We speak to the most important people in the music industry. This week, Miss Lynn Cosgrave…
You have managed, quite simply, some of the true superstars in the dance music world – Carl Cox, John Digweed, CJ Mackintosh, Jeremy Healy, Parks and Wilson and many, many more. How did it all begin for you?
“I started in business with a DJ agency in 1988. I used to be a DJ which happened by chance really, people were always asking me to play records at their parties and it escalated from there. However one night I was playing at the Lyford Film Studios in Wandsworth and the DJ after me was late and it meant that I would be late for my next gig. When I asked him where he had been, he said he had got lost…I just thought, these guys need organizing and that is how it all started for me.”
Who has been your biggest joy to work with that you have managed?
“Well at my first agency FXTC I had over 40 DJs on my books including David Morales, Frankie Knuckles, Grooverider, Fabio, LTJ Bukem, Carl Cox and Sasha. I was the first agency to capture the American garage scene so that side of my roster was really big with people such as Masters at Work, Tony Humphries and Erick Morillio – actually I was the first person to ever bring these guys to the UK to play. When I went to work at The Ministry of Sound when it opened to run the Saturday’s, I scaled down the agency and started Cosmack Management – this concentrated on the more management side of things and I developed paths for my boys into remixing, production, fashion shows, artist releases, sponsorship etc. It was the first company to do anything like this, up until then, the DJ had just been a DJ and that was that.”
What has been the best party you’ve been to when you’ve danced to a DJ and thought, oh wow…?
“I think that one of my best parties was at this time when Clivilles and Cole played at The Ministry of Sound on New Years Eve and Robert was playing records and David Cole was sampling and playing a keyboard alongside him, people just kept coming up to the booth asking “what is this record?” – and he couldn’t give an answer as it was all live! Shortly after that, David died so it was something I knew I was very lucky to experience in my life.”
How did you get into into this crazy music world in the first place?
“I just followed my heart and worked with the thing I loved most – dance music. When I started, there were very few female’s in the business in the UK. I think that was due to the fact that it was never a given option to take up as a proper job. I was lucky, but I have worked very hard for everything I have achieved.”
So, the Sony rollercoaster ride and beyond…
“Well, I left The Ministry and became the Vice President of Sony Music (the youngest ever Director they have ever had). It was a massive challenge for me – not only as I had been brought up in the independent sector and going into a corporate structure was a different ball game all together. After three years I left to launch my own company, started Trust the DJ with a friend – however, we were 5 years too early! I’d kept my Safehouse production company too – we produce a lot of our own shows now across the world and deal with a lot of sponsors, merchandise, records – it is all fun and I am still smiling. I guess that is because I have had great artists – Carl Cox is the best to work with – we are now great friends, he is always a happy sole and even though he is considered as one of the best DJs in the world – he still has time for everybody.”
Is it true you once snogged Dave Seaman?
“Agggghhhhhh – how can you remember things like that – well if you say it happened, it must have happened!.”
Will this current recession hit clubland?
“In my experience, clubbing and entertainment have never realy suffered in times of recessions – in fact the opposite always happens as people try and escape the bad times…they just want to go out and have some fun.”
What can we expect from you around the corner…?
“Next for me? Carry on working with Carl – we have picked up some new guys including John Rundell who has ties with Paul Van Dyk’s label and done various productions all over the world. There’s also a very exciting project witch is a mixture of classical electronic music that we just finished mixing down in Abbey Road Studios last week. Then there is also the thirty plus parties all around the world we put on every year…”