Great, you found us
Hello, we’re Hold Tight, an independent PR and marketing collective championing great music and good people since 2010. With decades of combined experience and a shared passion for forward-thinking music, we've built a reputation working with artists, labels, festivals and brands across rock, metal, progressive, indie, alternative and everything in between. From helping shape the sound of modern metal to championing the finest progressive, avant-garde and heavy music, we're proud to be a trusted name across the global music community.
What began as a boutique PR agency has grown into a full-service team delivering international PR, tour and festival campaigns, social media and digital marketing, content creation and radio and TV promotion through Hold Tight Broadcast. Whether it's a debut single, a career defining album or a major live event, we bring the same care, enthusiasm and attention to detail to every project.
Hold Tight was founded in 2010 by James Monteith, Nathan "Barley" Phillips, founder of Basick Records and PR specialist Lisa Coverdale. United by a love for forward-thinking music, they found themselves at the forefront of the progressive, technical, djent and metalcore explosion in the 2000s, helping genre defining artists including Bury Tomorrow, Fell Silent, Monuments, Born Of Osiris and The Faceless find their audiences as modern heavy music entered an exciting new era.
Fifteen years later (you can read about that here) we've realised there really is no such a thing as a "typical" day in music PR. We've championed tech-metal masterminds, dark-pop shapeshifters, indie dreamers and black metal nihilists. We've worked with dwarves, goblins, pirates, wolves, Eurovision hopefuls, more masked bands than we can count, a Sleep Token and even a Hey Duggee-inspired metal band. Somewhere along the way the unusual became the everyday and somehow that's still not the weirdest part of the job. We wouldn't have it any other way.
From those humble beginnings, Hold Tight has grown into a genuinely international operation working with an impressiveroster of artists and many of the world's biggest labels. Today we work across print, online, radio, digital marketing, social and full 360° campaign strategy, alongside TV through Hold Tight Broadcast. In 2023 we expanded even further with the launch of Hold Tight Europe, a dedicated Netherlands-based office led by Jessica Otten, allowing us to support artists across multiple territories with local expertise.
Over the years we've helped artists land national magazine covers, sparked viral memes and supported careers all the way to Wembley headline shows, Download Festival main stage slots, Maida Vale debuts, Audiotree sessions and first appearances on the BBC. We’ve broken bands, built careers and launched a dildo line nobody asked for but nobody has forgotten and one of our artists even met the King. We helped create a viral moment for Danny Wimmer’s Aftershock Festival with a Pentagram meme, watched artists like Sleep Token, Jinjer and Orbit Culture grow from underground favourites to global heavyweights and somehow lived to tell the tale. And we’re not done yet.
>> Hold Tight UK Team <<
Founding Director James Monteith heads up the UK team, specialising in progressive metal, harbouring a dubious affection for nu-metal and hardcore and maintaining a lifelong allegiance to thrash. Before Hold Tight, James gained experience across the corporate, charity and arts sectors, with roles at media intelligence company Gorkana and disability arts organisation Shape Arts. Alongside his PR career, he is also guitarist for progressive metal pioneers TesseracT and Cage Fight, giving him a unique perspective from both sides of the music industry.
Founding Director Lisa Coverdale specialises in black metal, extreme metal, classical music and indie. A self-confessed audiophile with a passion for discovering new sounds and breaking bands, Lisa spent a decade in corporate marketing and PR before joining Hold Tight, working with global brands including Royal Bank of Scotland, O2, DHL, Visa, HP, HSBC and Sky. That experience continues to shape the strategic approach she brings to every campaign, combining big-brand thinking with a genuine love of independent music.
Nathan ‘Barley’ Phillips, co-founder of HOLD TIGHT, left and transitioned to a new chapter in 2018. He is now Head of A&R (Europe) at Nuclear Blast Records, continuing to shape the future of heavy music from a global perspective.
Director Matt Benton joined Basick and Hold Tight as an intern in 2013 after graduating with a degree in Music from the University of Cambridge. Since then, he's become an integral part of the team, helping break influential artists including Heriot, Conjurer, Ithaca and Voice of Baceprot, while expanding Hold Tight's reach into more adventurous and experimental corners of heavy music. If there's a goat, a hurdy-gurdy or an unusual angle involved, chances are Matt will be interested. His work has spanned everything from Mongolian folk metal to chiptune, earning global press coverage and award-winning campaigns along the way. Most recently, Matt completed a secondment at Nuclear Blast, leading campaigns for artists including Sepultura on their final headline tour, Anthrax, Alcest and more.
James Hingle joined us in 2025 to lead our Social Media and Digital Marketing division, read about that at Music Week, here. After a decade as a music journalist and content creator at Kerrang!, James brings his wealth of editorial, digital and audience engagement experience to the team, helping clients navigate an ever-changing online landscape through content strategy, creative campaigns, trend forecasting, community management and digital storytelling. His client roster includes some of the biggest names in live music, including Danny Wimmer Presents' festival portfolio – Inkcarceration, Sonic Temple, Louder Than Life, Welcome To Rockville and Aftershock. As the largest independent live event producer in the United States, Danny Wimmer Presents delivers some of the world's biggest rock, metal and alternative festivals, making James' expertise an invaluable part of Hold Tight's growing digital offering.
>> Hold Tight Broadcast Team <<
In 2014, Hannah Gillicker joined Hold Tight as an intern after completing her Management degree at the University of Leeds, becoming a full-time member of the team the following year. Now Director of Hold Tight Broadcast, Hannah has built the agency's radio and broadcast division into one of its core strengths, delivering successful campaigns for artists including Sleep Token, Billy Talent, Creeper, Holding Absence, Electric Callboy and VV.
With the launch of Hold Tight Broadcast in 2025, Lydia Hoyle joined the team as Co-Director for our new division alongside Hannah. Bringing more than a decade of experience in music PR, radio and television promotion, Lydia began her career with an internship at The Noise Cartel before joining Caroline International (now Virgin Music Group) as a Radio & TV Plugger in 2018. There, she worked with artists ranging from Sleep Token to LL Cool J, building strong relationships with broadcasters including BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Capital, KISS and Absolute Radio, while securing national playlist support and television appearances on Later... with Jools Holland, Sunday Brunch and MTV.
>> Hold Tight Europe Team <<
As our agency continued to grow internationally, Jessica Otten joined the team in 2023 to lead our European division. Working from the Netherlands she brings almost two decades of experience as both a recording artist and PR professional, including seven years as Head of PR at Season of Mist, Jessica offers invaluable insight into international artist development and campaign strategy.
Our European team expanded again in 2026 with the arrival of Juliane Baier. Based in Germany, her experience with Century Media Records, Napalm Records and Universal Music Germany has seen her work alongside artists including Scorpions, Destruction, Nile, Subway to Sally and Dämmerland. Her extensive network and knowledge of the European rock and metal landscape further strengthen Hold Tight's international reach.
Meet the team
HOLD TIGHT PR & MARKETING
HOLD TIGHT BROADCAST
Testimonials
“Speaking from the press side of things, Hold Tight PR are always a pleasure to work with. We’re bombarded with 150 some-odd press requests every day, but Hold Tight’s always jump to the top. That’s because the people at the company approach pitches with a discerning eye; I know that if I receive something from them there’s a really good chance I’ll like it, because they know better than to ask me otherwise. Other publicists should take a hint from that approach!”
“Having worked with dozens of PR companies and labels, we at Heavy Blog is Heavy are always thrilled to see that Hold Tight are on a case. They blend professionalism with a personal touch, making sure that any project (be it band, album, event, video, you name it) gets the loving attention it deserves. It’s always a pleasure to work with them and their roster, as we know we’ll get all the info and assistance we need to help us make sure any campaign goes off without a hitch. They also have the best cats.”
“When you receive hundreds of emails and CDs every day, you soon start to notice patterns. You subconsciously get a feel for what something’s going to be like, before you’ve even clicked play.Although I listen to everything I receive (eventually) as such, the reality is that I will naturally gravitate towards sources I trust as a priority - and I trust Hold Tight PR. I don’t think I can remember the last time that they sent me something I didn’t like. They are a source for me and if I was still in a band these days, I’d want to be part of that source.”
“Each year it gets harder to cut through the noise, with hundreds of PR emails coming to Metal Injection every day. So I put Hold Tight PR at the top of my must-read list because I can always depend on them to present me with something new and exciting. They’re some of the most personable and professional people I know in the PR game, and really bring out the best in their clients. If you’re looking for a PR agency who believes in their bands, and is daring enough to make create house hold names across the globe, then you should consider Hold Tight your new friends.”
