AWME 2012 CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Aside from its generous musical offerings, AWME host's one of the country’s most extensive industry conferences, granting attending delegates unparalleled access to some of the world’s preeminent festival directors, booking agents, label managers and music media for three days of speaker sessions and networking from Friday 16 November - Sunday 18 November.

Please note details are subject to change.

REGISTER HERE TODAY FOR YOUR PASS

Friday 16 November 2012

From Apple to YouTube - getting your music out there 

Presented by AWME & APRA

The explosion of social networking sites, smart phones, applications and digital music platforms have made it easier than ever for artists to get their music out to the public. However with this avalanche of music, it's also never been harder to stand out and make money from your art. Apple controls over 90% of the download market in Australia, new services such as Spotify are being questioned about their returns for artists, and every minute over two-days worth of content is uploaded to YouTube. This panel of established and emerging artists and industry workers look at ways to get noticed and paid in this increasingly digital world, from music publishing to monetising content on YouTube.

Selecting the Line-up

Presented by AWME

With the rise of music festivals and international touring, choosing the right festival line-up is more important now than ever. While every festival needs a headline act, Festival Directors and Programmers are always searching for new talent to introduce to a global stage. We talk to an international selection committee about what they’re looking for when they attend trade fairs, and what artists can do to stand out from the crowd.

Sista Sounds: Indigenous Women's Music in Remote Communities

Presented by AWME & Music NT

Music NT runs targeted music programs for Indigenous girls and women in Central Australia in order to fill a gap in representation and opportunity for female musicians and songwriters. This panel will present information and outcomes of the Desert Divas and Sista Sounds programs, and how they relate to broader trends and issues for Aboriginal women in the contemporary music industry.

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

Festivals of the World

Presented by AWME

Every year, the world’s biggest music acts descend on festivals across the planet - the largest attracts nearly 400 000 punters. It’s a frenzy of amazing performances, experiences, catastrophes and of course, hilarious and mind-blowing stories. In 2012, AWME again assembles heads of the biggest festivals across the globe. Share in the history and evolution of the music festival culture through personal tales exposing what really goes down from the front gate, to the crowd pit, backstage and beyond. Not to be missed by any music lover, industry member or festival enthusiast.

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

Keynote Speaker: Michael Chugg in conversation with Iain Shedden

Presented by AWME

He is a well known public figure in his own right, running the PR machine for many of his tours and often being the media's "go to man" for an opinion on the music industry or the state of the nation. Australia's most noted music promoter Michael Chugg talks to veteran music journalist Iain Shedden about lessons learned (and ignored) from his 50-odd years in the music industry, and the book they co-wrote on the subject 'Hey, you in the black t-shirt'.

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

Touring and Marketing in North America and Europe

Presented by AWME

Each region holds their own unique set of industry standards, lingo and idiosyncrasies. Some of Europe and North America’s most experienced bookers and promoters discuss the challenges of touring these regions and outline strategies for national, regional and local marketing to help you find your audience, build a touring circuit and connect with the industry – all the foundations you need for a successful international career.·

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

Australia Council Funding Information Session: Indigenous Music Projects

Presented by AWME & Australia Council for the Arts

Information session on funding opportunities available through the Australia Council for the Arts for Australian Indigenous music projects.

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

Saturday 17 November 2012

Spotlight on Asia

Presented by AWME, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade & Music Victoria

In July this year, Music Services Asia announced the launch of MSA Distribution: ‘the first global digital distribution service specially dedicated to musicians, artists and independent labels from South-East Asia’. With local and worldwide festivals such as Laneway Festival playing in Singapore and Future Music Festival in Kuala Lumpur, the world is recognising Asia as a key music region.

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

Has Roots Music Gone Mainstream?

Presented by AWME

Over the last few years, roots music has exploded into the mainstream, with roots artists playing all over the world and at major festivals such as Glastonbury, Sziget and Roskilde. What has prompted this sudden surge of excitement from the public – an interest in diverse styles or a boredom of the generic mainstream?

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

The Culture of Contemporary Indigenous Music

Presented by AWME & Songlines

With the increased involvement of Indigenous performers at Australian festivals, how do we ensure this cultural artform is in context and reflects the true voice of modern Indigenous Australia?

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

On the Road - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Touring

Presented by AWME

From booking a rehearsal space to planning an international tour, Indigenous artists and industry workers look at the challenges presented to remote and Indigenous artists, and explore new ways to get heard across Australia and beyond.·

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

#WhatPublicityWhereintheCurrentMarket?

Presented by AWME

Music PR - what works where in the swiftly shifting online and offline global marketplace? Is social media pre-eminent and the role of traditional print media presence disappearing before our eyes? Must the modern publicist blog, tweet and Facebook their artists to global recognition? This panel explores one of the most rapidly changing aspects of the music industry.

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

Artist in Conversation: Stani Goma talks to Seun Kuti

Presented by AWME 

Son of Nigerian Afrobeat luminary, Fela Kuti, Seun has proven himself to be a dynamic bandleader, standing strong in front of an ensemble of veteran musicians the Egypt 80, who continue to lay down their version of hard-hitting Afrobeat. He talks to Stani Goma, host of Australia's most popular African Music radio programmes 'Flight 1067 to Africa' on PBSfm about his long-spanning career as one of the finest Afrobeat performers in the world.

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

Keynote Speaker: Brian Ritchie, MONA FOMA, Tasmania

Presented by AWME

As bassist for the Violent Femmes, Ritchie was part of an alternative rock movement that defined the post-punk generation – releasing eight studio albums and fifteen singles over the course of 20-years. Today he is celebrated for founding and curating one of Australia’s most respected festivals, MONA FOMA, which recently received the Helpmann Award for Best Contemporary Music Festival. Ritchie is also a master of the Shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute), a member of Australia’s own surf rock powerhouse band, The Break, and carries with him an unwavering passion for music.

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

Weddings Parties Anything: Spotlight on The Age EG Awards 2012 Hall of Fame Inductees

Presented by Music Victoria & The Age EG Awards

The Age EG’s Martin Boulton and key members of Weddings Parties Anything band members take a trip down memory lane ahead of their EG Hall Of Fame
Induction performance on Tuesday night, which celebrates the 25th anniversary of Scorn of the Women. They will discuss their career and craft, highlights and lowlights, and perform a couple of songs, while playwright Ross Mueller will explain how he wrote the play A Party in Fitzroy from a fan’s perspective of their temporary break-up.

Sunday 18 November 2012

Visible in a New World

Presented by AWME & Multicultural Arts Victoria

Over 23% of Victoria's population was born overseas. Many of these new arrivals have been artists, musicians, filmmakers and actors in their homelands. How easy is it for them to break into the industry and practice their profession in a new environment in Melbourne? Recently-arrived professional musicians will speak about their experiences living in Australia as artists. Representatives and mentors from Multicultural Arts Victoria’s Visible mentoring program will discuss what they have seen through the program and what they see needs to be done for these artists to gain greater exposure and adequate access to creative platforms.

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

Mana Maori to the World

The Maori language is one of the most endangered in the world. Only 4 percent of the total New Zealand population can speak Maori and just under a quarter of Maori people can hold a conversation in Maori.

In the last two decades, there has been a renaissance of Maori culture, language and identity. Contemporary Maori music has been an outlet for the rise of waiata (songs) that reflect the social, cultural and political changes in Aotearoa New Zealand. Waiata Maori has developed organically leading to a rich diversity of musical expression with one common feature – the Maori language.

This panel explores the recent history of contemporary Maori music, the diversity of Maori musical expression, a framework that ties it all together and the Maori music industry’s international aspirations. Live performances from Waiata Maori artists: Wai, Apanui, Kirsten Te Rito and Iwi highlight the first wave of Waiata Maori artists taking Mana Maori to the World.

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

Music from the Pacific

Presented by AWME & Pacific Women's Weaving Circle

The Australian Pacific voice is a unique one. Living on Indigenous land; the history of the slave trading and current migration has lead to diverse communities expressing themselves and maintaining culture through different practices.· In recent years Australia has seen a surge of Pacific artists coming together to create and share their experiences through music and art.

This forum will discuss how Pacific Australian artists have explored contemporary Pacific issues through their practice, and in the process have not only enhanced their own personal, artistic and cultural lives, but also acted as change agents for their communities.

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

Can Music Inspire Social Change?

Presented by AWME

What role does music play in inspiring social change? We explore the current trends in music and festival culture where promoters and artists are including a greater sense of social responsibility within their work. Topics include current trends like charity events, focus on sustainability, artists and causes and the merging of yoga and festival culture which is exploding in the USA and gaining momentum in Australia.

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

Creating Festivals, Building Sites

Presented by AWME

Festival Directors discuss the trials, successes and bureaucratic nightmares that can be involved in creating new festivals and building festival sites. From mountains to jungles, we look at some unique festival examples from around the world.

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

Song People's Sessions

Presented by AWME and Song People's Sessions

The Song Peoples Sessions is a collaboration between traditional and contemporary Australian Indigenous musicians to support the protection of intangible cultural heritage and maintenance of Indigenous languages and traditional song cycles, creating new forms of musical cultural expression.

Discussion followed by a very special performance from Warren H Williams and Shellie Morris.

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders

Tales from Jamdown: The Birth of Reggae Music

Presented by AWME

In 1969, The Abyssinians recorded Satta Massagana - a spiritually conscious tune that would go on to become the anthem for roots-reggae music. Over 40-years later Jamaican music continues to holds its own on the global stage. Here, world-renowned Tour and Artist Manger, Copeland Forbes, together with members The Abyssinians take us back to the roots for a glimpse at where it all began.

AWME Registered Delegates and Daytime Conference Pass holders·

View the AWME 2011 Conference Program Archive

View the AWME 2010 Conference Program Archive