The Australian Music Week conference (staged in Sydney) pushes headstrong into its third year in 2017, developing and cultivating strong partnerships both nationally and overseas for local musicians.
Australian Music Week (AMW) began in 2015 as the brainchild of industry veteran Geoff Trio who also runs The Brass Monkey in Cronulla and Code One Music.
Geoff explains the key goal of AMW is “developing stages bands can play on and move forward from. We’re trying to be a stepping stone into starting and helping careers.
“Our mission is to get more business for artists and managers, and connect people. I feel that all the conferences are the same in that way. I feel we’re a little bit more of an opportunity if you’re an emerging artist to get seen with us.”
As AMW director, Geoff invests heavily in forging strong partnerships with various industry associations around the world. He recently spent time in Canada at the East Coast Music Awards securing a musical exchange programme as well as a similar agreement with South Africa. “We put a lot of partnerships together so we’re not focussed on one genre,” he says.
“Folk Alliance Australia who normally have their conference in Canberra are partnering with us this year and bringing their conference into AMW. They will have their delegates and conference on the Wednesday.
“What we’re trying to do is make partnerships, so with the South Africans they’re going to bring a band over and return... part of the deal we struck with them is that they will take a band back to South Africa at a similar conference.”
AMW also features an all-important showcase where burgeoning artists will have the opportunity to perform in front of a wide assortment of industry professionals, such as A&R reps, managers and booking agents.
Applications to perform at the showcase are open to the end of July and no artists have been confirmed as yet, though Geoff says if the current influx of applications are anything to go by, both he and conference audiences will be spoilt for choice. “There’s been a really high level of applications so far,” he says.
“They’re open to the end of July, so I haven’t gone into much programming yet but I think we’re going to have quite a good, eclectic programme. A big part of our goals is to make sure that if you are showcasing you’re getting an opportunity and those [industry] people will be there to see you.”
With a career spanning close to three decades in the industry, Geoff’s seen change on all levels. His advice for bands and artists trying to build a career in music is to be a savvy business operator in a dwindling environment. “There are a lot of changes to address and obviously the biggest one is the way we sell our music and the way we get our music out,” he says.
“There’s less and less press around these days, there’s very few outlets to sell music and it’s just about reinventing your business. It’s become a game where the people at the top are really well-educated in all parts of the industry.”
Australian Music Week takes place at Cronulla Beach (Sydney) 1-3 November, 2017.
