Amid the vibrant energy of the Berlin Dance Music Event, we find ourselves in conversation with a key figure shaping the future of house music. Miles Shackleton, COO at Toolroom and co-founder of Toolroom Academy stands at the forefront of one of the industry’s most influential labels, driving its evolution while nurturing the next generation of talent.
In this exclusive interview, we explore Toolroom’s journey, the groundbreaking From Mix to Mainstage report, and how the Academy is empowering emerging artists through mentorship, inclusivity, and real-world industry experience.
Can you introduce yourself and explain your role at Toolroom?
Hi, I’m Miles Shackleton, I’m the COO at Toolroom and co-founder of the Toolroom Academy.
Can you give us an overview of the From Mix to Main Stage report and its purpose?
Yes. So the report is called From Mix to Main Stage. What we did is we interviewed around 250 upcoming artists who are trying to break through. We interviewed a lot of successful people within the music industry and tried to understand both the skills artists need to break through and the challenges these new artists were facing in building their careers. The idea was that we’d use this report to form the intellectual basis for our new online artist development program so that it was rooted in some real research and also just so that we could contribute some real understanding of this issue of how artists are struggling to break through in the scene.
How did you gather participants for the report, and what was the process for conducting the survey?
It was a mixture of our current students in our production programs, who fit the profile of artists wishing to break through into the scene. This was quite a wide mix of people internationally. Our students come from all over the world. We also ran some ads to get people to fill out the survey, and that was targeted again across the world, a mixture of gender, and ethnicity, so that we were getting the most diverse voice we could within the report.
“Inclusivity is improving in the industry, but there’s still work to be done. Bigger companies like Spotify and Beatport are leading the way, but we all must push harder.” Miles Shackleton, COO at Toolroom, for Xceed’s Night Mag
The report emphasizes making the electronic music industry more inclusive and accessible. Can you share some examples or initiatives Toolroom has implemented to break down barriers for emerging artists, particularly from underrepresented groups?
There’s one main thing we do in this space, which is called We Are Listening. We Are Listening is a platform we developed to encourage more female-identifying talent within electronic music. As a label, we’re still very male-dominated within our signings. This is something we’ve noted for many years. It was actually a colleague of mine, Victoria, who should take all the credit for this. I just merely supported her. She was really passionate that we would get more female talent on the label. And the issue we said was that we weren’t getting demos, we weren’t getting enough demos from female artists. So she put out the call on International Women’s Day, in I think about 2018, and called it We Are Listening, and just invited demos in from female producers. The results were astounding. We had something like 80 demos in the first two days.
That proved to us that there was talent and potential, and the desire from the female audience to write and release house music. Maybe there just wasn’t enough specific help and representation from the industry. We Are Listening has since grown and evolved into a platform, online and in face-to-face events, where we offer free workshops and free mentoring for female-identifying talent. The best thing about it is it’s working. Our best-selling artist on Toolroom last year was ESSEL. She’s female, from Liverpool. And she came from the We Are Listening initiative. We met her that way. We spotted the talent. We’ve mentored her. We signed her on a full artist deal. And she’s streaming the biggest numbers on Toolroom. So it just proves to us that there’s talent out there. What the industry needs to do is, I think, be less about signaling positive messages, which is also important, but getting your hands dirty, getting in there, mentoring, and helping.
Beyond gender diversity, are there any initiatives focused on supporting other underrepresented groups, such as the LGBTQ+ or FLINTA communities, or people of color in the industry?
I think that’s the next phase of We Are Listening. I think the key thing is we’ve started on something. What we see We Are Listening evolving into is a brand within Toolroom that’s about reaching out to all underrepresented groups. I think one of the things I’ve learned is to do this carefully and do it properly. I think there are examples where people have rushed into this, used the wrong language with potentially the right intentions, but just got it wrong and caused offense. And I think one thing we want to do is be reflective, be respectful, be considered. So the next phase for us is to evolve We Are Listening to have a wider remit for the underrepresented groups you mentioned.
“Toolroom’s best-selling artist last year came from the We Are Listening initiative, proving that the talent is there—what’s needed is mentorship and support.“ Miles Shackleton, COO at Toolroom, for Xceed’s Night Mag
How do you see the industry’s landscape changing in the next few years regarding inclusivity, and what role do you believe established brands like Toolroom should play in this transformation?
I think that the industry is beginning to change. I’m seeing certainly more representation of underrepresented groups in lineups. It’s not enough yet, but it’s getting there. I think you’re seeing better representation, particularly on companies like Spotify and Beatport, who are leading the way quite well when it comes to things like playlist covers. When it comes to placement on stores, we’re noticing a real proactive effort amongst the bigger companies, who have the economy of scale in order to have teams dedicated to inclusion. I’m really noting the work Sofia Elias is doing at Beatport as Chief Community Officer. I think she’s pushing really hard. But there’s still work to be done.
One thing I always note is when we run academy events, one thing I’ve noticed is they are very male-heavy. When we ran the first We Are Listening event, I led the introduction to a group of all females, and I suddenly felt incredibly nervous because I was very aware of my gender for the first time. It was a massive moment of empathy for me. And so I still think there’s an unconscious bias that we, as people with some authority or power in the music industry, need to be cognizant of. We need to push harder. There’s still work to be done, but I think steps are being made.
The report highlights the importance of education and mentorship in supporting emerging artists. Can you elaborate on how Toolroom’s mentorship programs, such as those for female producers, have impacted participants’ careers and the wider industry?
I think that our mentorship programs have made a big impact in terms of underrepresented groups. Again, speaking about We Are Listening, I think the impact has been one of bringing groups of people together who perhaps are based all over the country and maybe feel a bit isolated. Bringing them together has created new collaborations between them and us, offering support and guidance. Outside of underrepresented groups, I think our mentoring’s key difference is that it is based on real industry knowledge. I think that’s what’s different about the Toolroom Academy—we are a record label, and we do the thing we teach. I think that level of in-depth industry experience is what’s creating innovation in our mentoring programs. And that innovation is what’s pushing people to succeed and get signed. So that’s what I’m interested in: how we innovate mentoring, not just use it as a commercial endeavor to grow the business.
“The key to mentoring at Toolroom Academy is real industry knowledge. We don’t just teach music—we do it.” Miles Shackleton, COO at Toolroom, for Xceed’s Night Mag
Is the mentorship you provide more focused on group mentoring, or do you also offer one-on-one sessions? How do you find your mentors?
So there’s a range of mentoring styles depending on the program. We do have one-on-one mentoring. We have small group mentoring. It depends on the nature of the course. I think what’s key to the mentoring within our production education is our feedback. You just witnessed the live feedback at the end of the session. We really get under the hood of records and analyze them. That’s where the mentoring comes in—getting A&R feedback. It’s getting someone who’s not your friend or your partner or even another fellow DJ to offer real, genuine feedback that’s unbiased, real, friendly, and helpful, but will also stretch you. We find these mentors from our own team. They’re our own A&Rs. And that’s the key thing. We’re not just outsourcing this to people who, no disrespect, may have tried and failed in their careers. Our mentors are people at the top of their game with the number-one selling label on Beatport. So, in my opinion, and I’m biased, but we have the best A&R team in the game, and they’re the people who are our mentors.