Cushla Aston

Cushla Aston (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Pikiao, Pākehā) is an artist manager and the Chair of Music Managers Forum Aotearoa. After a decade living in the UK, she returned home to Aotearoa and immersed herself in the local independent music scene, working with platinum-selling artists such as Fat Freddy’s Drop, Julia Deans, Kora, and Trinity Roots.

She is the founder of Aston Rd, managing acclaimed artist Louis Baker, and has over 14 years’ experience working alongside some of Aotearoa’s most respected musicians, project managing multiple album releases and building sustainable artist careers.

Her experience in artist management and industry leadership extends to her role as a Senior Tutor in Artist Development at the College of Creative Arts – Massey University, where she mentors the next generation of music professionals. Cushla’s passion for connecting community and fostering growth has also led her to create a range of professional development workshops and learning initiatives that empower independent artists with practical knowledge and confidence.

Under her leadership, Aston Rd’s artists have achieved significant success, including nominations and wins at the APRA Silver Scroll Awards, Taite Music Awards, and Aotearoa Music Awards. Their work has toured internationally across the UK, Europe, Polynesia, South Africa, Asia, and Australia, with several debut albums charting within the top ten in New Zealand.

Cushla’s contributions have been recognised with the ‘Upcoming Manager of the Year’ award in 2012, and finalist nods for ‘Manager of the Year’ in 2015 and 2021. She has mentored over 450 artists and holds diplomas in Neurolinguistic Programming, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and is an accredited life coach.

Nicky Harrop

Nicky’s career has spanned multiple facets of Aotearoa’s music community, and seen her work closely with a wide range of artists, labels, live events, industry bodies and culture change initiatives.

She is a Director and Owner of physical music distributor Collective Distribution, Co-founder and Trustee of SoundCheck Aotearoa, and currently holds the Independent Director position on the board of Recorded Music New Zealand.

Nicky’s background in music labels has seen her hold senior roles in marketing, label management, artist development and publicity.  She developed the music industry major for Massey University’s Bachelor Of Commercial Music, and has consulted as a researcher and developer for a number of local music-based screen projects.

Nicky can mentor on: Record Labels, Distribution, Release Strategy, Artist Development, Marketing  and Publicity.