Meet Entertainment's Future Leaders: Mitch Page

After studying music production in Leeds, Mitch has had stints as a talent scout, jingle writer, ticketing agent, artist manager and label manager. Now, at the age of 29, Mitch works for Amazon Music and is responsible for the streaming service’s relations with the entire UK independent music sector.

“I always wanted to do something in music,” he says. “My aspiration was to be Mark Ronson, but I didn’t have the hair or the talent.”

After university he moved to Manchester. “I basically emailed everyone in Manchester I could find who had anything to do with a record label.”

The tactic worked and he began working, initially unpaid, for noted Manchester indie, Scruff Of The Neck, before joining as a salaried member of the team, first on ticketing, then with its management arm, with artists including Cassia, Larkins and The Reytons, and ultimately being appointed label manager.

A notable highlight came in 2019 when Scruff Of The Neck was named Best Small Label at the AIM Awards, the ‘Oscars’ of the UK indie community.

Mitch’s reputation was growing and so it is perhaps no wonder that he joined Amazon Music UK to become its first label relations manager focused solely on the indie sector.

“In November 2020 I moved to London,” he says. “I was the first person hired at Amazon Music whose role solely focused on the independent community in the UK, so a lot of my job at first was building relationships. One of the earliest things we did was a livestream with IDLES, and that sent out a strong signal that we were serious about this.

“Moving from the label to Amazon Music was essentially going from one of the smaller companies in the industry to one of the most popular streaming services overnight. But the culture was very similar. They both have a start-up culture. At Amazon Music, you are encouraged to think fast and think big and to feel like an owner, a leader.”

Inevitably, Mitch’s label relations role entails a lot of meetings. “Label relations is the bridge between the record industry and the streaming services,” he says. “There are thousands of indie labels in the UK and they all have my email.”

Mitch’s role entails lots of meetings with labels, ranging from regular updates to playbacks of forthcoming new releases..

It may be business, but it also reflects Mitch’s personal passion. “I care deeply about this industry, the well-being of my colleagues and artists, and the success of British music,” he says.

With his selection to ERA’s Future Leaders Programme, Mitch looks forward to using it as a platform to tackle some of the issues facing the sector.

“I’m really looking forward to being part of a group of individuals who can offer new perspectives and insight,” he says. “The best way to deal with common problems is by people coming together and working like this.”

Q&A

  Your all-time favourite artist/track?

> James Blake. I remember first hearing 'Wilhelm Scream' and 'Love What Happened Here' and it just changing my world. His work was the catalyst that inspired me not just to make music, but ultimately led me to pursue a career in the industry.
 
  A new artist/track to look out for?
 
> I can’t tell people about Luvcat enough - but on the even newer side, ‘In the Car’ by Jack Patchett has been on repeat since first hearing.
 
  The biggest issue facing the music industry?
 
> There’s been lots of discussion about the difficulty facing UK artists trying to breakthrough and the changing landscape of the independent sector - I want to ensure I’m doing everything to play my part in the long term health and success of UK talent and Independent music.