Board of Directors
The Board is made up of the following members:
- The Chair
- 4 Welsh Stakeholders nominated and elected by stakeholders
- A Creative Business Wales specialist as observer only
- Penny Mitchell - Former Head of Strategy, Welsh Development Agency
- Sain representative
The 4 Welsh Stakeholder representatives voted onto the Board are:
Rhys Mwyn
From trailblazing Welsh punk band Anhrefn through to cultural dance outfit Hen Wlad Fy Mamau, Rhys Mwyn has been responsible for creating some of the most cutting edge Welsh music. As a mentor for Welsh bands such as Datblygu and Catatonia during their early days, Mwyn has also worked behind the scenes with some of Wales' most exciting pop acts. Previously working on a freelance basis for Crai, Rhys is now managing his own company that includes management / agency / consultancy / PR and A&R. Rhys won Outstanding Contribution to Welsh Music Award in 2003 (Welsh Music Awards) and 2002 (Radio Cymru).
Neil Cocker
Neil Cocker was co-founder of Wales' most successful dance music label, Plastic Raygun, and helped steer it to much critical acclaim and several industry awards. He A&R'd a Top Ten Hit, licensing a single out to a major label that went on to become one of the most played records on British radio in 2001. As an artist, DJ, and producer he has released many singles, mixes and remixes, and performed in 35 different countries on 4 continents. He is now co-founder of Dizzyjam.com, an online service that makes it easy for anybody who makes, plays, or promotes music to sell their merchandise direct to their fans. As such he has seen the industry from all sides. On top of this he is a key figure in the Cardiff creative business scene, co-organises TEDxCardiff and Ignite Cardiff, and has recently been named as one of Wales top 25 young entrepreneurs.
John Rostron
John Rostron is a live music promoter living and working in Wales. With Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens he organises the now annual Sŵn Festival which takes place across a dozen venues in Cardiff through one Autumn weekend. He’s also created other Sŵn events showcasing new music in and out of Wales, with concerts at the ICA, tours of Wales, and forthcoming Sŵn concerts at In The City, UnConvention and in 2010 in New York, Croatia and SXSW. Recently he created the Association of Promoters and Events Cardiff (APE Cardiff : www.apecardiff.com) a body representing all live music and clubnight promoters in the city to give them a voice to speak to Council and Authorities in response to increasing pressures on live music promoters and venues within the Welsh capital.
John also runs My Kung Fu, an international independent record label which has fostered releases from Richard James (ex of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci), Soft Hearted Scientists and the first ever Welsh language release from Cerys Matthews amongst others. John is also the co-creator and author of ‘Sleeveface’.
Huw Williams
Huw was the singer in The Pooh Sticks from 1988 until 1995. The band made several albums, had major deals with BMG and Atlantic and toured in the US, Japan and Europe. By 1994 he had began managing Newport’s 60Ft Dolls and guided the band through deals with Rough Trade and Geffen, world tours and UK hits. Huw has worked as an A&R consultant for Sony and Warners. His involvement with Catatonia and Stereophonics led to the formation of publishing company; Townhill Music which was funded by Sony UK. Huw co-founded Welsh Music Foundation in 2000 and as manager up until 2002 Huw oversaw its involvement in bringing BBC Radio 1 live , Interactive City and the Barfly venue to Cardiff, creating the first music directory for Wales and launching the free Honk/ Sound Nation magazine.
Huw has been a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio Wales for over a dozen years and was instrumental in bringing XFM to South Wales. More recently, Huw co founded Soundtrack International Music and Film Festival and is currently working as a creative industries consultant
Sain: Dafydd Roberts
Having worked as a musician in the 70’s and 80’s, and as a TV director and producer with the BBC in Cardiff and London, Dafydd is now Chief Executive at Sain Records. At Sain, Dafydd has launched sub-labels for new young artists, expanded Sain’s distribution and licensing deals within the UK and abroad, and set up deals with iTunes, Nokia/OD2 and eMusic to take all of Sain’s catalogue. Dafydd is also chair of the Welsh Music Publishers and Composers Alliance, and has spearheaded the campaign to secure the royalty income from PRS and MCPS for Welsh composers in order to maintain a vibrant music industry in Wales.
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