Face The Music Speaker Focus: Ellen Kirk

Company: Look Out Kid - Assistant Manager

How did you first become involved in the music business? I was on my local FReeZA Committee while in high school and then completed a degree in music business. My first paid jobs in the industry were at music festivals and writing grants for bands.

What's your area of expertise and what experience do you have? I've been working in artist management for five years, looking after touring, social media, digital marketing, merchandise and day-to-day for artists such as Courtney Barnett, Sarah Blasko, Fraser A Gorman, Jen Cloher and Jarrow.

What topics will you be mostly talking about at Face The Music? I'll be talking about what I do as an artist manager day-to-day and how that varies for each of the different artists I work with.

What's been the biggest change in the music business you've seen over the past 12 months? I think it's great that discussions around the importance of having diverse representation on labels, events, festival line-ups, etc have been happening a lot more. But there's still a looooong way to go.

What do you think will be the biggest issue affecting the music industry in the next 12 months and why? The challenge is taking this information on board and creating opportunities for people of diverse backgrounds and having more inclusive representation in a meaningful and proactive way.

What advice would you give young practitioners in your area starting out today? One of the best ways I learnt and gained experience was to just start doing stuff myself - which then created further opportunities, introduced me to people and built my resume.