Clive Hodson is the Director of Perfect Pitch Publishing and will take the pulpit at WAMCon as part of WAMFest in November to help guide the next crop of songwriters.
Originally from Western Australia, Clive has recently relocated his Sydney office to Perth after 37 years away from the city. Although partly for family reasons, his return to Perth is also about tapping into the wellspring of talent the state produces.
“There's a bit of a joke that there must be something in the water over here for the amount of bands, that are not only on the Australian stage but also the international stage, that have come out of Western Australia,” Clive says.
“There's a lot of up-and-coming ones; there's really inventive music.
“I don't know if it's the separation and the distance between the states, and therefore there seems to be a little more inventiveness coming out of Western Australia than I'm currently seeing in other states and I'm talking per capita. It's a very vibrant scene here and since I've been back, I've been out looking around and there is just some great music being played here.”
Clive's return also means that Perfect Pitch is the only full-service publishing company in Perth, giving the state's musicians a competitive edge in the market.
At WAMCon, he will be assisting emerging artists through the quagmire of copyright and licensing their music for a profitable career.
“In the past I've been very heavily involved in all aspects of publishing, talking to people about publishing and also moderating panels with people from the streaming services and also from the physical side of the business,” he explains.
“My concentrations are definitely in publishing, synchronisation and licensing of music into areas. What are the changes that are happening in the industry from the physical to the digital. Does streaming offer opportunities for musicians in the independent sector? Do artists need to be signed to a publisher? What the aggregators offer that the publishers don't and vice versa.”
Clive's extensive, professional experience includes working as Director and General Manager for Polygram/ Universal, General Manager of Shock Records and Head of ABC Music.
One facet of WAMCon he says is highly beneficial is the industry 'speed dating' opportunity. “You get 10 or 15 minutes 1-on-1 time with an industry professional. To me that great's because I hear stories from them about what the writer, performer is doing and how they're tackling their career, and really it's just about giving advice.
“I always say to people that it's an osmosis process; what you do is filter out all the stuff you don't want and use what you can.”
Above all, Clive says the best thing about WAMCon, and WAMFest as a whole, is that it's a one-stop shop for networking with some of the most important people in the industry who are usually sequestered behind closed office doors. “The other upside for the delegates is the fact this it’s an opportunity to get in front of people you normally couldn't,” he says.
“You're getting in front of Triple J and RTRFM, you're getting in front of publishers, record companies, bookers and agents.
“If you tried to do that just on a daily basis and make appointments, first of all it's really difficult to get appointments to see these people and the second thing is you'd spend a life-time trying to do it.”
