Laylo is expanding its presence across the UK and Europe with the appointment of music industry executive Taz Sharp as Director of Artists & Events, EMEA.
Based in London, Sharp will lead Laylo’s growth across the region, working closely with artist managers, promoters, festivals, and label teams as demand continues to grow for tools that help entertainment brands build direct relationships with fans across ticketing, merch, presales, and music releases.
The expansion comes at a moment when artists and live event teams are increasingly prioritizing owned audience relationships, verified fan access, and first-party fan data as core parts of their marketing strategy.
Originally known for its SMS drop campaigns, Laylo has evolved into a broader fan engagement platform used by more than 10,000 artists, creators, and events, including Rosalía, Robyn, IDLES, The xx, Suki Waterhouse, Circoloco, and Teletech. The platform now spans audience growth, fan segmentation, verified fan access, and integrations across Spotify, Shopify, Instagram, WhatsApp, DICE, and more.
“Across the UK and Europe, there’s a major shift happening around direct fan relationships,” said Sharp. “Artists and event teams are looking for smarter ways to grow owned audiences they can engage directly, while also creating better fan experiences around ticket access, merch, and releases.”
One of the biggest areas of growth for Laylo has been verified fan infrastructure through its RealFan technology, which helps artists reward real fans with exclusive access using unique codes and two-factor authentication.
Artists including Zara Larsson, Noah Kahan, and MUNA have used Laylo’s RealFan technology to launch verified artist presales designed to prioritize fans over bots and ticket brokers. In April alone, Laylo says it blocked more than 4 million unverified sign-ups.
“Ticketing fairness has become one of the biggest conversations in live entertainment,” said Sharp. “Artists and promoters are actively looking for ways to prioritize real fans over bots and resellers, and to rebuild trust around access.”
Sharp joins Laylo after more than 15 years working across music, technology, artist development, and brand marketing. Most recently, she was a founding team member at AI-powered Discord platform Levellr, where she built the company’s music vertical and worked with artists including Fred again.., Noah Kahan, Bring Me The Horizon, Oasis, Gorillaz, JADE, Caroline Polachek, and Laufey.
Prior to Levellr, Sharp helped establish Believe’s UK artist distribution business, signing and developing artists including Royel Otis, Cian Ducrot, and Genesis Owusu. Earlier in her career, she worked across artist management, touring, and consumer marketing campaigns for brands including Puma, Microsoft, and IHG.
“Taz brings deep experience across artists, fan engagement, and live events at a pivotal moment for the industry,” said Alec Ellin, Co-Founder & CEO of Laylo. “As more artists and event teams prioritize direct audience relationships and verified fan experiences, expanding across the UK and Europe is a huge priority for us.”
Since launching in 2021, Laylo has powered more than 250 million fan actions and driven over $1 billion in sales across tickets, merch, and content. The platform powers partnerships across the entertainment ecosystem, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music, TikTok, and DICE.
