UK music industry entrepreneurs team-up to form a new Thai artist management company and independent record label, ‘Kaleidoscope BKK’

KALEIDOSCOPEBKK TEAM  (LEFT TO RIGHT): Chris Craker, Andy Haggerstone, Andy Griffin

PHOTO CREDIT: Kaleidoscope BKK

Thailand-based UK music industry entrepreneurs Andy Haggerstone, Andy Griffin, and Chris Craker,  have teamed-up to launch a new artist management company and independent record label, Kaleidoscope BKK, and have begun the search for their first Thai artist.

With over 50 years of music industry experience between them, Thailand-based UK music industry executives Andy Haggerstone, Andy Griffin, and Chris Craker, had been looking for the opportunity to collaborate on a project for a while. For all of its downsides, the disruption to the music industry caused by the Covid pandemic actually served to provide them with their first chance to work together by beginning their own joint venture, Kaleidoscope BKK. By upending their plans for 2021, the three found the unexpected opportunity to collaborate, with them ultimately deciding to launch their own independent management company and record label focused on emerging talent in their adopted home, Thailand.

Kaleidoscope BKK will have an artist-first focus, taking the unusual step of ring-fencing 25% equity in the company for the artists on their roster – meaning that on top of the income earned from their own music, Kaleidoscope BKK’s artists will also be paid a share of any profit the label makes across the roster. Managing Director Andy Haggerstone explained the rationale for this approach:

“We hope that by effectively making artists shareholders in the company, we can foster a spirit of creativity and collaboration on the roster – where the artists help us choose and develop new additions to the Kaleidoscope BKK family, work on each other’s projects, and help each other grow their audience.”

With decades of music industry experience between them, the three co-founders also have deep connections to Thailand having lived there for a number of years, and they are hoping to bring their depth and breadth of experience to this new collaboration in a way which will provide artists with expert guidance, transparent and fair deals within the industry and, ultimately, a way to make a living from their music. The value of their collective experience is hard to overstate. Andy Haggerstone has developed a unique skill-set centred around working with emerging independent artists in the UK, helping them to break into the industry, using his experience to launch IndieKnow, a new platform for self-releasing artists. Andy Griffin has worked with Riverman Management and Warner Music Thailand and currently manages Thai alt-rock act Yep May Yep, experience which has allowed him to develop an extensive understanding of the live music scene in Thailand. Chris Craker, meanwhile, brings with him not only his vast experience as a former Senior Vice President of Sony BMG Masterworks, but also access to his world class recording facility at Karma Sound Studios, Bang Saray. 

The search now begins for their first signing. The KaleidoscopeBKK team are open to working with artists of any genre and level of experience. So, if you’re a Thai artist and interested in working with the team at Kaleidoscope BKK, you can submit demos for consideration by going to www.kaleidoscopebkk.com.