About Sound NSW

Jessica Ducrou is the co-CEO of Secret Sounds. She has founded festivals including Homebake, an all-Australian festival which showcased established and emerging artists, and Splendour in the Grass, Australia’s largest and most iconic music festival. In 2018, Jessica co-founded the Australian Festival Association, which conducts advocacy with government and other stakeholders on behalf of the festival industry.  

John Watson is one of Australia’s leading artist managers, establishing John Watson Management in 1995 after signing Silverchair to their first recording deal. JWM’s roster currently includes Birds Of Tokyo, Cold Chisel (co-managed with John O’Donnell), Goyte, Missy Higgins, Midnight Oil and The Presets. John is also the President of the boutique indie label, Eleven: A Music Company and has previously played in indie bands, worked in record stores, written for music magazines and worked in A&R for a major label.

Annabelle Herd is the CEO of ARIA and PPCA (Phonographic Performance Company of Australia). Annabelle came to the music industry in following a 16-year career in television at Network 10, covering operations, corporate and government affairs and strategy, and several years working in government. She is a Council Member of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.  

Dean Ormston is the Chief Executive of APRA AMCOS, Australia and New Zealand’s largest music industry organisation. He has led advocacy with Federal and State Governments for the recognition and support of creators’ rights, and the potential of the local music industry as a key economic and cultural asset. Dean has also coordinated and led cross-sector advocacy relating to COVID-19, the establishment of Music Australia, and the opportunity and threat of AI to creative industries.  

An electronic music professional with 25+ years experience including artist management, programming, media and government relations, events and touring. Jane is Director, EMC; Director Asia Pacific, VibeLab and Director, Young Strangers, (Artist Management, working with Sampology, Middle Name Dance Band and Sampology’s Middle Name Records imprint). 

Jane is a board member at MusicNSW and a Patron of the Association of Artist Managers.

KLP is a highly accomplished performing artist, DJ, songwriter, broadcaster and producer who has worked professionally in the music industry since the age of 14. 

Over the last 25 years she has amassed first-hand experience and an in-depth understanding of the challenges and opportunities that touring and recording artists face in the ever-evolving music landscape in Australia and around the world. 

Breaking through as host of Triple’s House Party, KLP has been earmarked as a tastemaker in the dance music world from early on. She has picked up ARIA nominations for her collabs with Stace Cadet, ‘Energy’ & ‘People Happy’, with ‘Energy’ also placing #21 in Triple J’s coveted Hottest 100 countdown. As one of Australia’s most in-demand songwriters and DJ’s, she is a mainstay in Australia’s clubs and music festival stages.

Away from the studio and the stage, she has also demonstrated her commitment to the advancement of the music community as an avid music industry advocate, organizer, advisor and mentor. 

As well as being an APRA Ambassador, she has worked with music charity Heaps Decent and the APRA Songmakers program which brings the joy of songwriting into schools around Australia. Inspired by these experiences, in the last few years she has founded Ricochet Songs, a female focussed songwriting camp and the successful Ricochet Ball netball charity event. 

Lucy Joseph is the Engagement and Programs Manager for the Live Music Office, a government advocacy organisation that supports development of better regulation and strategy for live music across all levels of government. She manages delivery of the Live and Local Program, working closely with local councils across Australia to develop live music strategic plans through the delivery of a number of national best practice activities and processes that encourage beneficial relationships between councils, community, artists and businesses. She has a background in administration and creative events, with previous roles at Vivid Sydney, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and BEAMS Arts Festival.

Matt Jeffrey is a community studio producer, working hip-hop artist and writer. He is committed to the advancement of a fair and equitable music industry and to empowering marginalised story-telling on to the centre-stage. Matt has run music education programs as part of a deep-set commitment to ensuring generational-knowledge transfer. 

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Tanya Ali is a leader, broadcaster and media professional with over a decade of experience in the music industry. She is the Managing Director of FBi Radio, a youth community radio station dedicated to Sydney music, arts and culture, where she has worked and volunteered across a number of roles since 2014. She is passionate about music, particularly on a local level, and ensuring equitable access to and engagement with music infrastructure

Tim Leha was previously the CEO at Gadigal Information Service, a leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts/media hub based in Sydney. Tim is an independent media worker and filmmaker of Aboriginal Australian and Polynesian heritage.

Tyla Dombroski is the Chief Operating Officer of Crowbar, and has presented over 3000 events over the last 12 years. She led the expansion of the company to a multi-city east coast venue group in 2018, acquiring and revitalising an under-utilised Sydney venue. Throughout the challenges of COVID-19, Tyla committed to advocating for the live music sector and, alongside industry colleagues, helped pave the way for future funding opportunities for the sector.   

Vyvienne Abla is a director and executive producer in the music and creative industries, with two decades of local and international experience. In 2007 she founded Vyva Entertainment, an organisation dedicated to empowering artists by integrating industry, education and community through hip-hop and music culture. In 2015 she launched the 4Elements HipHop Project, the only festival and conference of its kind nationally. Vyvienne is also an artist manager and is the producer for multiple events and festivals.  

Emily Collins is a music industry specialist with extensive strategy, policy and program development expertise.

Before joining Sound NSW, Emily was Managing Director of MusicNSW for eight years and galvanized the NSW contemporary music industry through significant challenges. Emily has worked on game-changing projects for the music industry including I Lost My Gig and the Music Industry Review, which resulted in the publishing of the Raising Their Voices report in 2022.

Emily began her career working in music festivals Cockatoo Island Festival and Great Escape Festival, and then went on to work at Underbelly Arts Festival, Sydney Writers’ Festival and Darwin Festival in marketing roles, before taking up the role of development manager at Sydney's premier youth station FBi Radio in 2013.

Emily has held positions on several boards including the Night Time Industries Association, Australian Music Industry Network, National Live Music Awards, and City of Sydney’s Creative and Cultural Panel, and was awarded the Sydney Music Arts and Culture Awards SMAC of the year in 2018.