Keren McKean · Glasgow, Scotland
Making ambitious cultural ideas work.
We Make Music Work is the professional home of Keren McKean — creative producer, commercial strategist and connector across music, culture, brands and public life.
Explore selected work ↓Twenty-five years of making things happen
I bring the right people, ideas and opportunities together — then work out how to make the whole thing possible.
My career has moved between artist management, festivals, broadcast production, cultural programmes, commercial partnerships and business development.
The thread running through it all is simple: recognising potential, building trust and turning ambitious ideas into work that exists in the world.
Why We Make Music Work
Opportunity only matters if it works for everyone.
I created We Make Music Work to find every possible opportunity for musicians and creative people to build sustainable careers.
My success in brand partnerships came from being able to speak the language of both bands and brands — understanding what each side genuinely needed, and recognising where the right idea could create value for both.
But a good campaign also has to work in the real world. Years spent in venues, festivals, artist management and event production meant the ideas were practical, deliverable and straightforward for the event crews bringing them to life.
Artist. Brand. Audience. Crew. The best work respects all four.
Music PR & campaign delivery
Trusted people make ambitious work possible.
Music press campaigns are led by Derick MacKinnon, my long-standing collaborator and frequent right-hand person across We Make Music Work projects.
Derick brings specialist music PR expertise alongside extensive experience in event management and customer engagement. I have recruited him across many of my campaigns because he understands both the creative ambition and what excellent delivery requires on the ground.
Independent specialists. One joined-up campaign.
Selected work
A career built across culture and commerce.
01Artist management · Brand partnerships
Snow Patrol
From discovering and managing the band in their earliest years to creating and delivering partnership strategy for Ward Park, Belfast.
02Creative producing · Scotland
Green Space Dark Skies
Four extraordinary landscapes. Large-scale outdoor storytelling. A national creative programme brought to life across Scotland.
03Experiential strategy · Music
Miller Genuine Draft
The award-winning Mill campaign: connecting a global drinks brand with credible live music culture across Scotland.
04Festival development · Investment
Electric Fields
Business development, partnerships and strategy for an independent festival in the grounds of Drumlanrig Castle.
05International mentoring · Creative enterprise
JUMP European Music Market Accelerator
Mentoring emerging music businesses from across Europe — helping founders sharpen their business models, understand their audiences and turn inventive ideas into sustainable work.
Watch the work
Made to be experienced.
Sometimes you know before the rest of the world does.
When Gary brought me the first demo of Chasing Cars, I knew how enormous it could be. I had felt the same thing when he first played me Run.
Those moments remain part of the instinct that has shaped my career: recognising when an artist, a song or an idea has the potential to connect with people far beyond the room where it began.
Along the way
Snow Patrol Green Space Dark Skies BBC Scotland T in the Park King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut Electric Fields COP26 JUMP Miller Genuine Draft Paisley 2021 Queen Margaret Union
About Keren
Instinct, experience and an unusually useful address book.
I began in Glasgow’s live music scene — booking King Tut’s, working across T in the Park and managing Snow Patrol from their earliest days.
Since then, I have produced major cultural projects, built festivals and businesses, created partnerships between artists and global brands, worked in television production and helped organisations find their commercial direction.
Today I work full-time in events and brand partnerships at South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture. We Make Music Work remains the home of my independent professional work, history and occasional irresistible idea.
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