BIZ PRIDE:
UTA's SEAN HILL

We caught up with London-based UTA Director of Tour Marketing Sean Hill fresh off his global music call the Monday morning after Coachella. With 27 UTA-repped acts on the bill—including mega-seller Bad Bunny, who headlined the main stage—it’s no wonder he describes the mood as “celebratory.”

As an openly gay man and “O.G.” in the digital space, Hill shares his unique perspective on how social media and streaming services may just be the tiger in the tank propelling a cultural shift toward diversity and inclusion. We also get a little insight into how he’s been able to work within UTA’s internal infrastructure to amplify marginalized LGBTQIA+ voices and help guide best practices within his professional community.

Can you take a moment to share with us a little bit about your career leading up to UTA?

I started my career at Disney as an assistant in the theatrical marketing department working on projects like Pirates of the Caribbean, Ratatouille and Sin City. From there, I crossed over into music promotion at Lucid Group, a radio-plugging and promotions agency used by all the frontline majors in the U.K. After Sony Music acquired Lucid in 2010, I started in digital-music marketing at RCA U.K., working on Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson, P!nk and Alicia Keys.

Next, I then moved into management working with Amy Thompson at her company, ATM, at which I managed artists like Swedish House Mafia, Alesso and Axwell Ingrosso. In 2014 we were acquired by the Yucaipa Group, which was Irving Azoff and Ron Burkle. After that spell, I left and went to work at Syco with Simon Cowell until Amy asked me to come back to ATM as a partner. I helped set up the L.A. office and was there for two years. That gave me an understanding of both the U.S. and British-European markets and stood me in good stead for my stint at UTA.

Last year, Bad Bunny’s album Un Verano Sin Ti was the year’s biggest seller. Even though he hasn’t specified his sexual orientation, he’s using his platform to elevate queer conversation on the global stage. What role do you think streaming services like Spotify have had in empowering artists like Bad Bunny to challenge cultural stereotypes?

DSPs play a major role. They introduce artists of all genres to new audiences, and these new fans go on to engage with the artist. I recently learned that Bad Bunny accounts for around 20% of the total streams of Latin music across all streaming services, which is an unbelievable achievement. When you enjoy that much popularity and success, it affords you an amazing platform to share your message with the world, whether that be cultural, political or social justice.

Brands like Levi’s and Absolut have been actively spending sponsorship dollars and voicing support for the gay community during Pride Month for some time now. In recent years, have you noticed any uptick in corporate dollars available outside the “pride window”?

We’ve seen a significant demand from brand partners to work outside the “pride window” with artists that either identify as LGBTQIA+ or have audiences that enjoy music performed by those artists. For example, there’s the huge campaign UTA negotiated for the H&M Mugler collaboration which features a music video with openly queer artist Shygirl wearing looks from the upcoming collection.

On a smaller level, we have artists in the U.K. like BBC Radio DJ Jaguar partnering with Doc Martens. Beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury recently signed trans actress-singer Michaela Jaé Rodriguez to a seven-figure global deal as the face of the company. I’m also lucky to work with some amazing U.K. artists from the community like Arlo Parks, who regularly works with high-end fashion brands and partnered with Converse as part of their Open to Change program. It’s exciting, because even as recently as three or four years ago there would have been a significantly smaller number of artists involved in these types of deals, either because audiences weren’t there or the artists wouldn’t have been comfortable sharing their sexuality.

ie artists' Lucy Pullin, Hill and Ticketmaster U.K.’s Sarah Slater and Rebecca Lotts prepare to spill the tea at the BRITs.

In your professional life you’ve been able to be an advocate for diversity and inclusion.

Yes, I’ve served as part of UTA Proud, which is the LGBTQIA+ resource group at the agency. I’ve also worked with UTA’s Leadership Council, which is an internal group of colleagues dedicated to upholding the company’s inclusion commitments, advising on best practices, promoting accountability and representing the unique voices and perspectives within the UTA community. Whether it’s the #MeToo movement or Black Lives Matter, I think we—as an industry—wanted and demanded change in corporate culture. Change is happening from the bottom up, which is why it’s exciting to be part of initiatives like UTA Proud. I think it’s working.

We’d love to hear more about what you’ve got going on for Pride Month this year.

We’re planning to host an industrywide party in Soho during Soho Pride. We’re inviting all our friends at the record labels, artist managers, brand partnerships and digital streaming platforms for a celebration of our employees as well as clients who will be performing at London Pride. We’ve had a long stint where we couldn’t do anything because of COVID, but this year Levi’s generously gave us their showroom in Soho. It’s a big celebration and it’s great that we can do that.

Do you see generational differences in attitudes about gender and sexuality?

I think certainly with the generation growing up now, gender and sexuality issues are not an issue. For them, it’s not something that needs to be discussed, and “coming out” is a thing of the past. As someone who identifies as a gay man, I find it frustrating that any individual has to publicly announce their sexuality. Hopefully, we’re moving to a much better place.

What would be your wish for the next five years in terms of inclusion for members of the LGBTQIA+ community all year long—not just during Pride Month?

I want to get to a place where we don’t have to differentiate at all. I’d like to see it be a non-issue. I’ve certainly experienced things in previous workplaces—whether it’s just throwaway comments or jokes—which have been detrimental to people who identify as gay. I don’t think the music needs to be put in a certain box. I don’t think people should have to come out. Instead, people can be recognized for who they are and not their sexuality. That’s my dream.