THE ANCHOR BOARD 2022

We are happy to announce the ANCHOR Board 2022, a prestigious group of international insiders from different parts of the music industry to choose the six Nominees from all applicants.

This year's board members are: 

Bjørn Rogstad (NOR) – Managing Director, Universal Music Group Norway

Bjørn Rogstad is a Norwegian record director. Since 2013 he has been with Universal Music Norway where he played a fundamental role in driving the business forward. Moreover, he was responsible for signing artists such as Astrid S and Seeb. As a result of his hard work, he got promoted to General Manager of Universal Music Norway in 2017. Prior to joining Universal, Rogstad served as the director of EMI Music Norway and A&R Director and Coordinator of Nordic Repertoire.

Cecilia Soojeong Yi (KOR) – Excecutive Manager Zandari, Festival Korea

Cecilia Soojeong Yi is formerly known as the executive manager in Zandari Festa, Korea’s premier independent and international showcase festival. In 2018, she co-founded “DMZ Peace Train Music Festival” and now she takes charge of programming, artist communication, and international relationships. In 2021, she expanded her business from live music to the record industry, by founding a new company "ALPS inc." and its music content agency brand "Flipped Coin Music". FCM’s services include digital music distribution, licensing, concert promotion for international artists and labels in the Korean market; also the agency represents talented but undiscovered Korean musicians in the global music scene.

Darcy Proper (USA) – Mastering Engineer

Darcy Proper is a four-time Grammy award winning mastering engineer whose work has covered everything from vintage re-issues to cutting edge immersive audio releases.  She has had the pleasure of working for international artists such as Johnny Cash, Dave Brubeck, Steely Dan, Marcus Miller, The Eagles, Ozark Henry, Porcupine Tree, Peter Maffay, David Garrett, Jane Ira Bloom and Blind Guardian. Her career started off in NYC, followed by a 14-year stint in Europe, and now she’s back in the US continuing her work from her new base at Valhalla Studios New York.

Justin Sweeting (HKG) – Head of Music at Magnetic Asia 

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Justin Sweeting has over twenty years of music industry experience, centred within Asia. Justin is co-founder and Music Director of Magnetic Asia who run festivals & events: Clockenflap, Sonar Hong Kong, Ticketing and offer further agency services to a broad reach of clients including digital marketing, PR, production and consultancy. Connecting the dots between Asia and the global industry at large, Justin enjoys spreading the word on the region’s music potential and is actively involved in its positive evolution.

Laurent Marceau (CH) – Editor, Live Music & Projects, Popular Music

Laurent Marceau has been working in the radio industry since 1981. Senior Music Producer at the BBC from 1991 to 2001, he joined the EBU (European Broadcasting Union). In his position, he looks after the pop/rock music exchanges between public service radios. Over the years, special events and operations featured bands and artists, such as Coldplay, Radiohead, Oasis, Amy Winehouse, Nick Cave, and many others. Upcoming artists are also central to his mission, for instance through the Eurosonic festival in Groningen.

Lisa Barbaris (USA) – President, So What Management

Lisa Barbaris is a 36-year veteran of the music industry.  She began her career in 1985 in the Publicity Department at Elektra Records. In.1989 Lisa moved to Geffen Records as Vice President of Publicity and, in 1991went on to run the publicity department at EastWest/Atlantic Records. As a publicist, she represented such notable acts as Ac/DC, Metallica, Natalie Merchant, Cher, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, The Allman Brothers Band, and Teddy Pendergrass, to name just a few. 

In 1994 Lisa opened her firm "So What Management". The first management signing was UK sensation, Simply Red. She has been managing Cyndi Lauper since 1999, and her roster also includes Grammy/Emmy/Tony-winner Billy Porter and Grammy-winner Amanda Shires. 

Lisa co-founded True Colors United in 2008 with Lauper. The non-profit organization is the nation’s leading force to end homelessness among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. Barbaris is also on the executive committee for She Is The Music, founded by Alicia Keys to help organize, support, and bring more work opportunities to women throughout the music industry. 
 
In 2019 she was featured as one of Billboard Magazine’s Women In Music Top Executives.

Maria Amato (AUS) – CEO, The Australian Independent Record Labels Association

Maria Amato is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Independent Record Labels Association and has worked in the Arts and not-for-profit sector for over 25 years specialising in finance and business management through her own consultancy firm, Results Management.

She is currently a board member and treasurer for the Worldwide Independent Network and the Adelaide City of Music and has been an Anchor board member for the Reeperbahn Festival since 2018. Maria has held former positions as Chair of the Creative Industry Advisory Board and member of the board of directors for the Australian Institute of Music, CEO/CFO of the Melbourne International Film Festival and board member for Music Victoria.

Markus Kavka (GER) – Host, Author and DJ

Markus Kavka has been a music journalist for almost three decades on TV (VIVA, MTV, Deluxe Music etc.), radio (egoFM, Radio Fritz and Radio Eins vom rbb) and print (Metal Hammer etc.) and is also the author of several books (most recently one is about Depeche Mode published by KiWi), a podcaster and DJ/producer. In 2020 he was on the jury for the ANCHOR Award together with Melanie C., Brody Dalle, Darcy Proper, Tony Visconti and Frank Dellé. Not least because of this, he is looking forward to being on the board this year.

Maxie Gedge (UK) – European Project Manager, Secretly Group

Born in Norwich (UK) Maxie is an enthusiastic and committed music advocate with a strong focus on talent development, creative communications and international network building. She has programmed hundreds of shows, worked for festivals, venues, and talent development organisations in a range of genres. She has sat on the jury for awards such as MOBO Unsung, the SAY Awards, and the BRIT Awards. In 2021 Maxie joined Secretly Group as European project manager, where she has a dedicated roster of artists across all Secretly Group labels. 

Maxie is especially passionate about supporting underrepresented voices in music. Before Secretly Group, Maxie worked at PRS Foundation, managing Keychange, the international movement for gender equality in the music industry.

During her time at PRS Foundation, Maxie was recognised on the she said.so Alternative Power 100 List 2020, the IQ Magazine LGBTIQ List celebrating 20 queer pioneers, and the Music Week Women in Music Roll of Honour 2021.

Ramera Abraham (UK) – Sound Engineer

Ramera Abraham is a London-based vocal producer, recording engineer, and songwriter. After years of ABRSM classical music training in piano, vocals, and drums, Ramera finished her undergraduate degree in Canada and pursued an advanced diploma in sound engineering and music production from Abbey Road Institute in London.

Upon graduating from the Institute, she earned an engineering residency at Spotify's Secret Genius studio, with mentorship from Berklee College of Music. It was there that Ramera dealt with daily studio operations while delving into the world of vocal production and engineering, often having to take on these roles with up and coming artists at the studio. After her EQL Spotify residency, Ramera was a runner and then assistant engineer at Metropolis Studios. At Metropolis, she had the pleasure of assisting producers and artists like Adele, Jess Glynne, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Little Mix, MNEK, Stormzy, Sam Fender, and Elton John.

After her time as an assistant, Ramera progressed into a freelance recording engineer role at Platoon, a music distribution and artist services company owned by Apple. She was also recently included in SheSaid.So’s Alternative Power 100 List. With vocal engineering and vocal production at the forefront of her freelance career so far, she continues to work within the pop genre.

Ruth Barlow (UK) – Director of Licensing, Beggars Group

Ruth Barlow is Director of Live Licensing at the Beggars Group. Her career in music began in 1999 as a music producer at London based radio station Xfm. Joining the Beggars Group of labels as a National Radio Plugger in 2002, 
Then in 2007, with the increased emphasis on live music in the music industry, Ruth was given a blank canvas to start exploring Beggars relationship with the live world.

When live music video content exploded online around a decade ago, Ruth was well placed to head up a new area of the business that sees her policy making, developing & managing the numerous and varied rights deals surrounding live streaming and live recording of the labels artists by third parties globally.  Ruth became a Director of Beggars Group UK in 2014 and currently sits on the boards of livestream company Driift and Earth Agency.

Sebastian Meißner (GER) – Professor of Media Management, Macromedia University of Applied Sciences Hamburg

Sebastian Meißner, born in 1976, is Professor of Media Management and Associate Dean at the Macromedia University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg. He conducts research in the fields of media and pop culture and has also been writing texts about music and festivals for various magazines and journals, blogs, and websites throughout Europe for many years. 

Zan Rowe (AUS) – Host of Double J Mornings and National Music Correspondent for ABC, Australia

For twenty years, Zan has worked as a  broadcaster and music journalist, championing the discovery of new music; whether at worldwide festivals and conferences, or on her daily national radio program. For more than a decade, Zan was a key broadcaster with Triple J, before launching a new Mornings show on sister station Double J.

She is the host of ABC TV’s high rating New Year's Eve broadcast concert, and a regular correspondent on morning television’s ABC News Breakfast. Zan has chaired panels and MC-ed events internationally, been part of the official Australian Eurovision Jury, and was the first Australian juror for the ANCHOR Award in 2019.

Kandia Crazy Horse (USA) – Artist, Journalist 

Kandia Crazy Horse is a Native Americana artist based in Manhattan. A standout in the crowded Americana field & burgeoning rise of Black Country, Kandia expresses an authentic and rich sonic vision of Laurel Canyon sounds & Native American twang. Her voice infused with a honeyed rasp, and deft arrangements have yielded performances on the Grand Ole Echo @ SXSW and beyond.

Her debut album Stampede garnered critical acclaim from outlets such as MOJO, the Village Voice, Acoustic Guitar, Relix, Harp/Blurt & WFMU.Previously, she served as a rock critic for publications including the Village Voice, Harp, Creative Loafing, Vibe, and Paste; she was known for covering southern rock and jam bands. Praised for her all-encompassing fluency with varied country and folk music traditions, Kandia’s sound unifies the ancient with indigenous futures.