Komali Scott-Jones is A&R director at AWAL. Formerly A&R at Parlophone Records, she is also co-founder of The Debrief, a community and quarterly event established in 2019, which was created to empower, connect and celebrate Black women and women of colour music executives.

Scott-Jones is also a founding member of the Black Music Coalition, which she co-launched in 2020 as a direct response to the death of George Floyd, which breathed new life into the Black Lives Matter movement. The organisation continues to be dedicated to eradicating the racial disparities and systemic barriers affecting Black employees and executives, including freelancers and independents across all sectors and at all levels of the music business. 

Uplifting, supporting and connecting young people, particularly women and empowering Black executives has always been an integral part of Scott-Jones’ work, and with a desire to keep pushing our culture to higher heights, she believes in working closely with future game changers, trailblazers and tastemakers. 

How do you feel about joining the Music Week Women In Music Roll Of Honour?

“It’s such an honour to be included, it was such a surprise! I’ve been overwhelmed with all the lovely messages of support since the announcement. It’s so special to be included alongside women who are making and have made such an impact on the people around them and I always look forward to the Women In Music Awards ceremony itself, I leave feeling warm and fuzzy every time. It’s critical for spaces like this to exist so trailblazing women can be seen and heard. So many of the women this year and in previous years are the backbone of their teams and I love that they can be given their flowers so loudly and proudly. I’m so grateful to be part of it.”

How do you look back on your early years getting into the industry?

“Music has always been a way of life for me, even though I went to work in fashion straight out of university. I immersed myself in every aspect I could, despite not being formally in the industry yet. When I wasn’t working or studying, I was out most nights of the week raving and attending or working at live events obsessively. I would go to open mic nights and studio sessions with friends as often as I could and was always the person my musical friends would come to for advice. I was lucky to come up at a time where there was a really potent creative community building amongst my peers, some of whom I already knew from school, college or partying, who ended up being colleagues in music, be it artists, photographers, producers, writers or stylists. It was inevitable that I would eventually work in music full-time but I didn’t really stress myself out about what that looked like, I was just happy to be in and amongst it. 

“Making the jump from fashion to music was a challenge but it really helped crystallise how much I wanted to do it. After a meeting with a lovely woman called Ray Pope at Universal, I started a year-long internship in TV Promotions at Virgin EMI. I’m forever grateful to Ray for taking a chance on me and putting me forward. I was part of a cohort of junior staff who were so talented and have all gone on to do big things; we became a tight knit group and we’ve been able to grow alongside each other and see our careers build in ways we could only dream of when we were just starting out together. I look back now and see how all the small moments and opportunities given to me in those early days have all led me to where I am now.”

Did you have a mentor at that stage? 

“I’ve never formally had a mentor but I’ve always been surrounded by incredible women who have both loudly and quietly been firmly in my corner, without me even realising it. At EMI, Afryea Henry-Fontaine was a huge support to me and embodied the type of woman I wanted to show up as in the industry. She made me feel seen, heard and included, which can be really difficult to experience when you’re at intern level. During my early days at Parlophone, where I was the only girl on the A&R team, Tina Skinner was so kind and instilled in me such belief in myself, which meant more to me at the time than she probably knows. 

“It was also such an honour to work alongside Jin Jin at that time, who is an incredible songwriter and executive who taught me so much and became such an important support during our time at the label. Female friendship and support has been so central to my life and the help with career and life so many women have given me has been priceless. JPL, Michelle Escoffery, Lucy Francis, Char Grant and Sheryl Nwosu are just some of the women I can call and laugh with, cry to and get advice from on my best and worst days.”

How have you settled into life at AWAL and what is your A&R philosophy? 

“It’s been quite a smooth transition into the business because the ethos and model of the company makes it a really interesting place to be, especially while we’re seeing so many changes across the industry. Its artist-focused values and collaborative nature resonate with my natural approach to A&R and creates an environment where we can all get the best out of each other. 

“My philosophy has always been to find artists that make people feel something: the pandemic showed me that human fundamental wants and needs are more pronounced than ever. People want to feel a part of something and see themselves and their experiences reflected in lyrics and sound in ways they can’t articulate themselves. Music remains the perfect vehicle for that, although how we connect to it is changing. 

“We’ve also seen the internet help in reviving iconic catalogues by legendary artists and what brings people back to those songs are the memories they serve as a soundtrack to. Going through a global pandemic has forced lots of young people to miss out on seminal moments of their youth in a way that lots of us didn’t, it’s changed the shape of things, so I just hope to find the artists who are going to be able to create those moments for the future. A massive part of the job is also staying tapped into the underground [scene], the subcultures and how they intertwine here in the UK, which has been the essence of what has made British artists so compelling. I’m always excited about what culture is going to morph into next.”

You’re a founding member of the BMC, which was recognised at the Women In Music Awards last year. How do you reflect on the impact the organisation has made so far? 

“The BMC has been able to be a sounding board and safe space for many executives since its inception in 2020, which is at the heart of why we wanted to create it. Through donations and our own fundraising efforts, we continue to pour into the Black music community – we are proud that as a self-funded CIC we are continuing to offer resources, celebrating and spotlighting Black culture and legacy and driving community through our newly launched membership offering, providing an advice hub, access to discounted services and events for the Black music community at all levels. We also have a membership for allies who are in full support of the cause. 

“The BMC was born out of a time of global consciousness that we haven’t seen since, the world was at a standstill, everyone had time and space to reflect properly on the state of play and take action. Many of the organisations and companies who spoke out and posted black squares in solidarity made efforts to address some of the imbalances Black people in the industry are facing to varying degrees of success. Others have fallen short on those promises and in some cases are still partly responsible for upholding a hostile environment for their Black staff and in turn, a non-progressive one for their entire workforce.”

What defines the art of A&R in 2024?

“We’re all doing our best to adapt to this transitional period so the art is probably in understanding that the rule book as we know it is being ripped up and rewritten. After a few years of being extremely data-led, I think this year has seen us start to shift back to the centre, finding a balance between exciting data, social traction and genuinely unique artist propositions. A return to real artist development is crucial so that when an artist’s ‘sticky’ moment finally happens, they’re actually prepared for it and able to use it as a real launchpad rather than it being an early peak to fall from.”

What’s your biggest achievement so far?

“I still feel like I’m at the beginning of my career in so many ways, but in an A&R sense, I’m really proud of the reputation I’ve built for myself and the integrity I’ve tried to keep in the way I’ve worked with artists and creatives. It’s never easy to tread the line between art and commerce but I hope I’ve honoured my intentions within that. It’s helped me maintain an honest exchange with the artists I work with and helped me meet other incredible talent through them. Aside from A&R, I’m most proud of creating The Debrief which was a space that I desperately needed for myself when I was starting out, and I’m really proud of what it’s becoming since 2019. 

“There isn’t anywhere else where Black women and women of colour working in music as well as artists can be celebrated in quite the same way. From our weekly playlist championing new music, our Did You Know content, to our Up Next profiles spotlighting rising stars, we are dedicated to telling their stories. Our in-person events have created long-standing friendships which is really key in an environment where we don’t always have the privilege of working in a diverse team. Generally, society has taught women to see each other as competition rather than supportive of one another, which is an extra problem we don’t need while navigating an already dog-eat-dog industry. I just hope the community The Debrief has built creates a network of women in music who are a testament to what can be achieved when women connect, celebrate and support one another.”

What advice would you offer young women about enjoying a successful career in music?

“Enjoy the highs as well as the lows as much as you can, they’re all going to shape you into who you’re meant to be. Write down what you’ve done because you will forget a lot of it, make sure you’re making space for other women on your journey – you’ll need them – and take more pictures!”

What’s the best advice you’ve ever had?

“My mum is always there to remind me of the power of saying ‘No’. I’ve always been used to having many irons in the fire, from pretty much working full-time as a receptionist while in university to launching a clothing brand and being a talent booker in the fashion industry. I’ve always thought I could do it all, all at once! I would do a 12 hour reception shift and go straight to a gig or to the club and be back at work, bright and early the next day. 

“In A&R there’s a constant anxiety around missing something and a need to be everywhere and be everything to everyone. It became second nature to me for so long and while it’s essential to get your stamina up, working with artists means you often have to put many other people and things ahead of yourself at times. You can get into bad habits of not eating properly, not sleeping enough, not making enough time for your personal life and ultimately jeopardising your health. I’ve learned the hard way that it's physically impossible to maintain and after years and years of burning the wick at both ends, I reached burnout and was forced to take better care of myself. Now, I’m trying to be more economical with my time and question myself more stringently about whether I can commit to something at the standard I’ve set for myself. Now I try to maintain a few key habits to keep myself in check which have been an important shift for me, but it’s definitely a journey I’m on – I’m still learning!”

Is there a young woman you'd like to shout out who you think is a rising star in the industry?

“It's been so important to me to forge genuine bonds with women in music and make space for others to come through the door behind me. As co-founder of The Debrief, I’m lucky enough to see the wealth of incredible women making their mark across the industry, there’s too many to choose from! I work alongside Ashleigh Simone Brown at AWAL, who is a brilliant marketer and whose work ethic, attention to detail, intentionality and passion is such a breath of fresh air. We’re working on a few exciting projects together that will really be a testament to all of her hard work. Bre McDermott-King from our international team and Sophia Photiou in marketing are also doing great things at AWAL, they both bring so much energy and warmth to their work which is so crucial. Shanae Dennis is making impressive strides at Wasserman and I hugely admire the lane she’s carving out for herself in the live sector with her tenacity and expertise, and Honor Teideman, who is an artist manager, publisher and radio presenter, is one of the most fun, interesting and dynamic women I know and I’m so proud watching her love and curiosity for music take her closer to where she needs to be.”

Similarly, is there a young woman artist whose music you're enjoying right now/excited about?

“I’m working with an artist called Cari, a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter, with an ethereal voice, whose musicality continues to stand out from the pack. Cari’s music feels experimental, expansive and courageous and I’m besotted with the way she writes. We released her debut single Colder In June which set the bar really high, and her latest single Bleeding was written about a difficult past relationship; the lyric, ‘The devil keeps trying me, he reminds me of you’ never gets old to me. Cari’s originality and purity in her approach to music feels like the reset that is so needed right now. I’d highly recommend you stop what you’re doing and listen!”

Finally, what’s your biggest lesson from 2024 so far? 

“Stay dangerous!”