Natalie Wade

Natalie Wade is a renowned figure in the UK music industry, having founded Small Green Shoots and female-focused consultancy The Cat’s Mother. Small Green Shoots supports those in difficult life circumstances get the experience required for a long-term sustainable career in the creative industries; so far the organisation’s work has led to over 150 permanent jobs for talented young people and more than £1.7 million of early-stage funding secured for artists and organisations including Jorja Smith, Mahalia, Hamzaa, Berwyn, The Compozers, Snap Capone, Benny Mails, Frisco and others. These results have been achieved thanks in part to the partnerships Wade has built between Small Green Shoots and the likes of Columbia Records, PRS Foundation, SJM Concerts, Modest! Management, Transport for London, Virgin Records, The Princes Trust, Comic Relief and Children in Need. The Cat’s Mother, founded in 2019, provides connections for diverse young women wanting to build careers in the creative industries.

Awarded a BEM in 2016 for services to music and the creative industries, Wade was recognised as an Unsung Hero by the MMF and FAC at the 2018 Artist & Manager Awards and was inducted into Music Week’s Women In Music Roll of Honour in 2020. She is an advisor to the PRS Foundation and sits on the Executive Steering Committee of Power Up.

At PPL, Wade is responsible for further developing PPL’s relationships with the UK music industry, promoting its work collecting hundreds of millions in neighbouring rights revenue, and supporting performers and recording rightsholders maximise this income.