Cooler Clinics Online: Labels & Agents with Mark Reid

Each month, Improvised Music Company hosts Cooler Clinic CPD events. These sessions offer artists practical insight and honest conversations about sustaining creative careers.

For March, we’re joined by Mark Reid, founder of the Belfast-based record label Touch Sensitive Records and head of Middle Aisle, the artist development and booking agency arm of Moving On Music.

Over the past eleven years, Touch Sensitive has carved out an independent, pan-genre path with contemporary and archival releases from artists including David Holmes, Elaine Howley, Natalia Beylis, and Autumns. Alongside this, Mark has been central to Northern Ireland’s live music ecosystem through Moving On Music, promoters of concerts and tours for over thirty years and producers of the Brilliant Corners Jazz Festival for thirteen years. Through Middle Aisle, he provides booking, logistical, and strategic support to emerging and established artists such as Córas Trio and RÓIS.

This session will focus on the “behind-the-scenes” work of how music finds its way to listeners — not just through releases, but through touring, partnerships, and long-term positioning.

We’ll explore questions such as:

• Are record labels still necessary — and what do they realistically offer in 2026?
• Should an artist want to work with a label, and at what stage?
• How do you start that conversation — and what makes you ready?
• What is the role of a booking agent or development agency in building a sustainable career?
• How do live strategy and release strategy intersect?
• When does it make sense to stay independent, and when does collaboration amplify your reach?

We’ll also touch on practical realities around pitching, touring across Ireland and beyond, building audience momentum, and understanding how promoters, agents and labels assess artists at different stages of development.

Whether you’re planning a release, looking to expand your touring footprint, or curious about how to position your work more strategically, this session offers a grounded perspective from someone who works daily across releases, bookings, and artist development.

As always, there will be space for questions and discussion, and the option to book a one-to-one conversation with a member of the IMC team on any aspect of your professional development — from funding to touring to long-term strategy.

Attendance is free, but registration is required. Sign up now to reserve your spot.