Toast Press
Toast Press is a London-based boutique music publicity agency founded in 2005, providing press relations, editorial placements, and cross-format campaign support for artists ranging from emerging talent to global major-label acts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Toast Press does
Toast Press is a London-based boutique music publicity agency founded in 2005 in Brixton by sisters Ruth and Beth Drake, operating as Toast Press Ltd under a professional services fee model. The firm provides Music & Artist Press Relations Management services spanning tastemaker editorial placement, mass-market magazine covers, fashion and podcast publicity, film and TV campaign support, media training, events, and crisis communications. Its roster includes ~30 named artists ranging from global major-label acts (Billie Eilish, Florence + The Machine, Kacey Musgraves, The Prodigy, Phoenix, Disclosure, Melanie C) to emerging and mid-market talent (2hollis, Jim Legxacy, Sainté, Sophia Stel), supported by channel relationships with every major label group and 40+ independent and label-services partners including Atlantic, Columbia, Polydor, EMI, Parlophone, AWAL, The Orchard, Believe, PIAS, Dirty Hit, Rough Trade, Sub Pop, Ninja Tune, BMG, Kobalt, and 88 Rising.
The business is people- and relationships-led with no proprietary technology platform, no app, no API, and no disclosed AI tooling; the underlying "product" is senior practitioner time and editorial access. Revenue mechanics are quote-based contractual engagements with no publicly disclosed pricing, and the firm is privately held by its founders with no institutional investors, no funding rounds, no M&A activity, and no subsidiaries. The 6-person team (2 co-founder Directors, 2 Senior Publicists, 1 Publicist, 1 Publicity Coordinator) operates from a single Brixton headquarters, is GDPR-compliant, and is geographically restricted from operating "Outside EU" in its documentation while in practice serving US-based labels and artists.
Toast Press firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Toast Press
- Legal name
- Toast Press Ltd
- Website
- https://toastpress.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Toast Press is a London-based boutique music publicity agency founded in 2005, providing press relations, editorial placements, and cross-format campaign support for artists ranging from emerging talent to global major-label acts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Toast Press industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Music Public Relations Services
- NAICS
- Public Relations Agencies (541820), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Publicity, PR & Media Relations (Artists) (MPAIAGAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Media Relations & Press Office Services (MPAAADAI)
Keywords
Where Toast Press is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Toast Press business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Music & Artist Press Relations Management: Toast Press Ltd provides Music & Artist Press Relations Management services to clients including various ancillary and associated activities. The company operates on a contractual basis with clients, performing services in exchange for fees under contractual arrangements.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Toast Press product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Toast Press provides Music & Artist Press Relations Management services on a contractual basis for music artists and their representatives. The agency secures editorial coverage and press placements across print, fashion, podcast, film and TV outlets, and additionally offers media training, events management, and crisis communications support for emerging talent through to major global acts.
Product overview
Toast Press is an award-winning music publicity agency offering comprehensive Music & Artist Press Relations Management services. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Brixton, London, the agency provides publicity, media relations, and campaign management for musicians and artists. Services span tastemaker editorial playlist placement, mass-market magazine cover features, fashion and podcast coverage, film and TV sync opportunities, media training, events management, and crisis communications. The agency works with artists from emerging talent to major global acts, representing them across all major labels, independents, label-services, and DIY projects. Toast Press is founded and run by sisters Ruth and Beth Drake.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Music & Artist Press Relations Management End-to-end publicity and press relations services for music artists and their representatives, including editorial placements across print, fashion, podcast, film and TV outlets. Delivered on a contractual basis for emerging talent through to major global acts across all major labels, independents, label-services and DIY projects.
- Media Training
Companies that use Toast Press
Customer profileNamed customers35 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Toast Press technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Toast Press partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
45 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Atlantic RecordscoreMajor label partner representing artists through Toast Press publicity services
- Warner Music GroupcoreMajor label group partner with multiple imprint labels including Atlantic, Columbia, EMI, Parlophone, and others
- Columbia RecordscoreMajor label partner representing artists through Toast Press publicity services
- Polydor RecordscoreUniversal Music Group imprint partner
- EMIcoreMajor label partner within Warner Music Group
- Island RecordscoreUniversal Music Group label partner
- AWALcoreArtist services and label services company partner
- The OrchardcoreMusic distribution and label services company partner
- 88 RisingcoreStrategic label partner known for Asian artist representation
- Dirty HitcoreIndependent label partner
- Rough TradecoreIndependent label partner
- Decca RecordscoreUniversal Music Group classical and contemporary label partner
- NinjatunecoreIndependent label partner known for electronic and alternative music
- BMGcoreMajor music company partner
- KobaltcoreIndependent music services company partner
- DeezerminorStreaming platform partner
- Cooking VinylcoreIndependent label partner
- Def Jam RecordingscoreUniversal Music Group label partner
- Glassnote RecordscoreIndependent label partner
- ParlophonecoreWarner Music Group label partner
- RCA RecordscoreSony Music label partner
- Virgin MusiccoreUniversal Music Group label and artist services partner
- PIAScoreIndependent label and distribution partner
- Black Butter RecordscoreIndependent UK label partner
- ConcordcoreIndependent music company partner
- Bad HabitcoreAtlantic Records imprint partner
- BecausecoreIndependent label partner
- BelievecoreIndependent music services and label partner
- CarolinecoreUniversal Music Group label services partner
- Chess ClubcoreIndependent label partner
- FadercoreIndependent label partner
- InsanitycoreIndependent label partner
- MarathoncoreIndependent label partner
- Mercury KXcoreDecca Records imprint partner
- Ministry Of SoundcoreIndependent UK label partner
- Mom PopcoreIndependent label partner
- NettwerkcoreIndependent label and music management partner
- PlatooncoreArtist services and technology partner
- Red EssentialcoreUniversal Music Group label partner
- Relentless RecordscoreIndependent UK label partner
- Secretly CanadiancoreIndependent label partner
- Sub PopcoreIndependent US label partner
- Tap B MusiccoreIndependent music publishing partner
- AbsolutecoreMusic publishing and label partner
- Capitol RecordscoreUniversal Music Group label partner
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Toast Press competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Shore Fire Media: Long-established US music and entertainment PR agency representing artists, labels, and festivals. Closely comparable service offering and customer profile, though transatlantic in footprint.
- Prescription Music PR: Boutique music publicity firm working with major and indie artists. Comparable in service scope (press, campaigns, crisis) and customer base, but US-rooted, making it a transatlantic direct peer.
- DawBell: London-based entertainment PR agency covering music, film, and TV publicity with a similar multi-channel service offering. Direct competitor for the same major-label and independent artist accounts.
- Brick PR: London-based boutique music PR agency representing indie and major artists. Closely comparable to Toast Press in size, market (UK music press), and roster orientation.
- Hall Or Nothing: UK music publicity agency serving indie and major label artists. Comparable boutique structure and music-press focus; competes for the same pool of UK-based artists and label marketing briefs.
- Nasty Little Man: US-based music public relations firm with a roster spanning indie and major artists. Comparable music-PR scope and A-list artist focus, providing a US benchmark for Toast Press's positioning.
- Friendly Enemy: London-based independent music PR and communications agency. Direct peer operating at a similar scale in the UK music publicity market with a comparable client profile.
Broad incumbents
- United Talent Agency (UTA): Global talent agency with publicity, marketing, and brand-strategy capabilities for music artists. A larger incumbent that increasingly bundles PR into broader artist representation, making it an adjacent competitor for high-end artist accounts.
- Wasserman Music: Division of the broader Wasserman talent and marketing group. Competes for major-label publicity and artist marketing briefs as part of a much wider sports, talent, and brand portfolio, offering a scale benchmark for UK music PR.
Others
- Polydor Records (in-house PR): Major-label in-house publicity team that either complements or competes with boutique external agencies like Toast Press. Relevant as a channel partner (Toast Press works with Polydor artists) and as the kind of in-house function that could disintermediate external PR spend.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Toast Press social profiles
Digital presenceToast Press compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Toast Press financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Toast Press leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Toast Press funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Toast Press M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Toast Press
What does Toast Press do?
Toast Press provides Music & Artist Press Relations Management services on a contractual basis for music artists and their representatives. The agency secures editorial coverage and press placements across print, fashion, podcast, film and TV outlets, and additionally offers media training, events management, and crisis communications support for emerging talent through to major global acts.
Is Toast Press a public or private company?
Toast Press is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Toast Press founded?
Toast Press was founded in 2005. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Toast Press based?
Toast Press is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Toast Press make money?
One revenue line is on record: music & Artist Press Relations Management.
Who are Toast Press's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Shore Fire Media, Prescription Music PR, DawBell, Brick PR, Hall Or Nothing, Nasty Little Man and Friendly Enemy. Broad incumbents are United Talent Agency (UTA) and Wasserman Music. Polydor Records (in-house PR) is listed as an others.
Does Toast Press have an API?
No public API is recorded for Toast Press.
What industry is Toast Press in?
Toast Press's product category is Music Public Relations Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIAGAG, Publicity, PR & Media Relations (Artists), with a secondary code of MPAAADAI, Media Relations & Press Office Services. Its NAICS code is 541820 and its SIC code is 7311.