Eve Horne is a pioneering figure in the music industry, renowned for her over 20 years of experience as a singer, songwriter, and producer. Eve is founder of We Are The Unheard CIC, an organisation amplifying underrepresented voices in music. As a mixed-race, gay, neurodivergent single parent, she advocates for equity, access, and lasting change in the industry.
Her efforts have garnered significant recognition, including being named a SheSaid.So ALT List 2020 Honorée and serving as an innovator for the UK on the Keychange 2022 program. Eve is a representative on the UK Music Diversity Taskforce and was enlisted into the Music Week Women In Music Roll Of Honour in 2022.
She leads The Unheard Academy, a PRS Foundation Talent Development Network Partner, providing inclusive music production education for marginalised creatives. Eve also created Mother’s Write, the UK’s first songwriting camp for mothers, and partners with BLiM to deliver Turn It Up, a sound engineering programme for women and gender-expansive people of colour.
Eve serves on the Board and senate of The Ivors Academy, is an Equity and Justice Advisory Group member for the BPI and a Business Advisor for Help Musicians. She has previously served as an Executive Director of the Music Producers Guild, where she is the first person of colour to serve.
I have been an educator for over two decades. I’ve taught and lectured hundreds, most likely thousands, on accredited and non-accredited courses across music education institutions, from primary and secondary schools, to youth programmes, after-school holiday programmes, further education, higher education and many more.
The power of music to increase personal confidence and as a communication device to express one’s thoughts, ideas and emotions and the impact it has to transcend barriers and create unity.
Frank Sweeney, MA is a Senior Arts Manager with 30+ years of experience in the Voluntary and Community Sector, using the arts as a powerful tool for social change and engagement. As Director of GB Carnival and founder of Desire Paths, Frank leads large-scale cultural projects—including carnivals in Margate, Ramsgate, and Waltham Forest—and supports artists in realising their creative visions.
His work at Hackney Empire helped launch numerous artistic careers. He currently Executive Produces the African Diaspora Festival Choir and sits on several charity boards. Over the past decade, Frank has raised over £3 million for arts and community initiatives.
A Sector Expert and Peer Mentor for the Clock Your Skills framework, he’s pursuing a Level 8 Community Champion Award for his practice in Community Arts. His work centres on building partnerships and exploring African Atlantic Diaspora cultural heritage through Carnival and Masquerade
Dr Hannah Shimko
UK, Europe
Sector: Trade Associations, Heritage, Tech, Business, Policy & Advocacy
Hannah is the Managing Director of the Gift Card and Voucher Association (GCVA). She is responsible for the running of the trade association and delivery of the GCVA mission to promote and protect the gift card sector. She holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham. Hannah comes from a career running trade associations, previously as CEO of the Online Dating Association and prior to that as Head of Policy and Comms at the Heritage Alliance. She has spent many years on the coalface of advocacy and public relations, as well as working with a diverse range of stakeholders. She co-founded the Women in Tech Policy Network and Digital Lib Dems.
Michelle Escoffery is a multi-award-winning singer-songwriter, industry leader and vocal champion for music creators. With a career spanning 30+ years, she’s penned hits for global stars, earned Ivor Novello and BRIT Awards, and made history as the first President of PRS for Music’s Members’ Council.
A dynamic educator and mentor, Michelle lectures on commercial songwriting at leading institutions including Westminster University, BIMM, and Tileyard Education, while nurturing rising talent through her boutique company, 528 Music Global.
As Chair of The Ivors Academy Trust, CLOCK Sector Expert and Trustee of PRS Foundation, Michelle is shaping the future of music — opening doors, building pathways, and pushing for lasting change. She brings creative brilliance, sharp executive insight, and contagious positive energy to everything she does.
Paulette Long OBE has worked within the music industry for over 40 years, beginning her career in music PR and artist management. She later joined the independent music publisher Westbury Music, where she became a director and gained experience across all areas of publishing, from licensing, artist development and business affairs to royalty accounts and distribution. She also held roles with an advertising agency on its music accounts and with an independent record label, before establishing her own management and publishing venture.
A former long-standing board director of the Music Publishers Association (serving 16 years) and a former director of PRS for Music, where she held the post of Deputy Chair, becoming the first Black person to sit on both Boards. Paulette was also a long-standing trustee of the PRS Members’ Fund (stepping down in January 2025) and remains an Ambassador for the PRS Foundation.
A founding member of ADMM (now known as ADD – Action for Diversity & Development), she helped create the UK music industry’s first Diversity Charter, which was formally adopted and implemented by UK Music. Paulette is currently Deputy Chair of the UK Music Diversity Task Force and previously served as Deputy Chair of the BPI’s Equality, Justice and Advisory Group Taskforce.
In 2016, she was added to Music Week’s Women in Music Roll of Honour, and later that year received an OBE for services to the music industry. In 2017,
Paulette received the prestigious Gold Badge Award from The Ivors Academy (and later also received the MPA Gold Badge Award). In 2019, she served as Jury President for the Entertainment Lions for Music category at the renowned Cannes Lions Festival. In 2022, Paulette became Chair of the Music Publishers Association (MPA) and is also a qualified Peer Reviewer for the CLOCK Your Skills programme.
My name is Will Fenton, I’m a sound engineer and backline technician by trade. Touring the world with pop acts through my 20s in the early 2000s this later led to a career in technology, and operations management for Large music industry entities. I went freelance again in 2015 and now work as a consultant, production/project manager, and Tech Entrepreneur specialising in the live music and events sector.