Archive for August, 2009

Not content with simply managing Asia’s undisputed Queen Of Pop - and One Movement Music Showcase Festival artist - Tata Young , Myke Brown will participate in the MUSEXPO Asia Pacific aspect of One Movement to impart his knowledge of all things management and mentorship. Andrew McMillen connected with Mr Brown from his home in Thailand for an insight into his scheduled One Movement appearance.

Andrew: Myke, you’re bringing Tata Young to Australia for the first time in October. What are your goals for her appearance at the One Movement for Music showcase festival?

Myke [pictured left]: I think our goals with these kinds of events are always the same. That is, to bring her music from the East to the West, and put her on a platform that is multinational. I think our expectation is no more than that. We continue to try to be on international platforms that have artists from around the world, and we’re extremely excited about being in Perth, and being part of One Movement. Tata is very honored to be part of that, but I think the only message we’re trying to bring is we’re going to bring what we normally do and hopefully we’re able to share that with everyone.

In your mind, what makes a good artist or band manager? What skills and personality traits are required to succeed in that kind of role?

I think the most primary thing goes back to the very basics, an extreme amount of understanding and patience. In the States, when I traveled around different acts, there was a real simple, common thread there. You came from the same culture and you understood, on the language basis, what was going on. Sure, there was miscommunication from time to time, but basically, you were on the same page.

In Asia, you hop over one country and you’re in a completely different language. When you sit in a room, doing a show somewhere, if you’re a band manager you have to be able to communicate on not only language levels but cultural levels. Sometimes, you just can’t go to the boss. You’re looked down at; you’re circumventing that person and giving them no respect. All of these rules have to be understood. To understand these rules, you do have to be extremely patient to be an artist in this realm, more so than in the States or parts of Europe; you really have to approach things very carefully and very patiently. I think, for both parties, that’s probably very important.

One thing that is probably on top of that is respect for the culture, how they do things, and then trying to have the patience and understanding to go along with it. It’s just a monumental task for a lot of people. For those who understand, they do move slowly and they don’t bark out orders. They move through it like water.

Tata [pictured below right] is one of the biggest names in the Asian music market but she’s not established in Australia. How do you go about planning for when you bring unfamiliar acts to a country like Australia?

Bringing any new act into any new market is always tough. Australia will also be a challenge. We feel we’re very well prepared. We do plan on releasing in Australia this year and it will probably sometime after the One Movement festival. Actually, we have the wheels in motion currently. I think this will be a bit of a taste for the Australian audience to see Tata, a sneak-peek preview. That’s how we’re handling the market right now. We’ll have Tata come in and we’ll hope for the best.

I’m supposing you’ve been to a lot of music conferences during your career. As a delegate, what do you aim to gain from these kinds of events?

I don’t really feel like I go there to gain. On this particular one, One Movement, I don’t see that I can shed light on everything, but maybe just a hint of light on the way Asians think and the way westerners can do business in Asia. Sure, everyone goes to the conferences to gain some knowledge.

I always like going there because first of all, it’s always fun to do the Asian thing, which is meet people, then meet them again, and over a period of years they become your friend, and at some point maybe we can do business together. It’s the element of trust that we all strive for, and most westerners will try to strive for that through the hardships or the test of doing business together. Asians will do it the other way; they’ll trust first and then do business. I guess what I would get out of conferences is I hope that whatever I can contribute to it can help at least one person, which would be wonderful. I would hope to gain some friends, and be able to shed a little light.

One Movement’s tagline is “Artist, Industry, Fan United.” What’s the one thing you think needs to change in order to unite the music industry with its artists and fans?

To me, it looks like there should be more glue than that. That’s my initial impression. I think one of the key things is cultural understanding. From my perspective, from my seat, that’s what I really would like to see more of. Having something like One Movement put together internationally, sometimes people only think about Western bases. I see understanding everyone’s cultural differences as the glue to answering that question. I think once that’s understood, I believe that everything else will come together. Without that glue of cultural understanding, I think the music industry will just keep going on with what it’s doing.

The second One Movement Showcase Music Festival announcement saw the addition of German funk rock band Sorgente, who caught American industry attention when they were invited to showcase at the Los Angeles Viper Room in June 2009 as part of the MUSEXPO event. Two months after that experience, Andrew McMillen spoke with Sorgente’s lead guitarist (and fellow journalist) Jakob Biazza to talk showcase sets and music conferences.

Andrew: Was the MUSEXPO set your first showcase event outside of Germany?

Jakob: It was our first showcase, so it was the first show we did in front of business people outside of Germany, but it’s wasn’t the first show outside of Germany. We’ve played most of Europe, in places like Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic, and we played the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2008. But it was the first showcase where we were playing in front of mostly business people. We made a lot of contacts in LA to non-business people, so we had about 50 or 60 fans in front of the stage as well.

What were your goals going into MUSEXPO?

We had several goals; one of course, was playing in front of the major business people you have at the MUSEXPO, so it was a pretty cool convention. The organization was great, and I think the whole event had a really good atmosphere. A lot of important people attend MUSEXPO, so it was one goal to be seen by those people.

The other goal was that it’s always an amazing chance to play outside of Europe, so it was amazing to play LA, which is still sort of the center of the whole rock ‘n roll circuit. The trip to LA itself was amazing; we took a cameraman from LA to film the whole trip. We’re about to edit a 90 minute about the whole trip. Travelling there was a goal in itself, as well.

I also read you were approached by some people who were interested in the band, after the show. What was the outcome there?

We will probably release our album ['Let Me In'] in the States. We made a lot of friends there, a lot of people who want to help us with shows in LA, Santa Monica, and the area around there. Then of course, we got invited to Australia, which is totally weird; from playing in LA and then getting an invitation to another continent. We’re pretty close to travelling around the world!

After we do the show in Perth, we will try to travel the other way and play some more shows in LA, maybe New York, and Montreal. If we’re lucky, we’re going to do a mini-world tour, at least, in October, which is something we would never have ever dreamed of. It’s totally weird to us right now.

Did you attend any of the discussion panels during MUSEXPO?

I saw some of the panels about band management, and that whole discussion about that boy band manager, Lou Pearlman [the former manager of Backstreet Boys and N*Sync, who was jailed for conspiracy and money laundering in 2008]. I saw a discussion about new forms of music distribution and about the whole mp3-versus-CD-versus-LP discussion, which was kind of weird because the distributor speaking, Gary Chen (Chairman/CEO, Top 100/Orca Digital, China), said he doesn’t use mp3s at all. He listens to CDs in his car and to LPs at home. He thinks that mp3s sound like shit, and that it wasn’t his job to distribute mp3s. That was kind of interesting and weird to me.

The panels didn’t mean too much to me, because it was like people complaining about how bad everything is and pretty much hyping themselves. There wasn’t a really good outcome for me, probably because I’m more of a musician than a business manager in the music business. I mean, the panels are more for the business side than for artists, at least the ones I saw. The people who attended the panels were huge; they really had the big guys in the industry, but maybe that’s why their point of view was sort of from outer space a little bit, or really close to their own subjects. The panel side of MUSEXPO wasn’t that good for me.

One Movement’s tagline is “Artist, Industry, Fan United.” What’s the one thing that you think needs to change in order to unite the music industry and its fans and artists?

That question is tough for me to answer because it would lead me to sort of a political discussion. I think the music industry is a perfect image of the Western capitalist economic system. I think that what I’d most like to change would be the whole system.

That kind of change would allow a really good chance to see music as a cultural piece again, like the importance of music in matters of culture, and what it is to people. I think there is not a culture known to man that doesn’t have music. It must be a really important cultural good that you have there, but in the way our economic system is surrounding the whole music thing, it’s nothing more than a product like eggs, or cars, or something like that. I think we need to have a really big change.

It would be harder, but we could also have a change in the way people interact with music. Right now, you can get your music for free everywhere but the industry still expects  want to pay for it, which is ridiculous. I think you won’t get a large amount of people to pay for something that you can get for free. I think everybody can understand that.

Watch the video to Sorgente’s track ‘Alive‘ below, and catch their One Movement Showcase Music Festival performance on October 18, 2009.

At a time where artists such as Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu are creating history for Indigenous music world wide by taking Indigenous Australian music to international and mainstream audiences, One Movement For Music Perth (OMFM) is proud to announce the creation of the Australian Indigenous Music Scholarship (AIMS). A program focused on professional development opportunities for Australian Indigenous artists.

AIMS is a pioneering partnership between OMFM, WA’s Department of Indigenous Affairs, Skinnyfish Music and MGM Distribution, and is supported by the WA, Victorian, Queensland, New South Wales and South Australian state governments, through their corresponding arts departments via direct support of participating artists.

Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Dr Kim Hames, said he was inspired to support the Program by the concentration of talent in Western Australia.

“The assessment panel will have a tough time choosing whom they support with this scholarship,” Dr Hames said.

“I am very proud that the Western Australian Government can make one young musician’s dreams come true in this way, and very much look forward to seeing this artist succeed in a tough industry.”

OMFM is inviting indigenous artists from across Australia to apply to participate in the scholarship which will provide recipients with the opportunity to showcase at the One Movement Showcase Music Festival as well as gain professional and performance development experience in the studio.

The Program has also received strong support from the music industry with Mark Grose (Managing Director, Skinnyfish Music -  label and manager of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (chair)), Alan Pigram (Pigram Brothers), Shane Howard (Goanna Music) and Rhoda Roberts (Artistic Director The Dreaming Festival) forming the assessment panel.

One artist from each participating state and territory will be selected by the panel to join the One Movement Showcase Music Festival, which takes place at the Perth Esplanade on October 17-18, alongside international and national acts such as Hilltop Hoods, Frankmusik, Sarah Blasko, Kate Miller-Heidke, Blue King Brown, Wolf & Cub and many, many more.

Each act will also be offered studio time whilst in Perth, receiving some recording time and tutoring from a professional producer.

The panel will then select one of these acts as an overall winner for the program. This act will receive additional development opportunities including the chance to record a full album with a professional producer and manufacturing, distribution and marketing. Album distribution is supported by Skinnyfish Music and MGM Distribution.

Of AIMS, Grose said: “Both MGM Distribution and Skinnyfish Music are strong supporters of indigenous musicians and see the scholarship as an invaluable tool in giving an emerging performer the time and space to establish themselves in the music industry, while maintaining their independence. This innovative approach to supporting artists should be applauded and both MGM Distribution and Skinnyfish Music are looking forward to supporting the winners.”

The One Movement Showcase Music Festival will be attended by many of the global leaders in the music industry, offering a unique platform for these indigenous artists to be heard and discovered.

Interested artists are invited to apply now by sending a short biography, MP3 and photograph to info@onemovementmusic.com with ‘AIMS Application’ and the artist name in the subject line. More detailed information can be found at www.onemovementmusic.com/AIMS .

This is a guest post written by British writer Chris Wheatley, who runs a music blog at Indiescreet.com that focuses on the latest indie music news.

What Will It Take To Unite Artist, Industry and Fan?

Right now there is a divide between the industry, in particular record labels, and fans. Record labels need to understand what fans want. But what exactly is it that fans want?

Fans want to be able to interact with their favourite band or artist, to be able to have some kind of input into their idols somehow. Whether it be polls deciding upon the latest tour venues, a chance to decide the latest album tracklistings, the opportunity to submit album art for the next release or simply just the chance to hear directly from the artist, something which doesn’t mean much to an artist or the industry could mean the world to a fan. It doesn’t have to be anything groundbreaking; just some acknowledgement and recognition is all that can be required.

Artists and bands need to be more accessible to fans. With more and more bands now having their own blogs this has become more of a reality. Artists can give fans exclusive content quickly and easily through blogs, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.

Generally, most artists and bands are up to date with the quickest and easiest ways to share their music online. Record labels should give their artists more of a free reign when it comes to self-promotion, they should cut out the middle-man between the fans and artists.

Ideas like these do not take up much time but mean a hell of a lot to fans who invest themselves, their free time and their hard-earned money into artists.

The industry has had to adapt to the dramatic changes in music and how it is accessed over the past few years. Granted,while most sectors have coped well and have embraced changes in technology such as streaming music online and downloadable content, there are still some sectors which are yet to evolve and are right now still living in the dark ages.

All in all, the more the lines are blurred between artists, industry and fans the more united these three fronts will become.

What Makes A Great Festival Blog?

A great festival blog requires a number of different components to ensure it complements the actual festival.

First of all, the blog should be kept as up to date as possible with all the news and previews of the festival itself. Blogs are often seen as one of the most up-to-date means of communication, often the latest news is broken on blogs and social media sites before anywhere else. A blog promoting a festival that is out of date with lineups, dates, times or any other important information will be seen as pretty useless by visitors.

Blogs should be able to offer something more than the festival’s website can offer. By having exclusive interviews and previews the blog can offer something unique to visitors which is not available anywhere else.

Running a blog is a great way for a festival to have a voice. By giving opinions, engaging readers in conversation and sharing exclusive media with readers, a blog is generating more in-depth interest in what the festival has to offer.

Once the actual festival is underway a blog can be one of the quickest and easiest ways to report news from the site. With the developments in technology posts can be written and published on-the-fly within minutes. Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook are also a great way to share any pictures, videos or snippets of news quickly and easily, by linking back to posted items on the blog.

Chris Wheatley [pictured above right] runs Indiescreet, and can be contacted via email or Twitter.

This is a guest post written by American artist and writer Refe Tuma, who is the founder of music blog Creative Deconstruction.

What Will It Take To Unite Artist, Industry and Fan?

It’s no secret that the music industry is fractured. The point was driven home once again in July 2009 when the RIAA - the main lobby group for the recording industry in the US - won their second high profile lawsuit against an individual fan accused of sharing music files online. Damages in the two cases [Capitol vs. Thomas and RIAA vs. Tenenbaum] totaled over US$2.5 million [AU$2.96 million].

The recording industry is bankrupting fans in court, technology is reshaping the marketplace faster than anyone can keep up, and fewer people than ever before are buying music. How did we get here? More importantly, how do we respond?

One of the biggest roadblocks in the way of healing is the industry’s unwillingness to let go of the past. So much has happened in the last 10 years: the consolidation of record labels, the digital revolution, the social web. Each new development has brought its share of challenges and opportunities, but the clock can’t be turned back. It’s time for the record industry to stop guarding our castles and throw open the doors to change. In order to make real steps toward a unified industry, progress must be embraced, not feared.

Unfortunately, this industry isn’t such a big fan of change. For decades, the record companies were riding a wave of incredible profits. In the 1990s, the cost of a CD peaked as high as US$19 [approximately AU$35 at the time]. People were willing to part with the cash because there was no alternative. The record labels had fans right where they wanted them, and they appeared to have convinced themselves that things could remain that way forever.

When Napster arrived on the scene in 1999, the limitations of the old system were brought into sharp focus. Music consumers ere tired of being overcharged and under-served. A new precedent for finding and sharing music was established.

Had the industry been willing, they could have recognized the new ways that fans were finding and interacting with music. Instead, they shut it down. But it was too late - the world had tasted the potential of digital distribution. While the major labels were still patting themselves on the back for their victory over Napster, a thousand smaller, more agile networks were already being deployed to take its place.

Years later, many industry leaders have since admitted that they missed a big opportunity in their handling of Napster. Geoff Taylor, head of UK major label trade group BPI penned a now-famous article for the BBC in June 2009, which expressed his regrets. Unfortunately, this concession has done little to affect the way the music business is run. Instead of learning from their mistakes, the major labels retreat further into protectionism. Today, nearly every new technology, service and alternative business model is met with litigation.

It’s time for the music industry to stop trying to protect what has already been lost, and to instead look forward at what the future might hold for the music business. The playing field has been leveled; now, artists have access to the marketing and promotion tools and channels that labels used once controlled . Has technology made record labels obsolete? Some believe so, but I disagree. Artists still have much to benefit from what a label can bring to the table. It simply won’t look like it did ten years ago. Both parties have the potential to go so much further if they come together as true partners, with the goal of creating an environment where quality music can thrive.

And that’s what this should really be about. There’s so much talk of money, business models and economics that it’s easy to forget that music remains at the heart of this industry. Where great music is produced, fans will emerge. They’ll even be willing to open their wallets if they feel that they are supporting the music and the artists they love. More music is being created now than ever before, and never in history has it been so easily accessible. It’s an opportunity that begs to be seized, and if we won’t do it someone else will. Because one thing is certain: the music will go on, with or without any of us.

Creative Deconstruction is the “process of industrial mutation that incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one.” It also happens to be a website dedicated to in-depth music industry news and commentary.

Refe Tuma [pictured right] is an American artist and writer, and the founder of Creative Deconstruction. He lives in Chicago with three beautiful women - one is a talented songwriter, and the other two will likely become talented songwriters sometime after they learn to use the ‘big potty.’ Contact him via the website or Twitter.

Hot on the heels of their addition to the One Movement Festival line-up, two Brisbane acts are recent recipients of the 4th annual Q Song Awards. As Queensland’s annual search for the state’s finest songwriters across 22 categories, the 2009 Q Song Awards attracted a record amount of entries: 2,130 songs poured in from across the state, thus cementing Q Song’s position as Australia’s largest annual state-based songwriting awards program.

Held at Brisbane’s Tivoli Theatre on Tuesday, 11 August 2009, the awards ceremony saw The John Steel Singers winning the Pop category with their track Rainbow Kraut [embedded below].

The Rock category was taken out by recent One Movement Word interviewees 26, for their song Bring On The Colour Guard. Listen to the song on their MySpace; a live video of their track A New Beginning - which was featured in the NBC TV show Life - is embedded below.

These two award recipients hint at the wealth of musical talent based in Queensland, as well as the impeccable taste of the One Movement Festival’s selection panel.

Congratulations to both The John Steel Singers and 26 from the One Movement For Music team. Make sure you catch both of their One Movement Festival sets on Saturday, 17 October 2009!

Last week’s second One Movement Festival announcement bolstered the artist line-up to 35. Andrew McMillen caught up with Nick O’Donnell from one of the new additions, Brisbane indie rock band 26.

Andrew: How did 26 get on the One Movement line-up?

Nick: We were shortlisted by [Queensland music industry development association] QMusic and Trade QLD. One Movement chose us and one other band from QLD - Grand Atlantic.

What does this opportunity mean for 26?

We are really grateful to get the opportunity to build on our US and European relationships as well as be able to prove ourselves live in front of the industry folk. However, One Movement is far more of an exciting experience as it’s a festival showcase rather than the tight little 150 seat rooms that most of these events are held in.

What are your goals for the One Movement Festival performance?

Simple: put on a great show for the audience and hope that will also spark some industry interest in the band. Two birds, one stone.

How valuable are these kinds of industry showcase events for indie artists?

I think it depends where you’re at as a band. If you just need some more info on how the industry works these things are great! If you are a bit more advanced, it’s all about making relationships with bands, managers, agents, sync partners, and all that stuff. I guess it just depends on the usual things: your own talent, mixed with a whole bunch of luck that you might meet the right people that ‘get’ what you do, and want to help you out. Your odds are always better when you have this many people from the industry in one place for a few days I guess; well, at least that’s what we’re banking on!

26 had a song featured on the NBC TV show Life last year. How did that come about?

It was one of those lucky things. We had our songs registered with a Brisbane sync company, Hook, Line & Sync. We hold our copyright, and they just licensed our music for a percentage. They have all our tracks registered on their site so that music directors could hear them. They also put out a little compilation disc that went around to the movie companies and television companies in the US. The people behind Life heard our song, loved it, and thought it was perfect for the show.

We got a phone call a week before it was due to air, and then we had to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The contract had to be agreed on within that week. It was on the final episode of the show. It was as easy, quick and fluky as that! A music supervisor just happened to hear the song; it actually came from the technological ability to have those connections. It simply wouldn’t have happened without the internet.

One Movement’s tagline is “artist, industry, fan united“. What will it take for this dream of unity to become reality?

Being the first One Movement Festival, it’s all up in the air, but the organisers of the event [Sunset Events] really know what they are doing and have proved themselves before. So I just guess we have to put on a great show and leave the organising in their capable hands.

I think the dream can become reality. In the past, I think the “industry” (including artists) have patronised the audience with the way they have presented recorded and live music. So maybe it’s just a case of giving the audience the respect they deserve by presenting them with intelligent, heartfelt music in the way they want it packaged. Then we might be in with a fighting chance!

Learn more about 26 on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and their website. 26 play the One Movement Festival on Saturday, October 17 2009.

One Movement for Music Perth (OMFM) is shaping up to be one of the most important music events in the Southern Hemisphere this October. A pioneering music industry conference and showcasing event for the Asia Pacific Region, OMFM is proud to unveil the second round of speakers and showcasing artists for this groundbreaking event to be held October 16-18.

This brings the number of global speakers to 46 across two conference streams and the number of showcase acts for the One Movement Showcase Music Festival to 35. And there are still many, many more to be announced in the weeks ahead.

MUSEXPO ASIA PACIFIC – Held At The Parmelia Hilton Hotel

OMFM is proud to announce some of the music industry’s biggest movers and shakers will be taking the floor for MUSEXPO Asia Pacific at One Movement For Music Perth, including Korda Marshall (pictured left - President of the UK’s legendary Infectious Records), Jeff Craib (pictured below right - Senior Vice President of Canada’s leading full service agency SL Feldman and Associates), Markus Kühn (Managing Director for Germany’s iconic MotorFM) and Vijay Nair (Founder of India’s Only Much Louder).

Tackling issues such as the ever-evolving digital industry, the growth of the Asian and Pacific Rim markets, music and visual media plus contemporary publishing, MUSEXPO Asia Pacific is the forum for the leaders of the future. A full program of forums and keynotes will be available in the weeks ahead.

Also joining this second announcement are: Ed St John (Aust - Chairman, ARIA and President/CEO, Warner Music Australasia), Ian James (Aust – Managing Director, Mushroom Music Publishing), Oum Pradutt (India - Managing Director, Phase1 Events), Jitin Abraham (India - President, 21 Tigers), Carel Hoffman (Sth Africa – Founder, Oppikoppi), Dean Buchanan (Aust - Group Program Director, DMG Radio), Iain Shedden (Aust - Music Writer, The Australian), Tim Prescott (Aust - CEO, Albert Music), Ashley Sellers (Aust - CEO, Inertia) and Myke Brown (Thailand – Manager, Tata Young Management).

They join, among others, Diane Warren (international hit-maker extraordinaire and Founder of publisher Real Songs) and Dave Holmes (Coldplay’s worldwide manager and founder of 3D Artist Management) for their first major speaking engagements in the Asia Pacific region, plus many more. More speakers will be announced in the weeks ahead.

THE INDEPENDENT TIMES – Held At The Rydges Hotel

Independent music is today the heartbeat of the music industry. In this essential program, co-presented by the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR), industry experts will tackle subjects such as potential indie markets in Asia, the changes in media, digital myths, the growth of live music, licensing and more.

Featuring on panels for The Independent Times will be:

Lars Brandle (pictured left; Aust - writer, Billboard), Steve McClure (Japan – freelance journalist), Jerry Soer (Aust – band manager/blogger), Philip Stevens (Aust – Founder Philip Stevens Management/Co-Founder Jarrah Records), Sebastian Chase (Aust – Founder and CEO, MGM Distribution), Ashley Sellers – (Aust - CEO, Inertia), Lawrence English – (Aust – Director, room40), Ken Bieber (Japan – President/CEO, On the One and PonyUp Records), Shin Fukazumi (Japan –A&R, P-Vine Records), Nick Crocker (Aust – Founder, Native Digital), Brett Murrihy (Aust – Senior Booking Agent, The Harbour Agency) and Alexis Kwong Alvarez (Hong Kong - Founder, AMUSE).

More speakers will be announced in the weeks ahead.

CLICK HERE FOR THE CURRENT LIST OF SPEAKERS FOR MUSEXPO ASIA PACIFIC AND THE INDEPENDENT TIMES.

Perth’s One Movement Music Festival is the festival with a difference this October.

Be a part of history as 80 artists - that’s 40 must-see artists per day - belt out their latest anthems in unique 30-minute showcase sets rarely ever seen by the public. All killer, no filler;  a two-day festival of artists out to prove themselves on the global stage.

And joining the celebration of all things music is the highly sensational UK pop maestro Frankmusik [pictured below right]. You know the songs – now hear them debuted live in Australia for the very first time.

Australia princess of indie pop Sarah Blasko [pictured below left] also joins the Movement, as does Australian great Whitley and Singapore superstars Electrico.

But it doesn’t stop there. Throw in the smashing Miami Horror live (Aust), the electro brilliance of Art vs Science (Aust), rising Kiwi superstars Midnight Youth (NZ) plus Infusion (Aust), Dan Sultan (Aust), Harlequin League (Aust), John Steel Singers (Aust) and Dallas Frasca (Aust) and you have yourself one fine list of today’s greats.

But it doesn’t stop there. The One Movement Showcase Music Festival is all about discovery so we’re thrilled to announce South East Asia’s pop punk kings One Buck Short (Malaysia), the funk-laden Sorgente (Germany), US-born, Aussie bred Snob Scrilla (Aust), Perth country rockers Kill Devil Hills (Aust), rising hip hop royalty Vents (Aust) plus Felicity Groom & The Black Black Smoke (Aust), Capital City (Aust), Jackson Firebird (Aust), Grand Atlantic (Aust) and 26 (Aust).

They join already announced acts Hilltop Hoods (Aust), Meiko (US), Little Red (Aust), Scribe (NZ), Old Man River (Aust), Kate Miller-Heidke (Aust), Blue King Brown (Aust), Wolf & Cub (Aust), Bertie Blackman (Aust), Philadelphia Grand Jury (Aust), Tata Young (Thailand), The Parlotones (South Africa) and Tigarah (Japan).

With over 40 acts still to be announced, the One Movement Music Festival is unlike any festival Australia has ever experienced.

And it all comes to the Perth Esplanade on October 17 and 18.

Single day tickets are only $66 + booking fee or $99 + booking fee for the entire weekend – that’s 80 acts for $99.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Click here for a day-by-day breakdown of acts.

Disclaimer: securing a One Movement Music Festival ticket will make you a better person.

Go on… join the Movement.

Following last month’s interview with outgoing AIR (Australian Independent Record Labels Association) General Manager Stu Watters, we’re pleased to share an interview with his successor, Nick O’Byrne [pictured below right]. Nick also acts as a coordinator for the arts fund organisation JB Seed, who’re putting together a series of panels for the One Movement For Music conference. Andrew McMillen interrupted Nick’s planning for a conversation with the AIR/JB Seed moonlighter himself.

Andrew: Nick, as coordinator for the JB Seed, what have you got planned for The Independent Times panels at One Movement For Music?

Nick: The six panels are all focused on independent musicians and labels throughout Asia and Australia. The Asian markets traditionally haven’t been looked at very much. We’re only kind of cottoning on now, but there is a massive music market that is a lot easier for us to get to than Europe or the U.S.

The tentative names of the panels include:

• “Media - Extra, Extra, Read All About It”;
• “Digg it, Tweet it, Blog it, MySpace it, and Facebook it”; which talks about all that digital media stuff;
• “The Changing Environment and Digital Landscape”;
• “Branding and Music”;
• “Live and Festivals: How to Build Interest in Your Act and Secure Booking Festivals Throughout the Region”; and
• “Leaving On A Jet Plane” which explores the life of Australians who have left our shores, and made good in their chosen markets.

Again, none of these have been confirmed yet, so I can’t go really into it, but we’re aiming to bring together a bunch of Australians who are doing a really good job and making an impact in the industry - not necessarily just artists, but bookers, managers, publicists, and label managers.

How do you go about selecting the panelists and speakers?

We’ve been discussing it with the people at Sunset Events, and I suppose it’s about asking the right people. For example, since I’m not particularly knowledgeable about busting open digital myths, I know that Nick Crocker [of Native Digital] does. He’s pretty much confirmed for that panel.

I suppose it’s just asking the right people, getting recommendations, and seeing which contacts people have. Some people, once you’ve actually booked them, suggest others. It’s quite amazing; if you talk to people like Michael Chugg, it’s like they’ve got an encyclopedic knowledge of the world’s music industry. You just ask people like that and they’ve always got a suggestion.

The One Movement conference’s tag line is “Artists, Industry, Fan United”; I suppose a lot of that unity occurs more at an independent level than at a major label level.

I think so, for sure. With independents, there’s definitely a lot more flexibility within smaller businesses, which is essentially what independent labels are.

I suppose the small business does allow you a lot more flexibility and that’s why that whole unity thing is within their capabilities; whereas, perhaps if you were running Universal Music Australia, you’ve got more people looking over your shoulders, shareholders, and all that sort of stuff. It’s not to say that they don’t have their place; it’s easy to bash major labels but I don’t think they actually deserve it. They’re still working hard and they’ve still got a massive place in the industry. They just don’t have the flexibility of the indies.

What makes a great music conference?

I would say that the delegates are the best thing, not necessarily the speakers. I mean, quality speakers will bring the delegates, but it’s the interaction between the delegates which is the most important thing; those interactions are generally the biggest things that I take out of a conference.

What about a great music festival?

I suppose almost the same except I would say excellent people, or good people to hang with, a good vibe and at the same time you do need a great lineup. You need a lineup that you haven’t seen before. It can be bands you’ve seen before, but not in combinations. You need interesting combinations. If I could lay out a formula, it’d be something like: a favorite band, two current favorites, plus three you’ve always wanted to see, but have never gotten around to doing so. Plus some good local bands. Most important, though, is that there’s a good vibe in the crowd; you only need one or two of your favorite acts there and then other bands you can discover.

With One Movement, I’m interested to see Tigarah because she looks kind of quirky.  The festival has to be Aussie-centric, of course, but of the first line-up, the only ones I haven’t seen are Philadelphia Grand Jury [pictured left] and Bertie Blackman. I’m really keen to see Bertie Blackman because I’ve been listening to her album heaps this year.

What do you think makes a great music festival blog?

That’s a good question. I’ve never really looked at a festival blog. I think you need interviews from the artists. I think all blogs should have cool photos. I’m a blogger too. As much as you like to write and it’s quite satisfying for the blogger, it’s got to be fairly digestible for an audience. I think you’ve got to have music, video, photos, and the written word in bite-sized pieces. And if it’s kind of relevant and amusing, that’d be a great music festival blog!