MAP Facilitators

Deb Suckling

• Genre Specialities – Rock, Pop, Indie, Singer/Songwriter, Folk
• Areas of Expertise – Digital Distribution, Band Business, Funding, Release Strategies, Labels, Songwriting and Recording

Deb has worked within the Queensland music industry for over a decade. She spent a number of years cutting her teeth with independent labels FunkFolk Records and Collision Records before founding her own label SugarRush Records in late 2006. Deb is the vocalist and songwriter with Brisbane bands Brindle and Lucy Star Satellite, who collectively have created eight releases in the past eight years and toured nationally and internationally. Deb was also the Program Manager for QMusic until October 2012, overseeing a number of projects including coordinating the annual Queensland Music Awards and coordinating professional development workshops across the state for emerging artists. She is extremely passionate about the development of Queensland artists and supporting local music.

Martine Cotton

• Genre Specialities - Indie, Alternative, Singer/Songwriter, Folk
• Areas of Expertise - Management, Touring & Event Management, Promotions, Marketing, Web and Social Media Strategies

Martine began working in the music industry in 1990 when she coordinated the Griffith Uni O-Week featuring multiple international and local band events. And with that, she was hooked! Since then she has worked in a diverse array of music industry positions including band management (george, Toothfaeries, Sekiden and many more), venue management (The Zoo 1995 - 2000), festival and event organiser (Valley Fiesta, Woodford Oasis Stage, Port Douglas Carnivale and more), stage manager, booking agent (The Zoo 1995 - 2000, The Capitol, Sparkletone, etc), promotor, local rep for touring companies (Handsome, Billions, etc), music industry educator, marketing and social media strategist and more.  After 10 years away from Brisbane (living in Tokyo and Port Douglas) and a well-earned sabbatical from the music industry, in 2011 Martine happily returned to the warm embrace of the Qld music biz and is delighted to be working with old friends and the passionate and dedicated team at QMusic where she is Program Manager.

Anje West

• Genre Specialities – World, Roots, Jazz, Folk, Latin
• Areas of Expertise – Performance, Recording and Production, Songwriting, Touring, Self Management , Band Business

For almost 20 years, Anje has  been part of Brisbane's music community; performer, song-writer, producer, a self-managed artist & creator of original touring shows for Qld Arts Council and Musica Viva in Schools. Her main source of work for almost 14 years has been her Brazilian-influenced band The View From Madeleine's Couch, managing to cross many musical boundaries simply by making good music.  Across 4 recordings she's co-produced, composed, arranged, managed budgets and schedules for a band full of people who also work in other bands. Not easy! Anje also appears as guest vocalist on another 10 albums. She's successfully applied for over $20,000.00 worth of grants, designed cover artwork, posters & flyers and hosted a weekly local music info spot on ABC radio for a year, as well as taken on occasional freelance producing work, mostly for Brisbane City Council.
Her work with Madcouch, and other projects have taken her all over Australia, including to remote communities in N.T & the Kimberly and she has performed at festivals throughout Qld & interstate, and performed at clubs in Brazil, where she'll return in 2012 to continue living her dream.

Graham "Asho" Ashton

• Genre Specialities - Alternative, Indie, Punk, Rock, Folk/Singer-songwriter, Pop, Country, Metal & Hip Hop
• Areas of Expertise - Promotions, Marketing, Management, Mentoring, Touring & Events

Asho left home and school at an early age to sing in punk rock bands.  He realized quickly that it was better for everybody that he stayed on the other side of the stage. In the 90’s he managed bands and started up the indie punk label Emily Records. Asho annoyed everyone in the Brisbane music scene for a few years before getting a start in the call centre at Polygram Records in 1991.  He spent the next two decades working at independent and major records labels in Brisbane and Sydney and has held positions in A&R, Marketing, Promotions, Publicity, International Licensing and Sales. He is now the Director of Footstomp Music which is a Music Services Company specializing in artist, project and event management, and artist mentoring.  Footstomp manage BABAGANOUJ (Ex Yves Klein Blue), GLENN RICHARDS (Augie March), THE HONEY MONTH, INLAND SEA and KING CANNONS. In 2011 Footstomp signed a label deal with Warner Music Australia and Footstomp Record's first signing is Rockhampton’s favourites sons, BUSBY MAROU. Asho is also proud to have worked closely with hundreds of artists including the likes of ROBBIE WILLIAMS, POWDERFINGER, THE LIVING END, PAUL KELLY, THE GO-BETWEENS, SARAH BLASKO and MUMFORD & SONS.  Asho also scored a great coup as Executive Programmer for BIGSOUND 2010 and 2011 and is proud to have been asked back to program BIGSOUND in 2012.  He is getting more obsessed about music with age!

Danny Widdicombe

• Genre Specialities – Country, Blues, Bluegrass, Folk, Singer/Songwriter
• Areas of Expertise – Songwriting, Recording, Live Performance, Booking Gigs, Management

Danny has worked in the music industry for 20 years. Starting in music retail in 1991, Danny also worked at Universal Music as senior account manager in Sydney before embarking on a full time career as a songwriter and performer in 2005. Danny is now a self managed, published, twice ARIA Award nominated and award winning songwriter / performer, releasing 5 albums since 2006. He is also a musician for hire and has played lead guitar for such artists as Bernard Fanning and Tim Rogers amongst others. He also composes music for TV, teaches guitar and conducts workshops of the joys of writing songs. His first album ‘The Transplant Tapes’ (2006) was written about his fight with his long time rival leukaemia. Danny then co-founded the band The Wilson Pickers who were subsequently signed to ABC / Universal. Both albums released by The Wilson Pickers ‘Land of the Powerful Owl’ (2008) and ‘Shake it Down’ (2010) were nominated for ARIA Awards for best blues and roots album. In between Wilson Pickers releases, Danny also released his second solo album through ABC / Universal ‘Dominoes’ (2009) and more recently ‘Find Someone’ (2011).  In 2010 Danny won the GW McLennan Memorial Fellowship with his Wilson Pickers bandmate Andrew Morris and they toured Europe together through May and June 2011 before Danny was struck down by leukaemia once more. He is currently in remission and working on writing songs for a new project due for release in late 2012.

Dominic Miller

• Genre Specialities - Folk, Country, Rock, Indie Rock
• Areas of Expertise - Self Management, Self Promotion, Event Management

Dom started his career in the music industry self managing his own band, Rocketsmiths before branching out to look after promising indie rockers, Wind and Brackets. Rocketsmiths tasted local success and had some solid airplay and after releasing their debut album “Bones” toured with such acts as Spoon, Little Red, The Cruel Sea, We Are Scientists and British India plus many more. After Rocketsmiths called it a day in late 2010, Dominic decided to move into the other side of the industry full time and started Bluebeard Music; an artist management business and booking agency. As part of this, Dominic manages The Gin Club, Ben Salter, Texas Tea and ARIA award-winning producer, Magoo.As well as being an artist manager, Dominic also works as a booking agent at Dowse Bar in Paddington and assistant booking agent with famous Brisbane venue, the Zoo.

Maggie Collins

• Genre Specialties - Alternative, Indie, Rock, Alt-Pop, Alt-RnB, Alt-Hip Hop, Party, Punk, Solo Artists, Electronic, Experimental
• Areas of Expertise - Management, Media, Strategy, Touring, Events, Training, Bookings, Overseas Markets

In her time in the music industry Maggie has accrued a wealth of experience that has seen her build a successful career as a national broadcaster and artist manager. She is the manager of ARIA Award winning band DZ Deathrays and Unearthed J Award winners The John Steel Singers, who she has helped build strong profiles both in the domestic and international markets. Both bands have played SXSW (Austin, TX), CMJ (NY) and The Great Escape (UK) as well as various international tours and massive press accolades. She has also helped both bands secure label, promoter and agent deals across the different territories. With her radio hat on, she started out as a presenter on community broadcaster 4ZzZ, where she was Music Director for just over a year before transitioning to triple j where she became the weekend afternoon presenter and sometimes triple j Mornings fill-in presenter.

Emma Di Muzio

• Genre Specialities – Classical and Popular
• Areas of Expertise – Band Business, Festivals, Indigenous Music, Community Music

Emma is a business consultant.  She has extensive experience in the arts and other creative industries (incl. education, biotech and IT) and has combined her professional and community experience in the arts with formal studies in music, education and business to produce a successful career to date in arts management.  Her roles of employment have ranged from Musician to Music Teacher, and Marketing and Business Development Manager to General Manager of both non-for-profit and commercial organisations (eg. Qld Music Festival, Qld Choir, Darwin Symphony Orchestra, Education Qld, and Skinnyfish Music).  Emma’s strengths in the MAP program are: business and marketing for contemporary and contemporary / classical fusion artists in commercial, and community or other non-profit settings.

Lynette Irwin

• Genre Specialities – Jazz, Classical and Improvised Music
• Areas of Expertise – Festivals, Nation and International Touring, Production, Management, Showcasing

Lynette began her music industry career 36 years ago for APRA in Sydney. Pursuing her passion for jazz she travelled the world and settled in The Netherlands where she worked as music copyist for Big Bands prior the advent of computers. In 1986 she moved to Brisbane and began working for the Queensland music industry as music producer, presenter, promoter and manager specialising in jazz. Lynette has toured Australian jazz artists in Japan, China and Europe and renowned Internationals in Australia presenting concerts of the finest jazz artists from around the globe including Kurt Elling, Trilok Gurtu, Dewey Redman, James Carter, Sheila Jordan, Nancy King, Steve Lacy, Satoko Fujii, Nicki Iles and Gary Willis and has programmed hundreds of events for Australian artists. For over 10 years she was jazz broadcaster and producer for community radio in Brisbane and has received numerous grants for jazz projects since 1990. Lynette is Director of Absolute Events, provides management for Misinterprotato, Marialy Pacheco and Catherine Lambert, heads the record label Pinnacles Music and currently serves on the board of Jazz Queensland.

BJ Hemmling

• Genre Specialities – Hip Hop, Indie, Rock, Metal, Pop
• Areas of Expertise – Touring, Management, Booking Gigs, Event Production, Risk Management

Daniel Dow

• Genre Specialities – Soul, Funk, R & B, Hip Hop, World, Indigenous, Reggae, Musical Theatre
• Areas of Expertise – Artist Management, Performance, Band Business, Production, Songwriting

Daniel is from the Komet and Peibre Tribes of Murray Island in the Torres Strait. He began his musical career as a boy playing in his father's pioneering church in Townsville. He has been involved in the performing arts in many different contexts for over 15 years: original and working cover bands, tribute shows, theater musicals, and acting in stage and film, both in Australia and internationally.  Daniel is also the founder of Indigenous Performing Artist Management and represents the careers of Impossible Odds, Classik Nawu and Georgia Corowa; he also chairs the board of Ailan Traks, a Torres Strait Islander Arts production company and teaches at the Aboriginal Centre for Performing Arts.

Jackson Walkden-Brown

• Genre Specialities - N/A
• Areas of Expertise - Copyright, Contracts, Band Partnership Agreements, Management Agreements and Business Development

Jackson was admitted to practice as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2003. He took up a position as a part-time teaching fellow at the Faculty of Law at Bond University in 2004, whilst practicing at the Brisbane office of Minter Ellison Solicitors. Now a Senior Teaching Fellow, Jackson's principal areas of research and teaching include Entertainment Law and Animal Rights Law. His primary interests in the entertainment sphere are the general copyright and contractual aspects of the music and film industries. Jackson has extensive practical experience in the pro-bono sector and regularly provides volunteer legal advice to local artists through his association with the Arts Law Centre of Australia and the QUT Intellectual Property Law Clinic. Jackson is also a legal consultant to a Sydney-based firm specialising in entertainment law.

Tyler McLoughlan

• Genre Specialties - N/A
• Areas of Expertise - Copyright, Synchronisation - existing and specially composed music, Licensing Contracts, Getting your music ready for sync

After completing a Bachelor of Business (Music Industry) at Victoria University, Tyler sampled a variety of music industry roles until finding a specialisation in the field of music copyright. Tyler has worked as a music licence broker with Ricall in London, negotiating placements for clients including Red Bull, Specsavers and Guitar Hero, dealing with major copyrights such as Queen and Edith Piaf and gaining a wealth of experience across sychronisation licensing for ads, television, corporate, online and film. Returning to Brisbane as a publicist with the burgeoning management and publicity team at Mucho-Bravado, Tyler became entrenched in the local Brisbane music scene, and began sourcing sync opportunities for a range of independent artists, before founding The Sound Pound in 2011. Since then she has represented the likes of Tara Simmons, Hey Geronimo and Cub Scouts for placements including AFL, Suncorp, The Age and Queensland Theatre Company. Tyler also lectures in music copyright at JMC Academy Brisbane.