Introducing Our Business Experts: Andy Haggerstone – Kaleidoscope

Andy Haggerstone is the founder and managing director of Kaleidoscope, an artist management company and independent record label based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Kaleidoscope was established in 2015, working with artists including SHIELDS, Callum Pitt, and Grace Gillespie. Kaleidoscope’s roster have performed at festivals including Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, Melt!, Reeperbahn and The Great Escape, have landed sync placements with brands including Ubisoft and FILA and on TV shows/channels including Made In Chelsea and BT Sports, and have featured on key DSP playlists with Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer.

Andy can offer support on the following:

• Setting up and running a record label/artist management company
• Playlist- and sync-pitching
• PR and marketing for artists
• Artist development

I started Kaleidoscope, essentially, by accident. At the time, I was in the second year of a Philosophy PhD, and other than playing in a few pretty terrible bands when I was younger I had no experience or knowledge of the music industry. Some friends of mine were in a band that had recorded an album with Adrian Bushby, who’d won a couple of Grammy’s working with Muse and Foo Fighters, but had no means of releasing the album. I really liked the recording, so was keen to try to figure out a way to help them get it out, so we decided to set up our own label as a way to release it. So, even if you’re not currently sure how things work in the music industry, my own example shows that it is possible to make a move into it with very little relevant background experience!

Since setting up the label, I’ve been forced to learn a lot very quickly. We definitely made mistakes early on and, in a sense, they’ve been as valuable as any of our successes in that they’ve helped shape our approach to the business. This steep learning curve also means that I should be able to offer advice from the perspective of someone who has had to learn things starting at the very bottom – I didn’t have the benefit of interning at a major label to acquire their received wisdom. This definitely shapes my approach to mentoring and coaching. I also have a background in teaching (Secondary, Further and Higher Education), and I think this also informs my coaching style. It is also one of the reasons we set up our own internship scheme at Kaleidoscope, where we fund and guide our interns as they start their own label – I’m very keen to pass on what I have learned!

Interested in accessing fully funded business support from Andy or any of our other coaches? Contact Emma for more information.