The FMC team
Angela Dorgan // CEO
Angela Dorgan is the CEO of First Music Contact, the Arts Council-funded national resource organisation for musicians. First Music Contact also runs the online music portal Breaking Tunes, the annual music industry showcase & conference Ireland Music Week and the Irish music export office, Music From Ireland. A few years ago, FMC established an association of independent music, AIM Ireland.
Angela is on the board of EMEE, the European Music Exporters Exchange, where she was part of a group that devised a global music export strategy for European Music for the European Commission. Angela provides mentoring support to music and export offices around the world. She has a Masters Degree in Sociology from UCC and believes that Arts and Culture are an essential part of the life of every citizen.
Angela was previously chair of the National Campaign for the Arts, who lobby government for increased support, funding and recognition of artists, arts workers and arts organisations in Ireland. During this time, she was instrumental in the lobbying for and design of Pilot Scheme for Basic Income for the Arts.
Angela is a regular contributor and expert voice on music and arts in the Irish media. Angela is a member of the WH Olgivy Culture Collective. She also played the drums. Badly. (her words!)
Suzette Das // Operations Manager
Suzette is Operations Manager for First Music Contact. Part of her role involves co-ordinating artist activity for the Irish export office, Music From Ireland, while also co-managing Ireland Music Week, the annual artist showcase and conference event held in Dublin.
Over the past decade, Suzette has developed a keen understanding of the music industry through her work as an artist and as lead of operations within First Music Contact, who run Ireland Music Week and Music From Ireland.
She strives to bring the artist’s perspective into all she does and is hopeful about seeing a progressive industry come to fruition.
Cara Spelman // Communications and Social Media Manager
Cara has always been passionate about music and the arts. She has years of experience producing and curating events showcasing talent in music, literature, comedy and art, often to raise funds for various organisations and causes that she cares about. She has a BA in Music & Philosophy and an MA in Gender, Society & Representation. Over the years, she has produced digital media on music and culture for various publications, organisations and radio, and an abridged version of her MA thesis was published in Autonomy in 2018. Last year, she edited the written pieces contributed for "IN RESIDENCE" by visual artist Bríd Higgins Ní Chinnéide, a book of portraits of resident artists in The Dean Arts Studio.
She manages social media and communications at First Music Contact, Ireland Music Week and Music From Ireland, and coordinates the Seminars at Dean Arts Studio series.
James Byrne // Information Officer
Born and raised in Dublin, James joined his first band at 15 and spent his formative musical years as an active presence within the city’s fertile underground DIY music scene. He studied music management at college, and upon leaving began working for Dublin’s leading pirate radio station, Phantom FM, presenting and producing a show for the next ten years while promoting various events around the city, including his legendary Doo-Wop club-night, ‘Three Steps to Heaven’.
As a musician, James has spent the last nine years as a recording and touring band member with Mercury-nominated and Choice Prize-winning singer-songwriter SOAK. Previously he spent seven years drumming in Villagers. He continues to be an in-demand studio recording presence.
He runs Any Other City, a label and management company that has been responsible for releasing records by some of the most influential Irish artists of the last decade, including GILLA BAND, James Vincent McMorrow and Villagers.
His wealth of experience and trusted reputation within the independent music sector, in both A&R and artist development, gives James a unique perspective on the skills and knowledge required to survive within the modern music industry.