Christine Leslie: “I've Seen How Music Can Change Lives”

For Christine Leslie, music is about people. Whilst it was curiosity that initially sparked a career which has led to her role as partner, EP, and director of licensing at TA2 Sound and Music, it’s the effect her work has had on people which continues to keep her inspired and engaged. 

“My favourite thing about putting together any production is making people happy”, she tells LBB. “There’s no other way to explain it - and nothing more satisfying than seeing your clients fall in love with what you’ve produced. That feeling is as strong now as it was back then”. 

Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone with a more extensive or intricate knowledge of the business of music and sound than Christine. But despite that, the music licensing expert has also been involved in almost every part of the production business - from art and design studios to production companies, and even ad agencies. 

As Christine recalls it, that zig-zagging path can be traced back to a pivotal moment with her Grandfather. “I was living with him, and he told me in no uncertain terms that I needed to get a job”, she recounts with a wry smile. “So it was either join him in the car business or get out and look for something else. I guess I don’t need to say which option I chose!”. 

But, for Christine, there was one more familial influence which proved to be a driving force. “My Aunt was an agency producer, and she was something of a hero to me”, she says. “She was having so much fun and had a lot of respect in the industry. I wanted to follow in her footsteps”. 

From that moment, Christine resolved to become an agency producer. But, as is so often the case, fate had other plans. “I didn’t account for how wonderful working in music would be”, she says. 

So when Steve Gadsden, founder of TA2, came calling, Leslie “jumped at the chance”. The switch into the world of music afforded Christine the opportunity to meet her idols (Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott and Steve Miller), and introduce her niece to Justin Bieber in-person.  Now, over a decade later, Leslie is looking back on a body of work which built brands, entertained audiences and, with no hyperbole necessary, changed lives. 

Faith in Music 

Searching for an example of music’s ‘life-changing’ qualities in action, Christine doesn’t need to think for long. 

“A story which jumps straight to my mind is a project we worked on for Joe Fresh”, she recalls. “It was a fun project for which we licensed a song from a Swedish singer. It all went great, the client was happy, and everyone was ready to move on to the next project. But months later, I got an email from the artist’s recording label asking whether I was able to meet her”. 

For Christine, that came as something of a surprise. Meeting up with artists themselves - especially months after a campaign had gone out of the door - was a rarity. “I couldn’t imagine why she might have wanted to meet me”, she notes. 

And Christine was right to be surprised - because the reason was utterly unpredictable. “It had turned out that, with the money she’d made from that one commercial, she’d bought a church in Sweden and turned it into a recording studio for her community”, she says. “And she wanted to meet me so she could tell me about it and thank me for licensing her track. I was just blown away. I guess you could see I’ve seen how music can change lives”. 

Although not every project builds a church, that story does paint a picture of the beautiful human element that unites her work. “Another moment which stands out strongly in my memory is when Peter McHugh, the creative director for a Toshiba campaign called I Checked My Notebook, gave me a shoutout from the stage when the project won at the Bessie Awards”, she says. “It felt so good to be recognised - and of course I was so proud on behalf of him and the rest of the team too”.

Above: The ‘I Checked My Notebook’ campaign for Toshiba picked up critical acclaim upon its release in 1996. 

It’s a feeling which Christine couldn’t help but recall this summer, as she headed up to the stage to collect TA2’s award for Music and Sound Company 2023 at the One Show. “And I felt exactly the same way when we won a Gold Lion at Cannes”, she says. “I don’t know if it will ever get old, but it certainly hasn’t yet!”. 

Over the course of her career, all of these moments have taken Christine to a place where she’s able to lean into a characteristic which - she claims - is more important than any other in the world of music: Trust. 

“You can’t put a value on working with someone that you trust, and there really is no substitute for trust in this business”, she explains. “It’s an industry that loves to throw you curveballs. There’s no rate card for music licensing - the value of a song is set by labels and publishers. So within that dynamic, there can be a lot of surprises”. 

On top of that, the licensing process itself can frequently be a bumpy one. “I can remember working with a big beer brand who were set on licensing a hit from a particular band for one of their campaigns”, she says. “But it turned out that the band were Mormons and didn’t want to be associated with any alcoholic products”.

Ultimately, if there’s a theme which unites these stories from Christine’s career then it’s curiosity. Whether it be keeping her ears fresh to the limitless potential of new music or discovering how best to apply it to brands, curiosity has been the key to Christine’s success in building the sense of trust that defines her work. 

When thinking about whether music can ‘change lives’, it’s easy to be cynical. But if you want to start believing it, just listen to Christine.