Selector Pro Conference

Nikhil Shah is the cofounder of the online radio platform Mixcloud. Over the past seven years he has helped lead the growth of the company from a couple of guys in a warehouse in Wembley to the world's biggest community of DJs and radio talent, reaching over 17 million people every month. Prior to Mixcloud, Nikhil was a brand strategy consultant and the Entertainments Manager at his University. He studied Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. Nikhil is a passionate crate digger and DJ, runs electronic music record label ManMakeMusic and evangelises dance through his side project Dance Club.

Mixcloud connects listeners to the world's best radio to discover audio programmes from a community of a million DJs and radio presenters - from superstar DJs all the way down to bedroom heroes who have built a strong following on Mixcloud. With a growing reach of 17 million monthly listeners, the award winning service is available on the web, through free mobile apps and via devices such as Apple TV and Sonos. Mixcloud has been instrumental in pioneering audio branded content and native advertising formats with major brands such as Red Bull, Mazda, Heineken, Adidas and many more.

Ahmet Uluğ is a businessman, an event organiser and a music curator from Istanbul. He is one of the founder of Pozitif, Turkey's leading integrated culture, arts and entertainment marketing company; Babylon, a music club; Bomontiada, an urban cultural campus; Alt, a dedicated art space; Kilimanjaro, the first stand-alone dining offering of Pozitif; Volkswagen Arena, Turkey's premier high-volume live music and performance centre; and Doublemoon, a music production company.

As Turkey’s pioneering integrated entertainment company, Pozitif is dedicated to creating authentic community experiences. Transforming the cultural landscape since 1989 through its events, venues, and media platforms, Pozitif runs the leading festivals in jazz, rock, alternative and multi-disciplinary experiences, as well as producing global scale stadium shows. Besides the legendary Babylon live music club, Pozitif also manages Volkswagen Arena, bomontiada culture campus, Alt art space, Kilimanjaro restaurant, record label Doublemoon and the progressive multi-disciplinary destination festival Cappadox.

Hakan Kurşun was born in Germany and has previously lived and worked in Frankfurt, Vienna, Oxford, London and Warsaw; Istanbul has been his permanent residence since 1996. Hakan released his debut album KAOS in 1996, which achieved cult status in the region. Since KAOS, Hakan has also releasedKutle, Kuark and Pearl Bracelet. His work is well placed in the national underground scene. He has worked as a board member of the Turkish Music Composers Association MSG, as well as theSolid State Logic Oxford agent for Turkey and a Music Producer for Universal Music Poland. Hasan has also worked as Managing Director of EMI Music Turkey, Digital Media Consultant for EMI UK and Founders Representative for SAE Istanbul. He holds a BA Degree in Recording Arts from Middlesex University. His discography includes 97 released albums. Currently he manages his company Pb Muzik Yapım Ltd . His services are music production, acoustic solutions & constructions, wind consulting (together with www.peutz-tr.com) and corporate training. He also holds two long-term teaching posts at leading Istanbul universities: Bilgi University and the Istanbul Technical University MIAM Centre for Advanced Studies in Music. 

Goldierocks, AKA Sam Hall, is an international DJ and broadcaster with a celebrity following that includes Madonna, Giorgio Armani, Richard Branson and Jade Jagger. Her weekly global radio show The Selector, legendary to those in the know, goes out to a staggering 44 countries; from Vietnam to Russia to Palestine, with Georgia and Libya being the most recent additions to the list. With 4.3 million dedicated weekly listeners, The Sunday Times has described it as "the most cutting-edge British music show out there". She also hosts a late night specialist spin-off dance show Selector After Dark broadcast in Mexico, South Africa & China.

The Selector is broadcasted to more than three million people on FM and online radio stations in 30 countries worldwide. The show has won multiple awards, including Best Pop Show (Mixcloud awards) and Best Music Show (BT Digital Music Awards, London), and was named the best music show in Hungary and Switzerland. Radio Eksen has been hosting the show on Sundays at 10pm since last January and its podcasts are available through Mixcloud. 

Necmettin Ovacık is the General Manager of Believe Digital Turkey, and served as the General Secretary and General Manager of the Musical Work Owner’s Society of Turkey (MESAM) between 2004 and 2011. Since 2005, Ovacık has been a manager of the “Turkey is Music” exhibition space at Midem, a leading business event for the international music industry, and is also a delegate of the Standards and Rules working group at the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC). In addition, Ovacık is a member of the Swiss Trade Council, and active as a volunteer for AFS Intercultural Programs of the Turkish Cultural Foundation.

Believe Digital is the leading fully independent digital distributor and services provider for artists and labels worldwide. They provide dedicated label & international campaign management, trade & digital marketing services, comprehensive video management & distribution, synchronisation, neighbouring rights and run in-house record label Believe Recordings. The company prides itself on meeting the unique requirements of each label they work with. They achieve this by providing tailor made, personal services and strategies in marketing and distribution via their international network of industry experts.

Elif Cemal is a senior booker at Pozitif Muzik, responsible for co-programming and co-booking for various festivals such as Akbank Jazz, One Love, Babylon Soundgarden, Cappodox festivals and Babylon venues as well as one-off concerts.
She worked as an arts and culture journalist until 2002. She then joined the Pozitif team - Turkey’s pioneering integrated entertainment company.

Pozitif Muzik - As Turkey’s pioneering integrated entertainment company, Pozitif is dedicated to creating authentic community experiences. Transforming the cultural landscape since 1989 through its events, venues, and media platforms, Pozitif runs the leading festivals in jazz, rock, alternative and multi-disciplinary experiences, as well as producing global scale stadium shows. Besides the legendary Babylon live music club, Pozitif also manages Volkswagen Arena, bomontiada culture campus, Alt art space, Kilimanjaro restaurant, record label Doublemoon and the progressive multi-disciplinary destination festival Cappadox.

Haluk Damar is a writer, DJ, record label owner and musicologist, Haluk has devoted his life to decoding the specifics of music culture and its relationship with society and generations past, present and future. He is a key figure for transmitting his own country's music and cultural heritage to the globe.

Bant Mag is an independent magazine that has been bringing together new and exciting tendencies about music, film and arts both around the globe and around Turkey since 2004. Since the first day of its existence, Bant has been aiming to present local alternative movements and subcultures and has been chasing after young talented artists to take them along the way, and together, destroy the geographical boundaries in the world of art and culture.

Marcus O’Dair is a senior lecturer in popular music at Middlesex University in London, where he co-leads the Popular Music programme and is the convenor of the Blockchain for Creative Industries research cluster. Different Every Time, Marcus’ 2014 biography of the musician Robert Wyatt, was a Radio 4 book of the week and was shortlisted for the Penderyn music book prize. As well as a number of academic journals, he has written for the Guardian, the Independent, the Financial Times, the Irish Times, Uncut, the Wire and Jazzwise. As one half of Grasscut, he has also released three acclaimed albums and performed across Europe, having previously been on retainer as a session musician with Passenger.

The Blockchain for Creative Industries cluster comprises staff from the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries, as well as from Science and Technology. It explores the disruptive, and enabling, potential of blockchain technology for music, photography, art, fashion, film, journalism and gaming. As well as high-quality research outputs, the cluster is committed to teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Areas of interest include new business and economic models; creative entrepreneurship and artistic identity; copyright; visual analytics; and digital forensics. As well as exploring the considerable potential for innovation, we also look at barriers to adoption and possible disadvantages of this new technology – which some have suggested could be as significant as the World Wide Web.

Angus Blair started at a Talent scout at Indie Label China Records, run by Derek Green, who set up A&M records in the UK and signed The Police, The Sex Pistols, Squeeze among many others. He signed an act called Morcheeba that went on to go Platinum. He then moved to London Records where he worked with Pete Tong and Roger Aimes. From there he worked for Telstar Records and Publishing. This was followed by Chrysalis Music Publishing and Echo Records - acts like Bat for Lashes, the Horrors, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. He then worked for Island Records / Universal with Darcus Beece and Lucian Grange and Global Entertainment Publishing as VP of A&R Recorded music and publishing. He currently works at We Make Noise management and Supernatural Recordings label.

Gaye Su Akyol is one of the creators of contemporary music. She performs her own "alaturka" melodies in her distinctive style and combines them with Western music. In the meantime, she creates her own "arabesque," taking her listeners away with electronic touches. Akyol earned a degree in social anthropology and worked as an artist before creating music took over. She experimented, feeling her way towards her vision. And when she met the band Bubituzak, something clicked. They understood what she was doing; they became part of her art. Together they recorded her debut, Develerle Yaşıyorum, in 2013. After her debut album, her devoted audience grew larger. Her new album, Hologram Empire, has the same aim: she speaks of Pluto, Jupiter, Uranus, and even Krypton, but she actually calls out from the very heart of Istanbul, reminding us of the beautiful "maqams" we have forgotten. Her music is psychedelic on one hand, and pure Turkish classical music on the other hand! If you dare to define, you will be at sea with all this "new" music. For now, the only representative is Gaye Su Akyol herself.