From Friends to Industry Connections: How Music Moguls Is Bringing the Music Business Together
The music industry has always been built on relationships. Whether it's discovering new opportunities, forming partnerships or simply exchanging ideas, who you know and the connections you make can be just as important as what you do.
But with so much of our working lives spent behind screens, from emails and LinkedIn messages to back-to-back video calls, there's still something to be said for getting people together in the same room.
That's the idea behind Music Moguls, a networking lunch founded by Jay Mistry that has grown from a group of friends catching up over food into a space for music industry professionals to connect, collaborate and build genuine relationships.
Rather than the usual formal networking format, Music Moguls brings together people from different corners of the industry in a more relaxed setting, where conversations can happen naturally and new opportunities can emerge.
We recently had the pleasure of attending one of the lunches, meeting new faces, reconnecting with industry peers and experiencing firsthand the value of stepping away from the screen and making connections in person.
So, how did a simple lunch between friends become a growing music industry network? And what can it tell us about the importance of building meaningful professional relationships?
We caught up with Jay Mistry, founder of Music Moguls, to find out how it all began, what makes these gatherings different and why bringing people together remains so important in today's music business.
Music Moguls started as a group of friends getting together for lunch. How did those informal catch-ups evolve into what the networking lunch is today? Was there a particular moment this happened?
"I think it was born out of a natural process for independents and self-employed people where they have to make the most out of coming into the city for meetings. People forget that not everyone lives in London, so trying to meet several people in one day is difficult.
The original attendees were friends in the business but soon it became apparent that other people wanted to join so that they could catch up and maybe do a little business. The first ones started in 2012. Up to 2017, we met at the same place (Navarros on Charlotte Street) and people just used to turn up.
When the numbers got to 15 to 20, it became a problem when settling the bill at the end and agreeing on who had what - occasionally some did not pay at all! So, I got a bank account just for the lunch so that people paid in advance, and that’s when the Moguls really became official."
The music industry is built on relationships, but traditional networking can sometimes feel transactional. One thing that stood out to me when I attended Music Moguls was how genuine the conversations felt. How important is creating a different environment for you?
“I wanted to give people an excuse to have a break and make new friends. The original idea was always to have a nice lunch, talk a little about work but mostly to get away from talking about work.
We spend too much time being stressed and forgetting that we are in a creative industry where it’s ok to have long lunches. My old boss at BMG, Will Downs, taught me that working hard was good but there should always be time for fun. Although he was the FD, he consistently made time to organise trips and fun days, and the whole office would go!
I’m glad you felt comfortable because by making sure the right people attend and by having genuine conversations, it cuts out the time wasters (and I mean that in a nice way).
When I receive an enquiry from someone I don’t know, or get a recommendation, I have a sneaky peek at their socials, just to be on the safe side. This allows me to feel confident about the calibre of people who attend and that generally leads to a nice person who wants to collaborate or just make a new friend."
Music Moguls brings together people from different areas of the industry. How do you approach bringing the right mix of people together?
"We were going to call the lunch the 500 club at one point, because we had 500 years of experience in the industry between us. I soon realised that I needed to switch things up a bit and thought that the right balance of people from different parts of the industry was the key.
There are many great networking events around but some are grossly imbalanced in favour of wannabes and sharks or they are just too big, closed, or very expensive. In the beginning, I personally knew all of the attendees… nowadays I probably know about 50%.
Because the Moguls Lunch sits outside of organisations, and is not sponsored, we can be freer to be inclusive and choosy. We bring the top people together with people just starting out so that’s our USP and to be frank, I don’t think there is any other event like it.
To get the right mixture of CEOs and students, a lot of the curation comes from my contacts and the new people and their contacts and even though I want to keep it low key, we also have social media to help.”
In an industry where so much business happens over email, LinkedIn and video calls, why do you think face-to-face connections still matter? And what could we do better to build meaningful professional relationships?
"I guess the answer is pretty simple. When you are in an informal environment, you can find out so much more about a person and also the conversations can happily go off into tangents without you ever being judged.
Yes, there will be occasions where you may get pitched to but generally everyone is in a great mood because they are away from their desks and that’s the same for both creatives and non-creatives.
I mentor for Help Musicians through their Co-Pilot scheme and I’ve made a point of taking my mentees with me to all the industry events that I go to. Most of the time I just point out people and tell them to go and talk, and a lot of the time they come back and say that they have mutual friends or they get their contact details. The Moguls centralise that process.”
Have you seen any interesting collaborations, business opportunities or friendships come out of the lunches that might not have happened otherwise?
"Yes! I have been told countless times of people collaborating and my favourite thing is when people come to me saying that they have worked with so and so, and I when I ask them how that happened, they say the met at the lunch. Makes me really happy."
For someone looking to grow their network in music, particularly those earlier in their careers or moving into a different part of the industry, what advice would you give?
"This is an easy one. There are so many networking events that it will make your head spin! I would suggest that you join the one that is most suited to you (or join several). There are organisations like the BPI, MMF, PRS, Ivors Academy who organise get togethers for members and then there is the John Saunderson networking event at Tileyard or go to conventions like ADE, Great Escape, IMS, PMC, IMPG, MiCannes – all great for meeting new people.
The trick is to research the attendees, book according to your budget (I’ve slept on floors at MIDEM, there is no shame in it) and think carefully about the ones which will bring you the most reward. But, the most important thing is not to think of it as a holiday or day out, remember to meet at least 5 new people and get their details, and to follow up!"
Looking ahead, what's your vision for Music Moguls? Do you see it continuing as an intimate gathering, or is there potential to build something bigger?
"My current aim is to keep it as it is. I’ve been asked several times for it to be sponsored or having name tags or making people move around like speed dating. The thing is that the more informal it is, the better. And that’s why people keep coming back."
Lastly, if someone wants to get involved in a Music Moguls lunch, how does that happen?
"We hold the lunch twice a year (April and September). If people want to come then it’s on a first come first served basis and a recommendation will help. We reserve 3 places for students (over 18) where we pay for their lunch, please get your college or uni to help with that. Otherwise, follow the hashtag #musicmogulslunch and then DM me with a short bio and a link.
A big thank you to Jay for taking the time to speak with us and for bringing together such a great mix of people from across the music industry.
Having attended Music Moguls, it was refreshing to be part of an event where the focus wasn't on pitching or collecting business cards, but on having genuine conversations and getting to know the people behind the job titles.
It's a great reminder of how important it is to make time for face-to-face connections in an industry built on relationships, and we're looking forward to joining another lunch in the future.
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