Power 50 - #14: Leanne de Souza

BACKGROUND CHECK

In July 1992 and with just $20 in the bank, Leanne de Souza started her first music business and has since accumulated more than 25 years experience working in artist management and events. In 2006, de Souza was BIGSOUND's Executive Programmer and then went on to co-found the Rock & Roll Writers Festival in 2015. Alongside her commitment to the Association Of Artist Managers (AAM), de Souza is also Curatorial Advisor (Music) for the Museum Of Brisbane and one of the Trust members for Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). 

THE YEAR THAT WAS

With de Souza at the helm, 2018 saw the highest membership and retention count for AAM in 12 years. She also secured over $100k in project funding from Australia Council, APRA AMCOS and Creative Victoria for professional development programs for artist managers. As Contemporary Music Curator for Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games' music and arts festival, de Souza channelled an injection of over $250k of Queensland Government money directly into the pockets of music industry professionals. She recently picked up a Humanities & Social Sciences Research Scholarship at University Of Queensland and last year also facilitated the How Music Shapes The World forum at BIGSOUND. 

2018'S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT?

"Writing, and delivering, a speech on behalf of the entire music industry in support of Labor’s contemporary music policy going into the 2019 federal election – the policy secures the AAM’s first-ever core funding from government – meaning we will build better, and significantly more, managers to professionally represent and grow artists' global businesses in the years to follow."