Serenade expands U.K. team with first senior executive hire

Serenade is scaling up its presence in the U.K. with the appointment of its first senior executive.

Mike Walsh, an industry veteran with decades of experience at radio, labels and artist management, joins the team as U.K. Head of Strategic Partnerships.

Walsh’s appointment follows the launch last month of Serenade in the U.K., and its expansion into the world of NFTs.

Walsh started his career in the mid-1990s as a radio promotions executive at Parlophone Records (then part of EMI) and later became Head of Music at XFM (now Radio X).

A music and media consultant, Walsh is also a long serving Mercury Prize judge, a member of the War Child U.K. music committee, he sits on the Liverpool City Region Music board and is on the Founding Committee of Brian Eno’s music-meets-climate-change charity EarthPercent.

He’s also well connected with the Australian music industry, through several speaking appearances at the Bigsound conference in Brisbane.
In his new role, Walsh will manage existing U.K. industry relationships alongside new artist acquisition by further developing relationships with managers, labels, publishers, merch companies, ticketing companies and others.

Also, he will establish alliances with “like-minded” businesses and oversee brand activations, collaborations, events and festivals, and he’ll be the company’s spokesperson in that territory.

“It was absolutely crucial that we made the right appointment for our first senior U.K. hire and in Mike Walsh, who is universally respected throughout the music industry, we definitely have the right man to lead us forward in this important market,” comments Serenade Founder and CEO Max Shand.

“His passion for music and enthusiasm for innovative technology, alongside his deep knowledge of the NFT sector gives us enormous confidence that Serenade is in safe hands in the U.K.”

Max Shand

Walsh reports to Shand and Head of Strategic Partnerships, Clare Smith.

Serenade was created in Australia in May 2020, and soft-launched to the industry in September of that year, allowing artists to build their bank accounts (and get in extra practice) during their downtime.

The first incarnation enabled music fans to go direct to artists and purchase a personalised, virtual — and shareable — performance.

Artists set their fees, with 75% of the Serenade cut going to the performer.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.