaimed second album, “Isles”, in 2021 on Ninja Tune. The record reached #2 in the Official UK Album Charts, with the duo going on to be nominated for 2x BRIT Awards, an incredible achievement for an independent electronic act.

BICEP’s globe-trotting sound was forged as their own rapid ascent through the musical ranks began after starting their legendary FeelMyBicep blog in 2008, its humble trove of Italo, house and disco deep cuts grew into a runaway success.

Following the release of “Isles”, the duo have taken their renowned BICEP Live show around the world, including a triumphant three-night sold-out run of shows at O2 Academy Brixton and their first festival headline set at Field Day London 2021. BICEP are proud Ambassadors of Youth Music.

Bryan Wilson (AKA Boom Dice) is a multi-GRAMMY nominated/BRIT Award-winning producer, mixer, songwriter, artist and recording engineer who has worked with; Sofi Tukker, Stormzy, Jay Electronica w/Jay-Z, Mabel, Wolf Alice, Disclosure, John Newman, Lianne La Havas, Plan B, Emeli Sandé, Anne-Marie, Jeremy Loops, Frightened Rabbit, Ady Suleiman, and Arrow Benjamin, amongst many others. His work transcends genres and is behind hundreds of millions of streams, huge sync placements, as well as gold and platinum sales certifications globally. He is also the founder/A&R of Boom Dice Presents, a label and music discovery platform that showcases international talent.

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Charlie Rout is a multidisciplinary creative, working at the intersection of where youth culture meets advertising. With a decade of experience in major labels, Charlie is currently Associate Creative Director at Warner Music X. Throughout his career, he’s worked with culture-shaping brands such as Beats By Dre, Levi’s, Puma, Red Bull, Sony and Microsoft.

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Chris is the Brand Programs Manager at Levi’s. Leading on music and culture campaigns for North Europe, including the Levi’s Music Project, that has activated community-based activations with the likes of Skepta, Loyle Carner, Khalid & Mabel to name a few…

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Chris Pattinson is Director Of Music for TBWA\Media Arts Lab, the global network dedicated to Apple's advertising. Before this he set up and co-founded The Black Cab Sessions, a music platform featuring artists such as Jack White, The Roots, Brian Wilson and Solange performing a song in the back of a London cab.  The platform was responsible for discovering and promoting artists such as Lianne La Havas, Michael Kiwanuka and Laura Marling as well as many more. Black Cab Sessions is in hiatus until the team manages to persuade a certain icon to take part…. Watch this space.

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Ebi Sampson is the co-founder of AUGUST: dubbed by Complex as “one of Black British music’s most successful agencies”.  She has managed press campaigns for some of the most exciting talent working today such as Lizzo, Burna Boy, Pa Salieu, Janelle Monae, Tems, Popcaan and more.

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Hailing from West London, Ellie Prohan, has fast cemented her name in the industry. Raised in a single mother Persian household, Ellie outplayed the odds by coming out with her sexuality and pursued her dream of being an International DJ. In a short span, Ellie has organised charity events through her series Ellie Prohan & Friends for world mental health day, started a club night ‘Glo’ for the LGBTQIA+ community, created a series of DJ showcase nights and started her own cultural discovery show ‘Eat, Dance, Discover’. Ellie has become a cemented tastemaker in the scene and hosts her own weekly specialist show on KISS FM every Tuesday from 11pm-1am, as well as a separate show on Kiss Fresh, Monday-Wednesday from 7-9pm.

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Holly joined the music industry as a PR intern in 2008, working on acts such as Bloc Party, La Roux, Two Door Cinema Club and Marina and the Diamonds, moving to DawBell in 2010 to start the online PR department. 10 years later, as Head of Digital she oversees the PR team alongside the social media department and has worked across many campaigns including The BRIT Awards, Elton John, Harry Styles, Spice Girls and BTS. 

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Joining DJ Mag in 2012, Iain was pivotal in the brands full North American launch and has gone on to work across the company to solidify DJ Mag’s place as the world's leading electronic music print magazine. Translating DJ Mag’s editorial direction into a global events strategy, Iain has worked with some of the world's most exciting artists on events & activations across the globe. Working closely with industry and community partners, Iain has pushed to ensure that supporting grassroots projects is at the heart of DJ Mag’s future.

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Jake Gosling is a music producer, songwriter, remixer, label manager and publisher. As a producer Jake has worked on 9 Number 1 albums in the UK. Some of the artists he has worked with include Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, The Libertines, James Bay, KSI, Digga D, Paloma Faith and One Direction. Jake focuses on writing and producing with many different artists.

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James is the Co-Founder of DeLaMouche and also a writer and producer.

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Jenna is an entrepreneurial and respected creative communications professional with over 14 years’ experience working with top tier global talent and partners within the music, entertainment and culture space. Passionate about storytelling and keeping the talent and creator front and centre. Mentor past and present for she.grows / she.said.so,  Saffron Music, E.L.A.M, Creative Youth Network and Multi-Track / Bristol Plays Music.

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Jordan Stephens is a creative, musician, writer and performer, perhaps best known as one half the chart-topping duo, Rizzle Kicks. He’s also appeared as an actor in television including: Catastrophe, Glue and Harmony, and films including: Teen Spirit, Been So Long, Stars Wars: Rogue One and more recently Tucked, in which he played drag queen Faith.

Having been publicly open with his own struggles surrounding mental health, Jordan has been very active in creating awareness around the stigma. His mental health campaign #IAMWHOLE reached over 120 million people online and was mentioned in the Houses of Parliament. Jordan also hosted a ground-breaking conversation on mental health, music and systemic racism, as a collaboration between Channel 4 and IAMWHOLE to surround World Mental Health Day. Jordan also wrote an article in The Guardian about the negative effects that Hyper-Masculinity has on men’s wellbeing and has been invited on television and at festivals to further discuss the matter.

Jordan is well known as the host of Don’t Hate The Playaz - of which there have been three series on ITV2. He is currently making new music under his own name, Jordan Stephens. His debut project P.I.G. and debut solo-album Let Me Die Inside You are out now. 

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Kevin Christian-Blair is currently Director at Asylum Records – a subsidiary of Atlantic Records UK and home to the likes of Joel Corry, Kojey Radical and Ella Henderson. Kevin started out as an intern at Asylum almost a decade ago and has since worked his way up through the ranks, playing an integral role in the success of influential, BRIT Award-winning supergroup, Rudimental, multi-Platinum breakout star, Joel Corry, revered singer-songwriter Ella Henderson and MOBO-nominated rapper, story-teller and artist, Kojey Radical, while also working across multiple Ed Sheeran albums over the last eight years. In the last two and a half years alone, Kevin has 10 Platinum singles to his name. More recently, Kevin also helped established new Atlantic dance sub-label, SIGNAL >> SUPPLY, in 2020 and continues to work on the label’s A&R, with recent signings including emerging stars like salute, Higgo, James ID, Chapter & Verse and Pocket.

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Bermondsey-born Kwabena Adjepong appeared on the BBC Sound of 2015 list, although this industry accolade was playing catch-up, with the word-of-mouth fever that had been
growing, ever since his YouTube cover of James Blake 'The Wilhelm Scream' went viral, 2 years prior.

Three EPs followed, each showcasing a different facet of Kwabs' unique sound. Kwabs released his debut album Love + War on Atlantic Records in 2015 and took to the stage, with his headline tour and as main support on the Sam Smith, European Tour. 

Despite taking a break from the studio in recent years; fans, peers and music lovers worldwide, continue to hold a space for Kwabs, coming out in force to support his latest collaboration with DJ Regard (Signals) and remaining ever hopeful, for a possible solo return.

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Kieran is the Content Projects Lead for Apple Music UK & Ireland. Since joining Apple in 2015, he has worked across a range of creative projects including the Apple Music Home Sessions, Charlie Sloth’s Fire In The Booth and the launch of the flagship playlist “The Agenda”, and it’s expansion into video and events via “The Agenda Live” series. Kieran has also led editorial strategy for breaking new artists, including developing the Up Next programme and managing the Gay Times Elevate partnership.

Prior to joining Apple, Kieran was the lead editor for BBC Introducing. 

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Starting out in Brighton as an independent promoter 20 years ago, Laura went from grassroots beginnings to launch Goldenvoice in the UK for Los Angeles based AEG Presents, one of the world's leading live entertainment companies. Laura co-founded, launched and booked London’s All Points East and was subsequently appointed Head Of Artist Bookings, to work alongside CEO Jim King in AEG’s newly created European Festivals Division. In 2019, Davidson left AEG and went freelance, relocating from London to Spain. In 2021, she founded and launched AMIGAS, a live services consultancy set to change the face of live music through a new and innovative approach to live events.

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Spending her childhood in Syston, Leicestershire, Mahalia, similar to her geographical beginnings, felt like an outsider, particularly in school. Quickly, she turned those feelings into confidence and self-love, finding refuge in the love of musical performance and ideation. Coming from a strong support system in her mother and father, she started performing at open-mic nights, learning to face her audience and sing with intention. Mahalia’s willingness to grow and shed her skin, led to her signing to Asylum/Atlantic Records at 13. Also attending the prestigious Birmingham Ormiston Academy, she added acting classes into her artistic repertoire, as well as opting to develop as a youth before diving full force into music. But it was 2017, that saw Mahalia drop out of BOA, move to London and then back to Leicester before finally landing the first signs of musical breakthrough with ‘Sober’, which, upon its summer release of that year, and COLORS debut — now at 58 million views — went viral leading to a surge of DSP and social media growth in hours. Christened in many GRAMMY, BRIT, Soul Train and MTV Push nominations over the years, as well as two MOBO-wins for for Best Female Act, and Best R&B/Soul Act, Mahalia still proves that beyond the accolades, an overarching dedication to persistence is what’s driven her to look inward, grow and ultimately challenge herself with each and every release to date.

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Linda started her journey in the music industry via a charity called MAMA Youth project, which helps underrepresented groups get a foot into media and gain experience.

Since then, she has gone on to work for the likes of East West Records (now Atlantic/Warner), Warner Music, Black Fox Management and Red Light Management. Linda has worked with artists including Jay-Z, Bruno Mars, Sean Paul, Jason Derulo, Trey Songz, Naughty Boy, Emeli Sandé, Bastille and Punctual, plus many more. In October 2016 she set up a management and record label called Salute the Sun with three friends. Under Salute the Sun they managed and released music from artists including Jaz Karis, Barney Artist, Chloe Martini and Louis Culture. 

In November 2020 Linda started working at Atlas Artists, managing artists Celeste, Rachel Chinouriri and Gabriels. Atlas also have a record label through Parlophone / Warner. Atlas had a number 1 album in February 2021 with Celeste’s debut album ‘Not Your Muse’.

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Martha is the founder of Kinndred Management. She has managed award-winning pop group Years & Years since 2013, and GRAMMY Award-winning artist, producer and writer MNEK since 2020.

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Matt Hales is a GRAMMY and Ivor Novello Award-winning songwriter, producer and recording artist. Initially known for his own records as Aqualung, the last 10 years have seen Matt move into collaborative work, writing and producing with a host of wonderful artists including Lianne La Havas, Paloma Faith, Olivia Dean, Mika, Jacob Banks, Disclosure, Tom Chaplin, Bat For Lashes and many others.

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Nadia Khan is a manager, music consultant and Chair of AIM, working in the music industry for over 20 years, and in music management for over 17 years managing long term client Lethal Bizzle. As a female entrepreneur, she is a pioneer in a traditionally male-dominated areas of the industry. Nadia has led multiple record labels to Top 20 success independently and her own label imprint CTRL Records is focused on spotlighting female-identifying talent.  
As the Founder of Women in CTRL, Nadia is a passionate champion for diversity, equity and inclusion, and her work in promoting gender parity and representation has been widely recognised, not least through her induction into Music Week’s Women in Music Awards Roll of Honour list in 2018 and more recently winning the Outstanding Contribution award.  Nadia’s research and data reports have helped to action real change across the industry for both musicans and executives, highlighting barriers for women in music and working with organisations to find long term solutions.

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NAINA is a DJ and Presenter who began her journey on local community radio station Reprezent 107.3FM based in Brixton. In the space of 8 years, NAINA’s flagship Friday night show became the go to place for forward thinking underground club music. During this time, NAINA also presented on 4Music, Rinse FM, NTS, BBC 1Xtra and Apple Music Radio.

NAINA recently launched Tala Radio, a show which spotlights South Asian creatives, alongside her new mix series NAINA Presents, both on Apple Music. NAINA also became the official host for DJ mixes across Apple Music 1, including the ‘One Mix’.

NAINA also launched her record label Hooversound amid the pandemic with fellow DJ, SHERELLE, and have had an amazing run of releases - including the likes of Chrissy, Mani Festo, Special Request x Tim Reaper and Sinistarr to name a few. The duo now host the Hooversound show on NTS Radio.

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Naomi Pohl was elected General Secretary of the Musicians’ Union in March 2022 and is the first woman to take up the role in the Union’s almost 130 year history. She has
worked in the arts sector in the UK for nearly 20 years representing creators and performers.

Naomi joined the MU in 2009, and has represented and championed the rights of musicians, songwriters and composers working across TV and film, the recorded
music industry, in education, orchestras and theatre.

Since the Me Too movement started Naomi has been leading the Union’s Safespace service and the Union’s campaign to tackle sexual harassment in the music industry.

Naomi is currently campaigning for improved streaming royalties for performers as part of the MU’s #FixStreaming campaign, in conjunction with The Ivors Academy.

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Nick is an instrumental part of KOKO (which relaunched in April 2022 after 3 years of closure) ensuring the artistic programme is fitting of a legendary and iconic cultural institution, embracing the incredible scope of the new spaces and exploring opportunities to enhance audience experiences.

Prior to this, Nick spent 15 years at the iconic Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club – where he played a significant role in the resurgent fortunes of the venue. In that time, he headed up operations, launched livestreaming and latterly led the artistic direction booking up to 1000 shows per year as well as special external events & festivals. He is a passionate supporter of emerging talent and used his position to champion the early careers of artists such as Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Snarky Puppy and Tom Misch in addition to securing iconic artists such as Prince, Chaka Khan, Roy Ayers, and Kamasi Washington. Nick also hosts ‘The Thread’ radio show on Soho Radio.

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Starting out at 16-years-old, Parris OH is a music executive with 10+ years of industry experience. Currently the Artist Partnerships Manager at TikTok, connecting and looking after artists and opportunities for them on the leading entertainment platform. Parris navigated their way through the industry both independently and working for major companies such as RCA Records, Columbia Records, Sony Music UK, Abbey Road Studios and Wired PR. With the epicentre of what they do being explained as "completely artist focused and lead”, Parris has been an integral part of global artist campaigns and representing, curating and nurturing UK Black talent, spanning artists to execs. 

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Peter Capstick is the Label Manager for Marshall Records, the record label wing of the world renowned Marshall Amplification, who are currently celebrating their 60^th anniversary.

In the 5 years since its first release, Marshall Records has gone from strength to strength. From working with critically acclaimed Therapy? on their 15^th studio album and 30^th anniversary tour, seeing Nova Twins achieve their first Radio 1 playlist, to championing exciting new artists such as Gen and the Degenerates, Marshall have firmly established themselves as more than just an amp brand.

Rebecca Frank leads the content vision, strategy and team for KISS, the national multi-media entertainment brand network which includes KISS, KISSTORY and KISS Fresh radio stations, plus streamed extensions including KISS Dance, KISS Garage & KISS Bliss.

Rebecca previously held positions as Editor and Head of Production for BBC Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra, and for BBC Asian Network.  She led a 100 strong team through the BBC commissioning change period and was part of the launch team at BBC 1Xtra, producing some ground-breaking content and uncovering fresh talent and music alongside several social action projects.

Rebecca joined KISS on 9th March 2020.

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Rob is the MD and founder of 333 Management. Originally focussed on artist development, 333 have partnered with talent including Kwabs and Sinead Harnett, working with them from emerging UK prospects, to global acts. 

Rob met producer, Felix Joseph, in 2013 and their work together inspired a shift of focus, towards building a producer/song-writer roster. 

333 Management is now home to some of the most highly acclaimed creatives in the music industry, representing clients in the UK, US & Europe.

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Shauni Caballero is a former Universal Music and PRS for Music Exec who founded The Go 2 Agency, a music publishing and consultancy company to help artists, writers and producers make money from their music. Having had success with some of the biggest acts in Black music, Shauni quickly became the ‘Go 2 Girl’ for publishing and royalties. Shauni’s company The Go 2 Agency  has now also partnered with a US and Caribbean based admiration company to expand the royalties consultancy service into new territories. Shauni is also the author of her educational Book ‘A Quick Guide 2 Music Royalties'.

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Sheniece Charway is an Artist Relations Manager at YouTube Music. Since joining the team in 2019, she has played a seminal role in the growth of Black music on the platform, working on activations including Skepta’s Live Q&A, GRM Daily Discography with Ghetts & Wretch 32, a Stefflon Don Fan Event, Aitch’s EP launch party, Michael Brun’s Album launch party, Tiwa Savage’s single launch party and more. She was crowned Music Week’s ‘Rising Star’ in the 2021 Women In Music Awards. An ambassador for PRS’ Power Up campaign, Charway is a fierce advocate of tackling anti-Black racism within the music industry, and is a key driving force behind YouTube Music’s Legacy Series, which is a year-long calendar of events that celebrates Black culture and raises awareness around Black issues through music and art.

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Sian Eleri is one of the newest faces to BBC Radio 1. After being selected as part of Radio 1’s Christmas Presenter Search in 2019, she now hosts Radio 1’s Chillest Show every Sunday 7-9pm fulfilling a long-held dream to reach out and share her love of music with others. In 2020 an additional top class chill brand was added to her repertoire and was appointed the host of Radio 1’s Power Down Playlist which is it’s own show Mon-Wed at 10pm. Hailing from Caernarfon, Sian is a proud Welsh speaker and regularly presents on BBC Radio Cymru. 

Sian is passionate about showcasing talent in the creative industries from Wales and beyond. She studied Broadcast Journalism at the University of Leeds, becoming the valedictorian in the Media & Communication department and was awarded Best Female Newcomer at Leeds Student Radio. She went on to Goldsmiths to complete an MA in Sociocultural Linguistics, researching the intricacies and complexities of bilingualism, culture and identity.

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Based in Manchester, Simon has assisted artists, educators and music community leaders through his role as an Ableton Certified trainer. Helping to “make music make sense” his role at Ableton is guided by the continual quest to bridge the divide between music educators and artists. Working with both established and emerging talents, Simon primes himself on understanding music technology and how it can help the music makers of today and tomorrow.

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Terry has worked at Atlantic/Asylum since January 2019. He also manages British rappers Tion Wayne and Darkoo.

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Whitney is the Editor-in-Chief of the electronic music platform Resident Advisor, and former Editor-in-Chief of Electronic Beats, the music marketing program of Deutsche Telekom. 

Foremost a journalist and critic, Whitney writes about club culture and experimental dance music scenes from around the world. Her words have appeared in The Guardian, Vogue US, Pitchfork, Mixmag, FACT, Highsnobiety, and Numéro Berlin, among others. In 2020, she served as a mentor for the Factory Berlin, Sónar+D, and Beats by Dr. Dre artist residency program and was selected as a Shesaid.so and Native Instruments Alternative Power 100 Music List Honoree. In 2021, she was a member of the Clubcommission Berlin ‘Day of Club Culture’ Board of Trustees.

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