Recognition, celebration, and validation of contribution in composition was the theme on Friday, Jul. 22, 2022, at the University of Cape Town (UCT) when the District-Six-born Dr Trevor Jones accepted a Doctor of Music, honoris causa.
Marc Marot, responsible for over 100m album sales at Island records, was in SA for 16 days for the 2022 Music Exchange conference in Cape Town and Johannesburg
Left to right: Martin Myers, Mark Rosin CEO Samro, Marc Marot, Dr Trevor Jones
Marc’s publishing signings include, amongst many others, Massive Attack, De La Soul, Julia Fordham, and Shakespeare’s Sister (Marcy Levy).
Amongst the Artists signed and developed by his team while at Island Records were: • Pulp • PJ Harvey • The Stereo MCs • P.M. Dawn • The Cranberries • Elbow • Chaka Demus and Pliers • NWA • The Orb • Ice Cube • Talvin Singh • Tricky • Nine Inch Nails
Albums of the year – Moreira Chonguica – Sounds of Peace and Steve Louw Thunder and Rain.
Band of the year in SA – Temple Boys out of Cape Town, “Saggies” was the big song.
Global act – Bad Bunny is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. His musical style is defined as Latin trap and reggaeton.
His second tour of 2022 doubled the gross of his last record-breaking trek: The World’s Hottest Tour grossed $232.5 million and sold 944,000 tickets from just 21 shows in the US.
Then you have Harry Styles at #2 and Taylor Swift at #3, as far as international acts are concerned.
What was the most significant benefit that music streaming has brought to live music?
It’s made music discovery borderless. Maybe for the first time in pop music history, it doesn’t matter which language you’re singing in. Five years ago, the idea of Bad Bunny selling stadiums in the USA was crazy.
R. Kelly gets 30 years of jail time.
Things went from bad to worse for R. Kelly in 2022. After being convicted last year in New York on racketeering and sex trafficking charges, the disgraced R&B singer was sentenced to 30 years in prison on those charges in June.
FUN FACTS
Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” blasted back onto the Hot 100 at No. 8 (Jun. 11) and reached a No. 3 high in July, powered by its synch in the fourth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. Having charted initially, rising to #30, in 1985, the song wrapped the longest run to the Hot 100’s top five in terms of time from a debut on the ranking in the Top Five – 36 years, nine months and two weeks.
Exactly one decade ago, on Dec. 21, 2012, Psy’s “Gangnam Style” made history as the first music video to reach 1 billion YouTube views.
As a result, YouTube’s Billion Views Club was born. A way to celebrate official videos that have achieved peak virality, the club is now home to over 300 music videos, including many of the most iconic hits from the past 10 years — from Adele’s “Hello” to Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito”, featuring Daddy Yankee.
Consequently, for major-label artists, one billion video streams on an official music video would generate about $2.6 million globally. That’s, of course, before the label takes their cut of royalties, which varies widely based on each artist’s deal, and before the artist considers what, if anything, they owe to their featured artists or producers on the track.
On the 12th of November 2022 I got the opportunity to attend Music Exchange 2022 (#MEX22). I wasn’t quite sure what to expect and after two years of lockdown, I’ve become a bit of a recluse, not really wanting to attend anything. But I put on my big boy pants and headed off to Auckland Park to attend the music conference and see what I could learn, contribute and assimilate from the list of gathered luminaries. Additionally, I wanted to support some of my friends and mentors who were speaking at #Mex22.
The conference, in its 12th year, was hosted in Johannesburg for the first time (usual location Cape Town). Music Exchange or MEX is the brain child of Martin Myers, a former record executive, who decided that the industry should get together and exchange ideas. The conference, from my estimation, aims to bring the new generation of music maker and leader into contact with established music industry practitioners. In this way the “OGs” can impart their wisdom and experiences to the newbies, assisting them to make decisions that will result in sustainable music careers. For 12 years Martin has hustled and networked, securing some of the world’s greatest music industry leaders who have presented at MEX. This has made the conference one of the most anticipated events on the South African music business calendar.
George Hattingh snr (top left), Nick Matzukis (top right), Timothy Kraft (middle left) where the three visionaries who started Academy of Sound Engineering where industry and academic mingle.
The venue for the Johannesburg leg of the conference was the Academy of Sound Engineering, one of the premier institutions of audio higher learning in South Africa. The institution was started 15 years ago by three visionaries: Nick Matzukis (lawyer) George Hattingh snr. (sound engineer) and Timothy Kraft (producer, mixing engineer and musician). It offers full-time and part-time courses in music business and a vast array of audio and sound engineering areas of specialisation, including video editing, audio technology, live sound, motion graphics. The facilities are immaculate and students get to interact directly with the industry, as some of the studios are housed in the adjacent SABC (the epicentre of entertainment in South Africa), where MEX was hosted. Furthermore, because most of the faculty are professional music practitioners, the institution is a melting pot of interactions between industry and academia.
Standing around waiting for proceedings to commence I got to meet one of South Africa’s, and world’s, greatest score composers, Trevor Jones. The composer has written music for movies such as “The Last of the Mohicans”, “In The Name of the Father”, “Notting Hill”, “I. Robot” and “Mississippi Burning”. The movies for which he has scored music have generated over $4billion worldwide. I have written about this icon before, but never imagined I would get the opportunity to meet him in person. Meeting Dr Jones face to face was validating and reminded me of why I do what I do. People often say, don’t meet your idols, they will disappoint you. That was certainly not the case in this instance. Trevor Jones is engaging, charismatic and has many valuable pearls of wisdom to impart.
MEX 22 promotional poster.
One of my take aways from my personal interaction with Dr Trevor Jones was mentorship. He spoke about his mentor, former Univeristy of Cape Town vice-chancellor Dr JP Duminy, who identified his talent at a young age and organised for him to study music at the Royal Academy of Music in the UK. After leaving for London in the 1960s (aged 17), he never returned to South Africa, making Britain his permanent home. He added that whenever Dr Duminy visited the UK he would always make a point of meeting with him to enquire about his progress. Dr Jones conveyed the importance of mentorship, and how one needs to give back if one has been blessed with good mentors. This is something close to my heart and, therefore, the message resonated with me.
In my life I have had, and still have, various mentors and guides with whom I consult on a plethora of topics. These are people I respect and look up to and include Adv. Nick Matzukis, Prof. Caroline Van Niekerk, David Alexander, Dr Boudina McConnachie, Graeme Currie, Dio Dos Santos, and the late great Marianne Feenstra. Whenever I need to bounce things off people or an objective perspective, these are the people from whom I seek counsel. A career can be a long, lonely and arduous journey and sometimes one just needs the assistance of someone who knows better to point one in the right direction. As I have been blessed with so many great people, I hope I have offered others the same level of guidance and counsel.
Dr Trevor Jones and myself before the beginning of the conference.
A few minutes after meeting Dr Jones, I got the opportunity to meet another legend from the music industry, Marc Marot, former Managing Director of Island Records and Island Music. He started his career at the company as the general manager of Blue Mountain Music, the publishing division of the famous recording label in 1984, and got to work closely with Island founder, Chris Blackwell. Blackwell is a legend in the music business, who discovered Bob Marley, made him a star and inadvertently introduced the world to Reggae.
Marc Marot was eventually made the managing director of Island Records and in his tenure signed and promoted the likes of U2, Pulp, PJ Harvey, PM Dawn, The Cranberries, Stereo MC’s, Massive Attack, NWA and De La Soul…that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Once again, Marc was a humble and jovial guy, who just wanted to share his story and help. I’d only been at the conference for a few minutes and in that time had met two big players from the industry, both of whom were amazing individuals, with good intentions and a willingness to help.
Some of the movie for which Dr Trevor Jones composed score music.
Martin Myers officially started proceedings…and off we went. Nothing could have prepared me for the profound experience and journey I was about to undertake. Listening to the words of icons like Trevor, Marc, Nick Matzukis and “Stream Queen” Gillian Ezra, was a career affirming experience. All of this happened in an SABC basement recording studio. One couldn’t have asked for a better location. Listening to legends of music in a venue steeped and marinated in South African music history.
Marc Marot, former Managing Director of Island Records signed and worked with the above artists: NWA (top left), Massive Attack (middle left), The Cranberries (bottom left), U2 (bottom middle), Pulp (bottom right).
The first talk was chaired by my dear friend, recording artist and Metro FM award winner, RJ (Roy) Benjamin, one of the country’s most talented songwriters, producers and musicians. Roy hosted an informative discussion with Dr Trevor Jones, in which the score composer travelled down memory lane and shared some inside music business stories. He imparted a lot of sagely advice, but one of the things that stuck with me was the topic of music snobbery, which is sadly something I have encountered on one too many occasions in my personal music career.
In South Africa Classically trained musicians love classifying anything released post 1910 (I’m being histrionic) as “light music”, considering this sort of contribution inferior. The Jazz aficionados look down on the Pop music makers and the Pop musicians don’t care if they are not taken seriously because they are the ones making money. It is all very unnecessary as we, in the music industry, should stick together to unify and strengthen the business, instead of tearing each other down. The consolation is that the issue is not exclusive to South Africa but rather a worldwide phenomenon.
Trevor Jones made another valid point and that was about treating music as a career. He articulated that musicians can sometimes be precious about the work they produce, but the reality is that one just needs to get the job done and not overthink things (give the client what they want). “In order to stay in the game you need to be in the game”, if one is not creating content there is nothing to promote. Whilst this is true of someone in his space, where score composers are often commissioned to create music, it may be different for recording artists.
Trevor Jones and Roy Benjamin speaking at MEX 22.
That being said, there are many recording artists that barely release content because they don’t feel their end product is good enough or they just need to tweak this or that. As Gillian Ezra elaborated in a side bar conversation, the new music dispensation rewards recording artists based on the regularity of content releases. The algorithms have been designed to promote artists and give them preferential play listing based on the consistency of their output. Therefore, if one waits too long between releases the platforms will forget the artist and they will lose their preferential placement.
The second speaker was music executive, Marc Marot. Marc was a very confident, eloquent and lively orator, who did not need anyone to guide his talk. He captured the audiences attention from the outset and sprinkled his presentation with many humorous and interesting music industry anecdotes. One of the take aways from his speech was the topic of professionalism. The general public often has a perception that Rock stars are irreverent, drug abusing, prima-donnas who only work under ideal circumstances. The thing is that “Rock Stars” could never attain the fame, fortune, accolades and respect they have if that were the case. This made sense to me.
Anecdotes about David Bowie (top left), Chris Blackwell (top right), The Rolling Stones and The Verve littered Marc Marot’s talk.
Marc articulated that in all his years in the business he never experienced an artist who was high in a recording session (outside a session is another story). He illustrated his point by conveying a story about David Bowie, who one would think would be the biggest aggressor in this regard. He stated that the Rock Star would always be at a session at least two hours before the time, doing the requisite checks and balances and that one could time him by the hand of a clock as to when the session would start. Always on time and professional. I guess what differentiates real stars from “flashes in the pan” is professionalism. Those that do the work are the ones who ultimately obtain and retain super star status. The Rolling Stones, for example, would’ve never lasted in the industry for 60 years if they didn’t put in the work.
Which brings me to my next take away from the Marc Marot presentation, “Bittersweet Symphony” and the ensuing court case drama between the iconic band, their publisher (Allen Klein) and The Verve. I’m not going to go into the specifics, because I think Marc should add that to his biography, but my take away from the whole story was how Mick Jagger and Keith Richards eventually gave away their rights in the song to The Verve. This was after many years of fighting in the courts and an unreasonable publisher. Keith and Mick didn’t need to give away the rights, to which they were lawfully entitled, but I guess they felt that they had attained enough success in their careers and that someone else should be given a break. This was sportsmanly behaviour which is seldomly reported in the media.
Marc Marot presenting at MEX 22.
Marc ended his talk by making an observation about South African music education, which I felt was profound considering he doesn’t have working knowledge of our industry. He stated that we should invest in a proper music education infrastructure in South Africa, that aims to train not only the future musicians of the country, but also the music industry leaders. He went on to ventilate that in the UK there are various qualifications that prospective music business leaders can pursue, which prepare them for a career. This articulates into graduates who are adequately prepared to lead the industry. He added that since the implementation of these programmes the music business, in the UK, has experienced a reversal of fortunes. I mean…he is preaching to the converted as I’ve been attempting to proselytise this gospel for the longest time.
After Marc spoke it was the turn of Nick Matzukis, businessman, educationalist and music rights activist/advocate. I have looked up to Nick for many years. He is one of the most ethical and principled individuals I’ve ever met and has helped many people in the South African music industry in his journey. His talk was about revenue streams in the music industry and artist/music creator’s rights, which I found very informative and validating as this was the focal area of my PhD. My take away from the whole talk was the need for the consolidation of the South African music industry. I find the functioning of the industry unnecessarily complicated and it can be a minefield for someone who has not properly informed themselves. Even those who do know what’s going on struggle at times. That’s how complicated it is.
Nick Matzukis speaking at MEX 22.
There are various bodies to which a songwriter/musician/composer/content creators can belong, who collect different types of monies for their members. It is noteworthy to observe that some of these bodies are linked to each other, yet they will not necessarily convey these links to creatives applying at their organisations. I believe that in order to streamline processes in the South African music industry a central point should be established to help creators/artists determine what to do with their intellectual property. At this central point an artist can establish to which bodies they should belong and complete the relevant paperwork, which will be submitted to the associated bodies. This will demystify the industry for the creative and prevent them from falling through the cracks. It could function like a brokerage or consultancy, which will either do the administration for the artist or advise and point them in the right direction or both.
I was unable to attend the second day, but the information I walked away with from my exposure to MEX 22 was not only invaluable, it was validating and inspiring. What further impressed me were the number of “heavy weights” from the South African music industry in attendance, listening and magnanimously exchanging ideas (the premise of the conference). People like Mark Rosin (SAMRO CEO and SA music business royalty), Lance Stehr (iconic SA record executive), Siphokazi Jonas (poet) and Malie Kelly (SA celebrity and vocal coach). Not to mention the presenters: Dr Trevor Jones, Marc Marot, Nick Matzukis, RJ Benjamin and Gillian Ezra.
Martin Myers (left), Siphokazi Jonas (middle) and Me (right), before the commencement of MEX 22.
The idea of sharing ideas and being in the presence of such greatness is an opportunity that does not come around often. Speaking to these industry giants and oracles, on this platform, is an experience that should be embraced by anyone wanting to pursue a career in music. The concept behind MEX is refreshing, inspirational, empowering and liberating. It’s a space where everyone is on an equal footing, respectfully exchanging and learning from each other. It reminded me of the “We Are The World” recording session in 1985. When Quincy Jones was confronted with the prospect of having to facilitate a session with some of the world’s greatest stars and foreseeing that people might bring their egos to the room, he wrote a sign which was placed at the entrance to the recording studio which read “check your egos at the door”.
That is exactly what MEX 22 was. Although the room was filled with some of the greatest music industry practitioners the world has birthed, people were able to share, speak and exchange with no egos in the room or judgement. From my estimation MEX 22 achieved what it set out to achieve, which was to bring the young and established parts of the industry together to exchange ideas. Moreover, 12 years into the conference it seems it acquired new momentum with its foray into a new city and new thinking, evolving to its new iteration. Hopefully this is not the end of the innovations and amazing work done in the name of the conference and industry and hopefully there’ll be many more MEXs to come. Until we meet again…
Music Exchange 2022: From left: Martin Myers, Mark Rosin, Marc Marot and Trevor Jones standing in front of the MEX sign at the Academy of Sound Engineering (ASE) in District Six, Cape Town.
By Rachel Reynolds
I was driving home when I tuned into Smile FM and happened upon a man speaking about a conference this coming weekend at which industry ‘heavy weights’ were going to be present. The incredulity in his voice as he spoke, unable to believe that so many artists were passing up this opportunity to attend the conference, made me listen more closely – what was the catch? He spoke of Trevor Jones, a composer who scored Notting Hill, being one of the keynote speakers, and mentioned that the conference would be an intimate gathering of no more than 50 people. The tickets must be astronomical, —I thought.
When I got home, I immediately checked the price: R250. Just a little more than I would pay to see a modern-day Notting Hill in the cinema, for a two-day experience and chance to meet Trevor Jones as well as Marc Marot, former MD of Island Records who signed bands like Massive Attack, PJ Harvey, and The Cranberries.
I spent this small amount to attend what turned out to be one of the most inspiring and insightful weekends of my year—this coming from a woman who has travelled to six countries in the past six months.
Though I can’t possibly translate the experience of the weekend on to paper for you (though an amazingly successful poet – Siphokazi Jonas – who also featured at the conference probably could), I will try my best to deliver the most important points of contention to artists who couldn’t, but should’ve, made it.
It is not for the public to know what they want
Marot is adamant that this is the truth. The public don’t know what they want—you must show them what they want. Steve Jobs was used as a case in point, as he knew the only reason the public didn’t say they wanted a choice between 50 font types was because they didn’t know that such a thing was possible. This was in sharp contrast to how Eb Inglis, KFM host, described radio’s operational structure; rather than playing what they deem the public should be listening to, stations survey their listeners and play what is on demand instead.
The room breathed a collective sigh of relief when Inglis clarified that this didn’t necessarily mean artists should pander to society’s current craze, but rather keep making unique art and work hard on promoting themselves. He made a point of informing the listeners that radio wasn’t the platform to do this.
It might not be your art that is unsuccessful, but that the platform you use to justify its success needs to change
Many people think the radio can make or break an artist, and musicians will send their tracks to a station with high hopes, only to be ghosted. The reason for this is found in people’s misunderstanding of the age-old question that plagues us all: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Or in this case, radio or success? Inglis makes it clear that, while radio used to play a pivotal role in initiating the popularity of songs, the advent of social media has meant its role has changed. Rather, the radio plays what has already been made popular through other platforms, such as Tik Tok, Twitter, Instagram and even Facebook. Here the answer is sometimes the chicken comes first, and sometimes the egg—depending on the decade you’re farming in. Or, in this case, making music.
Caveat subscriptor
Woven between the economics of the entertainment industry, is of course law and politics. My music producer friend sat next to me, mouth agape, as Nick Matzukis explained more than 15 types of royalties that can be earned from a single piece of music. He insisted, “There is money in art folks – if only everyone knew!” This led to a discussion of contracts and the bad things that happen when you don’t know what you’re signing (another case in point— Jared Leto’s Thirty Seconds to Mars).
SAMRO isn’t (that) bad…
For a bit of an outsider to the industry, I did not know what SAMRO (Southern African Music Rights Organisation) was. But I could tell from the comments and questions it is an organisation whose relationship with musicians is akin to that of Jacob Zuma with South Africans. “Where is my money?” was the audience’s collective question, which CEO Mark Rosin attempted to answer using the operational structure and logistical challenges SAMRO faces in a third world country to justify its reputation. The crowd seemed only semi-convinced of Rosin’s effort to acquit SAMRO. One of these was an attendee whose suggestion for SAMRO to adopt blockchain technology to track artists and their earnings more accurately, was taken a little too lightly by Rosin for the guest’s taste. The attendee happens to work for a company that uses this technology for sustainability.
Connective tissue
Since we have touched on all the other subjects of life, why not Biology? This is my own analogy to characterise what I think may be the biggest takeaway from the conference: South Africa lacks connective tissue, which is the life blood of a high-functioning art industry. We need to collaborate more, understand our strengths, and join forces to become more powerful. Instead of using idealistic phrases like these with no backing, the conference showed attendees what the anatomy of collaboration looks like on the ground, using Trevor Jones and Siphokazi Jonas as, yet another, case in point.
Music Exchange 2022: Poet Siphokazi Jonas and composer Trevor Jones collaborate
We got to hear Jonas read her poetry, before hearing it a second time with music that Jones had chosen to accompany it. He explains “I walk into walls while walking, I leave food to burn all while I am thinking about your poetry and how to make it work with my music”. The experience was heightened, and the tone of the poem changed dramatically with the London Symphony Orchestra booming out the speakers in synch with Jonas’ empowering voice. Both pieces of work are brilliant alone, but unforgettable together.
Coming from an Economics background, I have written a lot here about the prospects in the industry for South African artists, perhaps at the expense of replicating the inspirational tone of the conference. But rest assured, it could be felt through each anecdote, laugh and conversation that undoubtedly involved a cross-pollination of ideas. There really is no other opportunity that I know of that offers this level of engagement, advice, inside-knowledge and look into the lives and careers of some of the world’s most phenomenal creatives.
Luckily, Music Exchange (MEX22) is traveling to Johannesburg this coming weekend on the 12th and 13th of November.
If you are an artist, go. If for some reason you can’t, take this notion with you: There is money in art. There is also money in information, whether it’s how the industry is regulated or how two South Africans successfully collaborated. Scoring Notting Hill, and paying bills are not mutually exclusive.
After a hugely successful 2 days in Cape Town, South Africa’s premier music, film and entertainment programme comes to the Academy of Sound Engineering (ASE) Johannesburg on Saturday, the 12th and Sunday, the 13th of November to further amplify its broader intent to connect and covert conversations into commercial success for all in attendance. Celebrating its 12th-anniversary MUSIC EXCHANGE 2022 (#MEX22), is proud to announce no less than two multi-disciplined masters, all highly sought-after and hugely respected entertainment industry moguls and speakers, who will be jetting in as special guests of South Africa’s definitive entertainment economy indaba. Delivering this year’s keynote address, along with Dr Trevor Jones, is Marc Marot. the former Managing Director of Island Records.
Dr Trevor Jones, Razia Myers, Siphokazi Jonas, Martin Myers, Marc Marot
In a major coup for Cape Town the CEO for SAMRO is speaking at #MEX22 on Sat 5th Nov
Mark Rosin is the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Rosin assumed the top position in February 2020. Mark will speak about SAMRO and the Road map forward – The detailed Programme is below
Mark Rosin
Mark holds an LLB specialising in corporate, media and entertainment law from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Rosin’s career in media and entertainment spans more than three decades, during which he has represented South African and international music industry clients in litigation and commercial matters. As an attorney he represented music publishers, composers, recording artists, recording companies, live concert promoters and visiting international artists.
From 2011 until the first quarter of 2019, Rosin was employed by eMedia Investments, home of e.tv, eNCA and Openview in various roles, holding the position of Group Chief Operating Officer since 2014.
Prior to his appointment at SAMRO, he was operating as a freelance legal and business affairs consultant.
Under Mark’s leadership, SAMRO has seen a significant increase in revenue from music users, in part because SAMRO signed more favourable contracts with them. This has resulted in higher royalty payouts to our members.
We have the great pleasure and privilege of presenting the speakers and topics for the Music Exchange 2022 (#MEX22) conference.
The emphasis is on Exchange – Arrive to engage and ask questions of all the speakers and meet fellow creatives. You never know who is in the room. You have read about our keynote speakers over several weeks, Marc Marot and Dr Trevor Jones, and now we are pleased to share the balance of our Cape Town programme.
South Africa’s premier music, film and entertainment programme returns to Cape Town between Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th of November 2022, at the Academy of Sound Engineering (ASE) – with one of the world’s most respected names in the business, Marc Marot.
One week later, the conference moves to Johannesburg on Saturday, the 12th and Sunday, the 13th of November, at ASE JHB to further amplify its broader intent to connect and covert conversations into commercial success for all in attendance.
Celebrating its 12th-anniversary MUSIC EXCHANGE 2022 (#MEX22), is proud to announce no less than two multi-disciplined masters, all highly sought-after and hugely respected entertainment industry moguls and speakers, who will be jetting in as special guests of South Africa’s definitive entertainment economy indaba.
Delivering this year’s keynote address, along with Dr Trevor Jones, is Marc Marot.
Marc Marot
Marc began his professional career in 1982 as the ‘Professional Manager’ of UK Independent music publisher, Eaton Music ltd, working with film composers George Fenton, Carl Davis and Henry Mancini and pop groups including Status Quo.
He was appointed Managing Director of Chris Blackwell’s Blue Mountain Music in 1984, working with U2 and the reggae catalogue, amongst others.
He had his first international #1 single with “Pump Up the Volume”.
Marc’s publishing signings include, amongst many others, Massive Attack, De La Soul, Julia Fordham, and Shakespeare’s Sister (Marcy Levy).
He headed every division of Island until Marc was appointed MD of Island Records in 1990, the youngest MD in the UK music industry at the time.
Amongst the Artists signed and developed by his team while at Island Records were:
Pulp
PJ Harvey
The Stereo MCs
P.M. Dawn
The Cranberries
Elbow
Chaka Demus and Pliers
NWA
The Orb
Ice Cube
Talvin Singh
Tricky
Nine Inch Nails
During his tenure as Island Records MD, Island artists won the prestigious Mercury Music Record of the Year prize three times, and ten Island albums were short-listed. Artists signed during the period have subsequently gone on to win 25% of all the prizes awarded in the 20-year history of the competition.
He guided U2’s career throughout the 1990s, from the release of Achtung Baby to just before the release of All You Can’t Leave Behind, selling close to 60 million albums in the process.
In 1998 he introduced Bono to the concept of Third World debt relief via his involvement in the ‘Jubilee 2000’ campaign and oversaw the ‘drop the debt’ initiative from within the music industry. Bono has subsequently thanked him on both the stage of the MTV awards and whilst addressing the UN council chamber in New York.
To date, acts discovered or managed by him have notched up 38 Top 10 singles, including 18 #1 singles in the UK charts. He has been responsible for more than a million album sales in one form, including his 10 years of direct international responsibility for U2’s marketing and sales.
Upon leaving Island records in 2000, he produced and oversaw the design and implementation of the multi-award winningU2.com, following a successful $5M fundraise.
U2.com remains one of the most successful music sites on the web, with over 1.4 million registered users and 140 000 subscription-paying customers.
Since setting up his first management company Terra Firma Ltd, his clients have included:
Richard Ashcroft
Lemon Jelly
Audio Bullys
Paul Oakenfold
Yusuf Islam (formally known as Cat Stevens). Islam’s comeback album, Another Cup, sold 850,000 copies worldwide under his supervision.
Marc acted as music supervisor and (music) producer on many film soundtracks, from Angel Heart, Mississippi Burning, and In the Name of the Father (client Trevor Jones and Bono), to the soundtrack for Notting Hill, which sold over four million copies.
He also signed a soundtrack deal for Guy Richie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which sold over a million copies worldwide.
In 2007, he was appointed as the exclusive music supervisor of the Isle of Man government’s film fund’s commercial arm, CinemaNX.
Recent credits have included the award-winning films Heartless, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Me, and Orson Welles and the 2011 box-office record-breaker, TT3D Closer to The Edge, one of the UK’s highest-grossing cinema documentaries to date.
While managing Paul Oakenfold, he worked on eight #1 USA box office movies, including The Matrix, Swordfish and Collateral.
In 2008 he sold his management company to Dutch-based ‘Sports Entertainment Group (SEG), accepting the position of CEO.
The company managed over 400 athletes, including former UK premier division football superstars Robin Van Persie and Thomas Vermaelen and 25 entertainers, including The Noisettes, Leftfield, William Orbit, Gabriella Cilmi, and Billy Ocean, as well as emerging UK talents ShyFX, and Breakage.
In January 2012, he resigned from SEG and accepted the position of Executive Chairman of The Crown Talent and Media Group Ltd.
The company exclusively managed the careers of several highly influential artists and athletes, as well as interests in artist management, music publishing, touring, event management, TV and film production and a model agency.
Marc had around 100 personalities under management, including Ella Henderson, Union J, Luke Friend, Becky Hill, Tamera Foster, TV presenters Susy Perry (BBC) and Hayley McQueen (SKY), as well as former Formula One™ Driver Max Chilton. His football management wing had 49 players under management.
All of which guarantees an opening address delegates will relish while setting the tone and celebrating the gravitas of MEX22’s promise to deliver content and conversation beyond compare.
With more names to be revealed in the build-up to #MEX22, this year’s conference looks to be its most significant and engaging one yet.
With thought leaders and activators from the worlds of art, radio, poetry, production, streaming services, record companies and live eventing, #MEX22 has all the bases covered to deliver, share, and empower everyone who takes up a ticket to attend.
Stay tuned to our website to get the latest updates.
Tickets sales are now open and available from Ticketmaster
In the build-up to #MEX22 this November, Music Exchange (MEX) is proud to reveal the first of what will be no less than 12 keynote addresses from some of the world’s most respected creatives and captains of industry.
Now in its 12th year, #MEX22 will also be heading out on tour to deliver masterclasses from some of the biggest names in the business in Cape Town (5 and 6 November) and Johannesburg (12 and 13 November), both hosted by the Academy of Sound Engineering (ASE).
Perfectly composed
Dr Trevor Jones
Dr Trevor Jones, one of the Top 5 film composers in the world, returns home from the UK to open #MEX22 for a second time. Having recently received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Cape Town, Jones will deliver invaluable insights into his rich catalogue of award-winning compositions while unpacking music for film, television, gaming and spoken word.
He has worked on numerous well-known and acclaimed films, including Notting Hill, Excalibur, Runaway Train, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Mississippi Burning, The Last of the Mohicans, and In the Name of the Father, collaborating with filmmakers like John Boorman, Andrei Konchalovsky, Jim Henson, and Michael Mann. Record breaker
Record breaker
Marc Marot, ex-Island Records Managing Director, is the second of #MEX22’s highly esteemed international keynote speakers.
Marc Marot
Marc will take #MEX22 delegates on a journey that saw him promoted as the youngest Managing Director of a major record label at 29. Amongst the artists signed and developed by his team, while at Island Records were Pulp, PJ Harvey, The Stereo MCs, P.M. Dawn, The Cranberries, Elbow, Chakka Demus and Pliers, NWA, The Orb, Ice Cube, Talvin Singh, Tricky and Nine Inch Nails.
Marc also guided U2’s career throughout the 1990s, from the release of Achtung Baby to just before the release of All You Can’t Leave Behind, selling close to 60 million albums in the process.
To date, acts discovered or managed by him have notched up 38 Top Ten singles, including 18 Number One singles in the UK charts.
In one form or another, Marc has been responsible for more than 100,000,000 album sales, including his ten years of direct international responsibility for U2’s marketing and sales.
With more names to be revealed in the build-up to #MEX22, this year’s conference looks to be its most significant and engaging yet.
With thought leaders and activators from the worlds of art, radio, poetry, production, streaming services, record companies and live eventing, #MEX22 has all the bases covered to deliver, share, and empower everyone who takes up a ticket to attend.
Stay tuned to our website to get the latest updates.
Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse 