Now in its fifth year, Australian Music Week (AMW) is beginning to flex its muscles in earnest as a music industry conference with a global reputation for new music discovery.
“People are loving it and coming back every year,” enthuses AMW Director Geoff Trio. “That really tells the story; if you don't see them come back then you'd be concerned, but we're getting the regular faces and industry heavyweights wanting to come back year after year.”
AMW has outdone itself in 2019, securing perhaps the most important voice in the worldwide music industry Bob Lefsetz who owns and operate The Lefsetz Letter, a music industry analysis blog that even the major labels take for gospel.
The fact someone of Bob's stature recognises the worth of Australian Music Week speaks for itself, as far as Geoff is concerned. “Our international reach is becoming bigger and expanding every year, and having a keynote like Bob Lefsetz this year has been a big tip of the hat,” he says.
“That someone like Bob is keen to come down and spruik the word of Australian Music Week, it means a lot and that's really helping our international reach.
“The one thing about Bob is he shoots from the hip and he tells it how it is, and he doesn't owe himself to anybody, which is really exciting.”
Click here to read our 2018 interview with Geoff.
Bob will also be engaging with AMW audiences in several panels and discussions, including a rare, exclusive interview with Big Day Out co-founder Ken West – as well as one-on-one talks with Michael Gudinski (Mushroom Group), John Watson (Eleven Music) and Peter Garrett (Midnight Oil).
“It's going to be a highlight for me because I've been a big follower of [Bob] for about ten years now. That's really exciting,” Geoff says.
Geoff Trio
As the Director for AMW, Geoff says some of his personal highlights from his five-year tenure has been witnessing the growth and reach of both AMW as well as the careers of the artists who showcase there.
“The major point is just seeing some great people in the industry come together for wanting to improve and change the industry, seeing some people really embrace what we're trying to do. That's been a good thing for me,” he says.
“Young bands like Skegss, Ruby Fields, Hein Cooper and William Crighton who are now head-deep into their careers and having great success, and it was good to see them among every other band when they first started out.”
In constructing and curating the panels and workshops programme for 2019 (click here for the speaker and band programme), Geoff utilised feedback from the industry to try and cater to the myriad concerns facing operators in various sectors of music.
“There's so many different parts of the industry that appeal to different people; I think we clocked up 22 panels this year, so there's at least 30 hours of education there,” he laughs. “It's going to be good.”
Networking at AMW - image © David Vagg
Of utmost importance to Geoff is providing opportunities for emerging artists to hone their craft and for attendees to find their next favourite band.
“Music discovery is a big thing and if you can find it in a live environment instead of it being dictated to you by streaming and playlists, it's a good way to find new music.”
