The country's leading independent music industry conference, Indie-Con Australia, has revealed its 2019 programme, packed to the brim with insights, information and valuable insider knowledge.
Returning to Adelaide at the end of July, Indie-Con Australia this year will explore insights into China, sync, streaming, smart marketing, the future of the label, artists as entrepreneurs, mental health, leadership, HR, tech, e-sports and gaming, copyright, financial literacy and more.
As well as positioning itself to become a dominant world superpower on the political front, China is also one of the fastest growing music markets in the world. Indie-Con welcomes Alessandro Pavanello (Kanjian) and Lolly Fan (Artist Manager, Maybe Mars), to share insights on how to connect with our largest neighbour and tapping into the potential it represents for Australian artists.
Of course, generating income is a key concern to independent musicians wishing to support themselves with their art. Graham Donald (Seven Network) will join Matthew Donlevy (Cooking Vinyl), Jen Taunton (Level Two Music), Rachel Kelly (Downtown Music Publishing) and Phillip Mortlock (ORiGiN Music) for 'Sync Outside The Box', to explore ways for artists to generate income from their masters.
With the advance of the digital world and the proliferation of streaming platforms, it's more important than ever to be well-versed in the cryptic world of playlisting and algorithms (just when you thought you'd left maths back at high school, typical!). Guillaume Deront (Gleam Features) and other industry figures help to navigate the quagmire when they 'Lift The Lid On Streaming'.
Dissecting the physiology of contracts and making sense of the legalese therein will be covered in 'Anatomy Of What Makes A Good Deal' with Julian Hewitt (Media Arts Lawyers) and Thaddeus Rudd (Mom+Pop Music), who is also one of this year's keynote speakers. Meanwhile, kicking a goal (figuratively speaking) in the field of e-sports and gaming will be explored by Mads Brown (Fortress Esports).
Learn how to keep what's yours safe from sticky fingers by delving into the importance of protecting copyright with Katie Wighton (All Our Exes Live In Texas), UK’s Helen Smith (IMPALA) – also a keynote speaker – and representatives from PPCA, Music Rights Australia and APRA AMCOS.
There will also be a 'Tech Health Check For Indies' conducted by Bill Wilson (Senior Vice President of Operations & Innovation at Entertainment One) and joined by Jacqui Louez Schoorl (Jaxsta), Mick Tarbuk (Believe Digital) and Paige X. Cho (Bolster).
Held in conjunction with the AIR (Australian Independent Record Labels Association) Awards, the two-day Indie-Con conference will also shine the spotlight on 'The Artist As An Entrepreneur', provide professional development sessions on leadership, HR, financial literacy and marketing, and take the time to talk about 'Wellbeing In The Music Industry', something that's become a hot-button topic in recent years.
For the first time, all Indie-Con delegates will have the opportunity to request one-on-one meetings with the conference speakers and presenters from around the country and the world. And all delegates also receive complimentary admission to Scouted at the conclusion of the conference.
