shesaid.so launches Meetsss, its first global summit in Portimao, Portugal.

To celebrate five years since the community launched at the end of 2014 in London, shesaid.so introduces MEETSSS, the inaugural female-first, music-forward event with the aim to explore the future of the music industry through female lens.

MEETSSS brings together shesaid.so members and non-members from all over the world in Portim?o, Portugal to bring their online connection to life and nurture new friendships in the music industry. The event is aimed at music executives from all industry sectors, artists and other professionals interested in forging connections with music stakeholders. Open to all genders.

MEETSSS is also joining forces with Kickstarter (special thanks to @christophnagel) to offer 5 delegate bursaries. As a Public Benefit Corporation with the clear mission to help bring creative projects to life, Kickstarter is committed to the arts and advocates for a more creative and equitable world. As part of this partnership, Kickstarter will be supporting the SSS community by offering bursaries to 5 attendees who otherwise would not have the privilege to attend the event. Two of these bursaries are reserved for residents of Portugal, while the remaining will be given out to potential attendees based in Europe and worldwide. Each bursary includes a delegate pass, accommodation for 3 nights, and travel. The application deadline is August 28, 2019! Link here

The event opens on Thursday, October 3rd with an evening dedicated to the Portuguese music scene, curated by Village Underground Lisbon.Guests are invited to the Museu de Portim?o marina deck to attend the first of three music showcases, featuring DJ sets by Studio Bros and live performances by Portuguese artists Surma and Fabia Maia in the museum theatre. 

Music showcases are open to both delegates and the general public.

Delegates are then invited to join the official MEETSSS cocktail reception sponsored by Portim?o City Council inside the museum, featuring a panel that explores the current music scene in Portugal with Village Underground Lisbon Co-Founder Mariana Duarte Silva and journalists Rui Miguel Abreu and Nuria Rito Pinto.

The full conference schedule kicks off at Hotel Algarve Casino on Friday morning, October 4th, with a day-long series of talks, workshops, and music showcases, including the Official Delegate Dinner. Discussions on the day will focus on leadership in the music business, mentorship, and solutions to address bias and harassment in the workplace through intersectional lens.

Speakers include Jennifer Justice, CAA’s Maria May, Jocelyn Loo (Investor/Serial Entrepreneur/Co-founder ICBRKR), Holly Manners (Warner Records UK), Shakira Payne (Sonos UK), Chi Chi Nwakodo (Sony ATV UK), Oronike Odeleye (muteRKelly), Rosie Turner (InChorus.org), Mica Coca (Resisdance London) and Cristiana Vale Pires (Kosmicare) to name a few. InChorus.org will disseminate an industry-wide survey that we are launching together in September. 

Workshops on the day include a music marketing presentation by Facebook’s Vanessa Bakewell, as well as an interactive session from industry veteran Alison Wenham that will equip delegates with the tools to become confident negotiators and public speakers.

Friday’s music showcase will feature a live performance + dj set curated by Le Bureau Export featuring Paris-based Calling Marian. The delegate dinner will be followed by an official after party, including two live performances from international guest artists to be announced later on, as well as a closing DJ set by Portugal-born, UK-based Mafalda, co-founder of the reissues record label Melodies International alongside Floating Points. 

Saturday, October 5th marks another full day of discussions and music, starting with a morning yoga class for delegates interested in starting their day early (the yoga class will also be available on Friday morning). The conference programme kicks off with an interview hosted by Resident Advisor. The conversation will be recorded and published as an RA Live Exchange podcast post-event.

Another key discussion on the day is presented by Universal Production Music and will highlight female composers and production music; speakers include shesaid.so advisor and Manners McDade General Manager Harriet Moss, and Universal’s Dina Liberg and áine Tennyson. 

Private and semi-private sessions will be available throughout the event, provided by music mental health specialist and one of the first female A&Rs in the UK, Clare Scivier. The second half of the day will explore the concept of music export through the lens of international collaborators British Council, Le Bureau Export and Italia Music Export, plus a fireside chat with shesaid.so founder Andreea Magdalina and longtime collaborator, artist manager and International Music Summit co-founder Ben Turner.

The conference program will close with an open discussion between award-winning blogger, writer, feminist and fashionista Chidera Eggerue (aka The Slumflower) and spoken word poet/performer, writer & bbz London affiliate Kai-Isaiah Jamal. As a TPOC, Kai-Isaiah focuses on creating work that predominantly explores matters of gender, masculinity and race. His work is centred on understanding, responding and defying social norms and creating articulate, thought-provoking and, most importantly, authentic responses to issues that he and his community face. Chidera has recently released her second book, ‘Scribble Yourself Feminist’, a journal designed to empower, inspire and entertain. Referred to by Elle magazine as a ‘millennial mastermind’, Chidera created the hashtag #SAGGYBOOBSMATTER.

The day will wrap up with the Official Closing Party presented by The Orchard at the beach, beginning with a live performance by Rome-based CRLN — a music showcase curated by our partner Italia Music Export. The closing party will also feature live performances by Germany-born / Los Angeles-based Delhia de France and Roundhouse Kick (Portugal), and DJ sets by Tokyo-born / Barcelona-based Hanakito, Portuguese rising star Da Chick, and headliner Deena Abdelwahed. A Tunisian producer and DJ, Deena Abdelwahed arrived in France at the age of 26. Her hybridized DJ sets, on the outer reaches of subcultures, as well as her own productions write the manifesto for a generation that does not seek to please or to conform, taking back control of its identity — with all the attendant losses and chaos.

Additional guests, including the full conference schedule, are set to be announced in the next few weeks leading up to the event. Further speakers and artists will be announced in September together with the full conference programme. Stay tuned here for all updates  https://www.shesaidsomeetsss.com/

MEETSSS is made possible with funding from the Tourism Board of Algarve and Portugal, as well as our partner organisations. Produced in partnership with Portimao-based creative agency Pipol with support from Village Underground Lisbon.

Website: https://www.shesaidsomeetsss.com/

Tickets on sale: https://www.residentadvisor.net/events/1282804

Speaker list (more TBA):

áine Tennyson (Universal Production Music, UK)

Alison Wenham (Music Industry Consultant, UK)

Andreea Magdalina (shesaid.so, Founder, Romania/USA)

Ben Turner (Graphite/International Music Summit, Founder/Co-founder, USA)

Chi Chi Nwakodo (Creative Sync, Sony ATV, UK)

Chidera Eggerue (The Slumflower, Activist/Author, UK)

Clare Scivier (Your Green Room, Founder, UK)

Cristiana Vale Pires (Kosmicare, Postdoc researcher at FEP, Portugal)

Deena Abdelwahed (Artist, France/Tunisia)

Dina Liberg (Senior Key Account Manager, Universal Production Music, UK)

Georgia Taglietti (shesaidsoSpain/SONAR, Director/Head of Communications, Spain)

Harriet Moss (Manners McDade, Managing Director, UK)

Helen Barrass (AWAL, Senior Marketing Director, UK)

Holly Manners (Warner Records, A&R, UK)

Jennifer Justice (The Justice Department, Co-Founder, USA)

Jocelyn Loo (ICBRKR, Co-Founder, USA/HK)

Kai-Isaiah Jamal (bbz London/Independent, Spoken word poet/writer, UK)

Laurène Chanson (Founder, Whisper Not Agency, Spain)

Lizzy Ellis (Creative Development Manager, Saffron Music, UK)

Maria May (CAA, Agent, UK)

Mariana Duarte Silva (Village Underground Lisboa, Co-Founder, Portugal)

Marine De Bruyn (Project Manager, Le Bureau Export, France)

Mica Coca (Resisdance London, Founder, UK)

Nuria Rito Pinto (Rimas E Batidas, Journalist, Portugal)

Oronike Odeleye (muteRKelly/ONE MusicFest, Co-Founder/Festival Coordinator, USA)

Rosie Turner (Inchorus, Co-founder, UK)

Rui Miguel Abreu (Rimas E Batidas, Journalist, Portugal)

Shakira Payne (Sonos, Communications & Sustainability Manager, UK)

Vanessa Bakewell (Facebook/Instagram, Client Partner Entertainment (Music and Film), UK)

Artist list (more TBA):

Calling Marian (France)

CRLN (Italy)

Da Chick (Portugal)

Deena Abdelwahed (France/Tunisia)

Delhia de France (Germany/USA)

Fabia Maia (Portugal)

Hanakito (Japan/Spain)

Mafalda (Portugal/UK)

Roundhouse Kick (Portugal)

Studio Bros (Portugal)

Surma (Portugal)

and many more...