Ahead of tonight’s Youth Music Awards in Liverpool, we spoke to Ticketmaster Clubs’ Client Support Assistant, Jenuelle Na-Oy.
For Jenuelle, the event is a special full-circle moment. In 2021, she won the Youth Music Awards’ Creative Entrepreneur Award; tonight, she returns as a member of the live-music industry, having joined Ticketmaster in October 2024.
“It feels full circle,” says Jenuelle. “Since winning the Creative Entrepreneur Award, I have since moved from the label side of the industry to the ticketing sector, ensuring I am getting experience across all of the industry. I’m proud to be where I’m at, and to see the awards in Liverpool is a huge bonus.”
The Awards helped affirm her ambition to pursue a career in music. “Being in the room was inspiring enough,” she says. “Hearing other people’s stories about what they do from all sides of the industry was really cool to listen to. It definitely affirmed my decision to carry on pursuing my career in music.”
Jenuelle knew from around the age of 16 that she wanted to work in music full-time; “whatever that meant”. Since then, she has explored several parts of the industry. Her route into ticketing began while she was at university, when she worked part-time at Liverpool O2 Academy.
In her current role, Jenuelle enjoys working directly with promoters and seeing the process of getting a show set up. “It’s a very large workforce, and things are happening here, there, everywhere,” she says. “It’s nice to see what other teams are doing and play a small part in what is a worldwide workforce.”
Her Ticketmaster career highlight so far has been working on-site at festivals and shows. She has been lucky enough to see Oasis, Pitbull, Pet Shop Boys and Elton John, to name a few.
What has surprised her most about ticketing is the work happening behind the scenes. “Behind all the chaos of on-sales and noise, there are real, genuine people working behind the scenes to get things off the ground,” she says. “The challenges that these teams have overcome are incredible to see.”
Outside Ticketmaster, Jenuelle is an independent artist manager representing Pixey, Grace Elizabeth Harvey and Hope Clements, as well as an A&R scout for Fontana. Her work with emerging artists informs her passion for grassroots music: “Without the grassroots, you don’t get your stadium touring artists; they all start from here.”
A proud Liverpool music fan, Jenuelle’s first gig was Little Mix at the Echo Arena, now the M&S Bank Arena. Her favourite UK venue is The Arts Club in Liverpool, which holds memories of her first gigs and is loved for its different rooms. Her favourite live show of all time? Chappell Roan at O2 Academy Brixton. And the song currently on repeat? “Coming of Age” by METTE.
From a Youth Music Awards winner to a career spanning artist management, A&R and ticketing, Jenuelle’s story is a brilliant reflection of the opportunities that help young people find their place in music.
Good luck to everyone being celebrated at tonight’s Awards. Ticketmaster is proud to be supporting all of the acts performing tonight, we can’t wait!
