Mike Smith (A&R man)

Mike Smith
Occupation	Record label A&R, President of Music at Virgin EMI, Illustrator
Years active	1988-present

Mike Smith started as an A&R man at MCA Publishing as a scout in 1988, where he signed Blur, Levitation and scouted The Smashing Pumpkins. He then moved to EMI Publishing in 1992, where he went on to sign acts, such as PJ Harvey, Elastica, Supergrass, Teenage Fan Club, Doves, Starsailor, The Beta Band, The Avalanches, Gorillaz, The White Stripes, The Libertines, The Scissor Sisters, The Arcade Fire, and Arctic Monkeys, as well as resigning Blur and progressing to the position of Head of A&R. He also worked with artists such as Robbie Williams, The Verve and Beth Orton. Smith moved to Columbia Records UK in 2006 to work as the Managing Director. In 2006, he signed Mark Ronson and Calvin Harris. In 2007, signings included The Ting Tings, MGMT, The Hugs, The Gossip and Glasvegas. The following year, he signed Miike Snow and Lissie to the label and in 2009, Magnetic Man, Miles Kane and Paul Epworth. Band of Horses, Katy B, The Vaccines and Ryan Adams were all signed in 2010 and in the following year, he signed Madeon and The Civil Wars. Acts he also looked after included Kings of Leon, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Foo Fighters, Matt Cardle, Ke$ha, Sleigh Bells, and Kasabian.

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