Spotlight On 122 Music Management

We sit down with Mark from 122 Music Management

Who is 122 Music Management?

Hi, I’m Mark from 122 Music Management (122MM). We are a music management company, and the artists we look after primarily are Sky Diving Penguins & Still Traffico.

What is your origin story?

Crikey! This dates back to 1996, when I (Mark) ran a small independent record label. I looked after Blast, whose members included Gia (Mr. Sky Diving Penguins). 

Fast forward to 2019, and I visited Gia in Tbilisi, Georgia. During that visit, he told me that he had put together an album and asked whether I wanted to listen. Having listened to Sky Diving Penguins demos in the past, I was certainly up for that. 

Upon listening though, it altered everything to this date – there was no way that I could leave  that album on Gia’s computer without anyone else hearing it, which ultimately led to 122MM.

When did you realise you wanted to get involved in music?

On a personal note, I would love to make music and it might be something I come back to; I have sung on stage before and DJ’d at several clubs back in the day.

As for 122MM, the desire to help independent artists get the word out about their music has been there for many many years. It is still such a thrill to hear new music by talented artists, and then to help them get it onto radio, playlists and into new ears makes it so worthwhile.

Who are your long-standing influences?

Obviously, this question is geared towards artists. But as a team dedicated to helping emerging musicians, I have always enjoyed the way Stiff records went about their business. Challenging mainstream ideas to boost artists’ presence is at the heart of what we do.

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned as an artist manager?

As a company helping artists spread their gospel, it is for us to keep being progressive, keep swimming against the tide and keep being ourselves. The same could apply to musicians.

What are you working on at the moment?

Right now, I’m in the middle of drawing together artists to take part in our music festival, 24:1900. 

We have approached approximately 200 artists (chosen, after a few months Bandcamp research) from 24 timezones. We are about halfway through confirming our line-up, which is coming together in the kind of genre-fluid way we like.

We really believe in 24:1900 and the possibilities that it might afford the artists that play, but also artists we promote through adverts…

Scoop! We will be looking for 60 artist(s) to produce 20-second promo clips of them/their music, that we will show three times during the course of the festival. We will be sending out invitations for this in the next few weeks. Artists will not have to pay us for these adverts. 

What would you tell your younger self?

Loads of things. Too many.

But in a strange way, my younger self reminded the older me 5 years ago of the benefits of taking risks in life and throwing yourself in the deep end. 

Trust your gut. Take that risk. Live life.

Which band or artist are you really excited about at the moment?

Loaded question for us. So Sky Diving Penguins and Still Traffico, there is your answer.

Where can people follow you?

You can find all that we do at https://linktr.ee/122mm. 

What’s next for 122 Music Management?

In 2026, we want to return to promoting live music in London. 

We have an idea/plan. We just need the time and resource to put it into action.