Meet The Team

Professor Richard Koeck is Director of the AHRC Creative Cluster MusicFutures, bringing more than 20 years’ experience working on academic and real-world creative industry projects across the UK, Europe, the United States, Singapore and China to the programme.

Known for wilfully ignoring disciplinary boundaries wherever possible, on the reasonable assumption that innovation often starts where silos end, he leads MusicFutures with the ambition to grow an innovation culture across the Liverpool City Region and the UK, where creative industries and digital/emerging technologies help shape imaginative futures for society, place and a growing creative economy.

Favourite Band: Kraftwerk

Professor Mathew Flynn is the Co-Director of MusicFutures, Director of the Institute for Popular Music at the University of Liverpool, Co-Lead of the (Live) Music Mapping Project, and a member of the Liverpool City Region Music Board. His research explores decision-making and place-making within the music industries. As co-director of MusicFutures, Mat leads on strategy and partnership delivery.

Rachel leads on MusicFutures for Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). LJMU researchers contribute widely across the project, but more specifically they lead the activities around Sustainability, EDI and Wellbeing. Rachel also coordinates any MusicFutures LJMU activities.

Favourite Artist: Olivia Dean
Favourite Song: Lovely Day by Bill Withers
Favourite Gig Attended: Kylie Minogue at the ACC Arena, Liverpool

Kirsty is Programme Manager for MusicFutures leading on operational delivery, working with universities, industry, and public stakeholders. Her role spans programme governance, stakeholder engagement, funding oversight, and delivery logistics.

Favourite Artist: BTS
Favourite Song: Robyn, Dancing On My Own
Favourite Gig Attended: Jeff Buckley, Manchester Students Union

Sabine advances rights management and metadata literacy among creators while developing licensing frameworks that inform policy discourse. Her work examines the balance between creative freedom and IP protection, copyright's interface with artificial intelligence, and cultural diversity in creative industries. Core questions include: How should IP law protect human authorship amid technological disruption? How do licensing models preserve artist agency in AI environments? How can we facilitate music's convergence with other creative sectors? The MusicFutures IP Clinic and Lab provide free legal guidance to creators and generate evidence-based policy recommendations serving creative communities while advancing understanding of rights, innovation, and cultural sustainability.

Favourite Artist: Louis Berry and Red Rum Club
Favourite Song: Hooverphonic - Mad about You
Favourite Gig: Rodrigo y Gabriela, Namur (Belgium), summer 2015

Dr Jennifer Davies is Business Capability & Technology Lead for MusicFutures, and a Lecturer in Project Management at the University of Liverpool Management School. She has spent more than 15 years in the creative industries. She has been an artist/songwriter with Universal Music and Sony ATV, with syncs for Rolex, Netflix and the BBC and festival slots at Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds. She was co-owner of the luxury fashion brand Nabil Nayal, which sold through Selfridges and Dover Street Market and gained clients such as Rhianna and Lady Gaga. She still writes and performs with Liverpool band HAARM.

At MusicFutures, Jennifer leads work on business capability and technology, connecting creative ambition with the expertise to turn ideas into sustainable businesses. Drawing on her research into emerging technologies and business model innovation, she explores how AI and other digital tools can open up new creative and commercial possibilities, and how artists and music businesses can shape and benefit from those changes.

Favourite Artist: Right now, Bjork – relistening to a lot of her work at the moment.
Favourite song: Mr Blue Sky by ELO
Favourite gig: Paul McCartney, O2 Academy Liverpool, 2010 - it was an unbelievable experience to see him play in a <2000 capacity venue.

Alastair champions new ideas and helps produce some of our funding calls. Alongside this Alastair helps artists, freelancers, and start-ups deliver their projects and encourages people unfamiliar with the funding landscape to apply.

Favourite Artist: Talking Heads
Favourite Song: This must be the place (Talking Heads)
Favourite Gig Attended: David Byrne at Manchester Apollo: WOW!!

With a track record of multi-platinum campaigns, BRIT and MOBO-nominated projects across the UK, including Kungs vs Cookin On 3 Burners, Sigma, Jonasu (BRIT-nominated), Jamie Jones, Shimza, Netsky, AntsLive (MOBO-nominated), Geko, and more - Sophie combines strategic expertise with creative vision in music marketing. Having previously shaped artist campaigns at Helix Records and 3Beat, she now leads communication and partnership initiatives at MusicFutures, amplifying and championing underrepresented voices across the music industry in the Liverpool City Region.

Favourite Artist: Wolf Alice
Favourite Song: The Shapeshifters - Lola's Theme
Favourite Gig: Jamie xx at Alexandra Palace

Hatana co-leads XR, Culture & Community within MusicFutures and leads R&D for Liverpool John Moores University. Her work explores the creative and social potential of immersive and emerging technologies, with particular interests in XR, audience engagement, co-creation and technology adoption.

Alongside MusicFutures, Hatana is Programme Lead for MA Immersive Media and Co-Director of XLab at LJMU, bringing together academic research and industry experience in immersive design and creative direction.

Favourite Artist: Hindi Zahra
Favourite Song: Dancing In The Dark - Bruce Springsteen
Favourite Gig Attended: Outlandish

Yaw Owusu is a Liverpool-based music and music culture creative consultant working where music, culture and infrastructure meet. Through his consultancy Nothin But The Music, he designs and delivers high-impact programmes that shift narratives, strengthen ecosystems and build practical pathways for artists, industry professionals and communities too often overlooked. He has programmed and delivered landmark work with organisations including Google, BBC, Universal Music Group, MTV, BET, MOBO, Levi’s and Liverpool Football Club, combining cultural authority with delivery rigour to produce legacy. As part of MusicFutures, Yaw leads of Enterprise and Next Gen strands.

Favourite Artist: Jay-Z
Favourite Song: This week, it's Man At The Garden - Kendrick Lamar
Favourite Gig: Kendrick Lamar - Mr Morale & The Big Steppers (Tour)

Leona chairs the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Advisory Group for MusicFutures, a group of incredible local and national experts who provide oversight, scrutiny and advice on embedding EDI in all MusicFutures activity. And also provides advice on the implementation of EDI across the project, including recruitment, research, funding and partnerships.

Favourite Artist: Saint Levant
Favourite Song: Hello - Kes
Favourite Gig: A tie between the legends Prince and Luther Vandross.

Richard’s work for MusicFutures involves undertaking music sector research tasks in support of the programme’s innovation and development programmes. These include data curation and management responsibilities which adhere to University of Liverpool ethical research policies, and MusicFutures’ equality, diversity and inclusion commitments. Richard conducts field and desk-based research and thematic analysis activities including the use of surveys, interviews, and focus groups, alongside structural and statistical analysis of catalogued datasets.

Favourite Artist: Frank Zappa
Favourite Song: The Rite of Spring - Igor Stravinsky
Favourite Gig Attended: George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic, Liverpool O2 Academy, July 2016

Cathy Skelly is Sector Manager and Creative Industries Lead at Liverpool City Council, working across music, screen, games and createch to drive sustainable sector growth. With nearly 30 years’ experience, she works at the intersection of industry, policy and economic development, shaping place-based strategy, investment and delivery.

In MusicFutures, her role focuses on strategic positioning, partnership development and unlocking investment, underpinned by strong relationships with creative businesses, universities and national partners.

Cathy plays a key role in connecting research, industry and enterprise, ensuring programmes deliver real opportunities for businesses and talent, and champions Liverpool as a nationally significant centre for creative production, innovation and inclusive growth.

Listening to this week: RAYE & Jalen Ngonda
Favourite Song: Nina Simone - Sea Lion Woman
Favourite Gig Attended: Nina Simone at the Philharmonic Hall- unforgettable. An icon whose music spoke powerfully to civil rights and human experience, it felt a privilege to have been there.