Do you have any creative rituals or routines?
Firstly, I am a firm believer in balance. I have a type A personality so ironically I have to ‘work hard’ to relax and be present. In the past I have set my alarm for 5 am every day, gone straight to the gym and worked all the hours that God sends. In order to combat this urge, I meditate every morning and try to turn screens off by 8 pm – it’s not easy.
What are your responsibilities and primary duties in your work?
Running Secret Sessions is a mixed bag of duties. If we have a live show I am always there for soundcheck, meeting artists and getting ready to host the show. If we are preparing a show, I am listening to artists and comparing notes with Andy, who also runs Secret Sessions and puts together the line ups. Another big part of what I do is setting and communicating the Secret Sessions vision with the wider industry and audiences.
What inspired you to set up the platform for Secret Sessions?
Music has the power to connect people. Whether that’s at a live show or through a piece of video content. In a world where we are constantly bombarded with information, music gets right to our hearts and makes us feel something.
What is on your bucket list? What do you hope to do/achieve in the future?
Secret Sessions is a female first music platform, that means that 60% of the artists we work with are women. Currently, just 20% of artists signed to record labels are female. I would like to see a gender-balanced music industry with female artists getting the same opportunities as their male counterparts.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
When I am not working I am in Margate, where I live. I’ll probably be walking my Hungarian Vizsla Hudson on the beach or drinking red wine with friends.
What influenced you to transition from online platforms to live performances?
As mentioned above, for me music is all about connection. As we get more and more connected digitally our sense of loneliness is increasing. Bringing Secret Sessions into the live space meant that we can connect people in the real world, not just online.
What other areas of the industry would you want to explore in future?
I am also committed to addressing the gender imbalance providing opportunities to stand out female talent. I think brands play a key role in the future of the music industry, brands are looking to access growing and passionate audiences, which musicians have. Secret Sessions works with forward-thinking brands who are willing to get in early on a growing musician’s career, this is a growing area of the business that I am keen to keep exploring
What music/artists are you enjoying at the moment and where do you find new music?
Luckily we get very early access to the best new talent. My email inbox is a hot bed for new artists:
Rahh
KYAN
Rothwell
Ruthanne
Luke Burr
LEIO
Olivia Dean
Jessica Wilde
How has your approach to discovering and developing new artists altered from video to live to radio platforms?
Now that we do the live show we always ask artists to send in a video of them playing live. Often Spotify numbers and quality of studio produced tracks doesn’t always amount to a great live set. We need to know that the artists we choose will knock the ball out the park on stage!
What considerations do you make when putting artists forward for brand collaborations?
People think it’s all about follower counts, though more and more we look at engagement. A small, highly engaged, growing audience of a few thousand can see a much higher ROI than a million less engaged fans, It’s all about nurturing your fan base and making them feel special.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Music is a people’s business. As much as we think we should spend our days on the computer growing audiences, nothing compares to real-life human relationships that are built over time.
How do you see the live music and performance industry evolving in the future?
Live is a huge part of a current artist's future, that’s where the money is, unless you are lucky enough to be getting millions of streams a month. People are getting out of the house, looking for experiences and paying good money to do so. Smart artists will put their laptops down and get on the stage!
What is your main aim when putting on a live show and what part of the process is your favourite?
Again it comes down to connection, the experience we create at Secret Sessions is special, for the artists on stage and the audience watching them. Seeing the hairs stand on end of our audience…nothing beats that!
What’s next for Harriet?
Growing something meaningful takes time, a lot of hard work and relationship building – show by show, artist by artist we are growing our community.
For us, it’s about doing more of what we already do and getting better each time.
