As music writer and critic for The Australian and The Weekend Australian, Iain Shedden [pictured below right] has more street cred than most music journos: he’s spent many years as a professional drummer, most notably with Australian rock band The Saints during the 1980s. He still performs and records with a number of Australian artists, as his writing commitments allow. Andrew McMillen spoke with Shedden ahead of his speaking engagements at One Movement For Music.
Andrew:Iain, what do you hope to get out of these panels as a music writer? Are you there looking for stories, or are you just there to share your knowledge?
Iain:I’m never not looking for a story. In terms of news, these conferences aren’t that valuable. Generally speaking, the benefits for me are to meet people from the industry that I haven’t met before - who might have something to tell me that I don’t know - and to workshop with people. I guess to sniff around for information and bits of gossip, but in terms of hard news, generally there’s not that much that I can use in that sense. It’s all valuable.
It might not be any help to me while the conference is on but then a couple of months down the track there might be somebody who said something to me and I have his or her card. I might think, “That would be the perfect person to talk to.” That’s the value in it for me, plus if I’m doing these panels then you get to talk to budding musicians or budding journalists for that matter. That’s always rewarding, passing on your experience to other people.
How did you come to be a music writer as well as a musician?
I will have to give you a very condensed version. I started at the local paper in Scotland when I was 17, as a cub reporter. I started having an interest in music right about that time, too. I worked in a local paper for about four years and I started writing about music then.
Then my band got signed. I moved to London and starting doing that for a while. Of course, I joined The Saints and they came over to the U.K. about ‘81 or something. I spent a lot of time touring with them in the ’80s, touring everywhere in fact.
I decided to move here in about 1992, thinking I could pick up another gig. The Saints had gone their separate ways, really. I couldn’t find another gig. In the ’80s it was pretty easy to pick up a gig here. You could tour for months on end and you could make a lot of money, too. In the ’90s, when I got here, it kind of dried up. I had to find something else.
I was lucky I had journalism to fall back on. I got a couple of shifts here, sub-editing, and then they gave me the music job, which was a gig I was really interested in. So I was very fortunate, really, to be able to get back into journalism at this level, after being away from it for about fifteen years.
Since I have been in bands all that time, I was reasonably qualified to do it, I think. Being a musician certainly helped my writing, without a doubt. I still play a bit, so I’m very lucky that I can combine the two things, still, even through journalism takes up most of my time now.
At this stage of your career, what does music writing mean to you? Do you still enjoy telling stories?
Yeah, if I didn’t enjoy it I wouldn’t do it. I have a terrific job, really. I think I have the best job on the newspaper. I get to write about something I’m passionate about. I get to hang out with musicians, which I’ve been doing for about thirty years anyway. I love it. I love music, I love new music, and I love playing, and I love writing about it. It’s all good, really.
I still work, of course. I get a hard time from a lot of people around here who think all I do is hang out at the bar every night, but of course, there are a lot of hours involved. I’m out a lot at night. I’ve got a young family, too, so that’s time demanding, trying to combine gigs with all that as well, a lot of weekends away, a lot of festivals. I can’t complain at all. I’m in a very good position. I enjoy what I do and there’s not many people who can say that, really.
At this stage in my career, I’m looking to guys like yourself, and Noel Mengel [ofThe Courier-Mail, pictured left], and Christie Eliezer as kind of the prototypes for the big, established music writers in this country.
It will be interesting to see if not just the music industry is changing, but the media is changing quite significantly, as well. I’m interested to see just how music journalism pans out in the coming few years.
I’m quite lucky as well at The Australian, that there is an increasing online presence for music on The Australian’s website. I’m getting to do stuff to camera. We’ve got a studio downstairs where we can bring Josh Pyke or whoever enters the room, plug the guitar in, and do something to camera, do the interviews to camera. All that is changing the face of it a bit, certainly as far as The Australian is concerned.
I don’t think print journalism is going to go away in a hurry, as people were predicting. Newspapers have been around for a long time and I certainly think music is going to remain a very important part of that. It’s not going to be the only avenue. That’s a good thing.
Read Iain’s music writing on The Australian’s website.
This conversation with David Chitty, Managing Director & Promoter of Perth-based Sunset Events[pictured below left], originally appeared in an A&R Worldwide email newsletter on September 21, 2009.
David, tell us about your background in the music business.
Around ten years ago I started an outdoor cinema with my business partner. The cinema was successful and from that we were able to start holding special events – mainly solo artists playing before films initially. That was my first experience with the music industry and from there it grew.
What is Sunset Events?
Sunset Events is an events company specializing in unique music festival experiences in Western Australia. We also do some contract work for other companies as event managers and, of course, are partnered with A&R Worldwide and Chugg Entertainment for One Movement For Music Perth.
You organize multiple festivals throughout the year. How do you differentiate them from one another?
All of our events have their own personality and their own audiences. Southbound, a music, camping and arts festival, is set in the Margaret River region over the Christmas holiday summer period. It’s our largest event and is primarily a young adult demographic. This features acts such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wolfmother, and Moby, and previous acts include Kings of Leon, Groove Armada, Franz Ferdinand and Basement Jaxx, among others.
The West Coast Blues ‘n’ Roots Festival, around the Easter period, is set in Fremantle and attracts a slightly older demographic and has had names like James Brown, Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy and John Fogerty over the years, as well as Jack Johnson, Ben Harper and John Mayer.
Then there are events such as Laneway, which is pretty much your top-end tastemaker crowd – very cool bands for a very cool audience in an urban street party festival setting. Stereosonic is a dance event targeted for the end of university exams, and a new introduction next year is Groovin’ The Moo in Bunbury – a regional rock event.
Who are some of the acts you’ve helped establish via your multiple festivals?
The first one that springs to mind is Michael Franti. We also worked a lot with Xavier Rudd in his early days (and still do today) and gave Wolfmother there first-ever show in Western Australia at Southbound. There are now literally over a hundred emerging national and international acts that come and play at our festivals for the first time to decent-sized crowds; Santigold is a good example, as she played to 20,000 people in her first show in West Australia at Southbound 2009.
It’s touching that our festivals can contribute toward an artist’s audience development. Sometimes we will put a relatively unknown act on one of our events earlier in summer on a small stage, and then play them later in the summer at another one of our festivals on a larger stage and a better time slot, and then when that act tours come winter, they’re doing decent-sized rooms.
How can global acts looking to break into Australasia and Asia Pacific best garner your attention? What are the criteria that you seek to consider them for your events?
By getting on the radio and by touring. Album launches and interviews help raise their profile too. If I read an interview about an act I’ve heard of and then see a tour ad and then hear a track on the radio around the same time, then I will generally head to MySpace and YouTube and do some more homework.
From there, it’s all about the song, the voice, the sound, and how it’s all produced. How the act is presented in terms of its artwork/image is also important. If they’re doing all those things well and have a sound that stands out, then usually we’ll invite them to be a part of one of our events.
Australia is viewed as a very important market for international acts looking to launch into Asia Pacific and into the UK and US. What’s driven the importance of Australia as a global musical launch pad?
Being a smaller population - but a very active musical one - with fantastic musical infrastructure and a solid live music audience, we often get used as a test market. Australian fans consume so much music, it’s so much a part of our lives and it continues to grow. The growth of the live touring and festival market gives acts a willing and active audience.
triple j has undoubtedly played a large role in developing and nurturing the tastemaker market in Australia, which enables many acts to “break” and have a solid fan base when they first arrive into the country (if their songs have been heavily rotated on the station). Australian governments – federal and state – invest into and support musical talent, so this has also helped to develop our musical industry, its infrastructure, and its audience.
Your organization has played a pivotal role in establishing credibility and respect for not only Western Australian music but Australian music in general. What inspires you to take on such a personal musical mission?
It sounds simple but…we love the universal voice of music. There’s so much musical talent here; we just wanted to try and present it in a setting that reflects that talent and acknowledges the amount of dedication it takes from artists to make a special sound that we can identify with. Music has so much power to inspire and evoke change, and festivals can help an artist communicate some of the many messages and joys their music contains. We think fans of the bands playing at our events like that extra effort, too, so that keeps us inspired as well.
Where do you foresee Sunset Events in the coming years as a global music event leader?
At this stage we’re happy to grow and improve our existing events, but in a sustainable and environmentally-conscious way. Of course, over time it would be fantastic for one, some, or all of our events to be recognised as world class or even leading in some areas. It would be very satisfying for Sunset Events to put Western Australia on the map musically and for that to spin off on the hotbed of talent that’s here in West Australia.
Who are some of the unsigned and emerging acts that the international music community should be aware of from your neck of the woods?
That’s easy – they’re all showcasing at One Movement For Music in October! Ha, I couldn’t tell you if these acts are all signed or unsigned, but acts like:
Andrew: Ian, you’re involved with One Movement as a speaker, but I’m also curious about your goals when attending these kinds of conferences on behalf of Mushroom Publishing.
Ian: It’s to impart information. It’s about sharing what I know with the next generation of managers as much as anything. I know that a lot of artists attend these events but I’d like to see an improvement in the infrastructure of our business, which primarily means having a lot better level of training or information going to the next generation of managers.
What do you hope to achieve when you speak at these events, aside from imparting knowledge?
I like to entertain people. If they don’t walk away enjoying it, it probably hasn’t been worthwhile.
I was reading a 2003 interview with you on the AIR website, and this quote stood out. “There are so many people in the music business looking for a very limited number of opportunities. If you’re not excellent at what you do, you won’t get anywhere.” As Managing Director, how do you go about fostering excellence in those involved with Mushroom?
The trick to the people that work for me is that you choose the right ones first. You choose people that have got something special, and then you give them as much room to move into as you can. I’ve got a great International Manager called Zoe White, who is about 26. She spent three years in London working at Beggar’s Banquet. She had her own little vinyl label called Passport over there, which you can check out. I was told by a friend of mine that she was back in Melbourne and she’s been a great International Manager.
Similarly my A&R Scout, Michael Kucyk, who was brought in by Linda Bosidis, my A&R Manager. You find young people who really know what they’re doing and then you give them room to operate and you also give them the collective wisdom of the building. The Mushroom building is full of a lot of people who know what they’re doing.
I can imagine. From that same interview, another quote of yours that stood out was where you sat on a board meeting once and said, “I’m not the least bit interested in competency. In fact, what I look for is genius, but I’ll settle for extreme talent.” Do you hold those same standards with your staff at Mushroom Publishing, to convince them to sign only the best acts?
Yeah, that was in relation to the training boards and the standards that other industries apply to the people that work in them. It works just fine for the clerical world, for instance. In our world, you don’t stand a chance unless you’ve got a level of genius, or something really special.
When it comes to the staff, there are different types of staff. We don’t want everyone to be a potential rock star marking time in a publishing company. I’m not interested in people like that. They can go and mark time somewhere else. It’s really about people who want to be in the music business, and have the aptitude to do that, and not necessarily in promotions.
The final quote I’d like to discuss from that interview which you said in reference to independent record labels: “There is this theory that with a label you’re building a copyright asset with which you will then cunningly turn into millions of dollars.” Do you have anything to add to that statement, six years on?
The ability to convert it into millions has been seriously diminished in that the little labels are struggling and unfortunately we are not seeing too many of them rise up. Certainly, the current financial situation has got something to do with it, including the fact that people simply aren’t buying or paying for things the way they used to, and particularly the output of indie labels. I find the hypocrisy almost stunning that these people can profess to have their favorite bands and not feel the need to actually do anything towards supporting them. I’m looking forward to debating that with anyone who wishes to cross the line when I’m in Perth, and explain that particular piece of self-serving philosophy.
I find that it’s interesting that quite a lot of the labels that were the emerging labels at the time have ended up with Universal; Steve Pavlovich [of Modular Records] in particular. They’ve adopted a half-way position where they’re taking advantage of the power of the major companies, who are prepared to give those types of labels a lot of latitude. I think it’s a pretty good marriage, actually. It seems to work.
The pure indie labels are really struggling, I think, Andrew. I think they’re really doing it hard, which I don’t like.
To take a step away from talking about business for a moment, what are some of the most enjoyable aspects of your role? I can imagine it must be wonderful to watch the artists that you have supported and championed and the ability to support themselves via your publishing deals.
Yeah, that’s fantastic. In terms of the warm glow, that’s the best, to see someone really make a living out of it and consistently make a living out of it, not just a living, but make great music out of it, have the satisfaction of putting out three great albums. We’ve spent a lot of time with Eskimo Joe and we find they’ve grown up. They were young guys in Perth when we first met them. Now they’re really occupying their space brilliantly. That’s very satisfying.
Also, the great shows. I’m a big fan of Eagles Of Death Metal, who are not everyone’s favorite band. I went to a show in London, the last night of the Raymond Revue Bar, which was a ’60s strip club in Soho with red velvet curtains. It was a ladies’ night only, except I managed to smuggle my way in because I’m a friend of Jesse Hughes [pictured right], the singer from the band and also their publisher.
Seeing the Eagles of Death Metal with about 300 London girls and me.. it was that sort of night. That’s what it’s about. You could just imagine, Andrew. That’s the sort of stuff that’s also wonderful.
Conversely, what are some of the less enjoyable or stressful elements of your job?
I guess the whinge factor, with everyone wanting something for less. It’s a litany about exploitation and how important it is for the artist that they get it and how this person, who is not going to pay you any money, is going to provide it. “Opportunity” is a word I hear very often.
Put it this way; you can’t blame people for trying but when you hear the same story, it’s a bit like those beggars in the middle of the city who have been asking for money for about ten years. You go, “Enough, we know you’re down on your luck, but you’ve been down on your luck in this exact same spot for ten years. Leave it out.”
I find a lot of people like that come to us and kind of aggravate my licensing staff. When my licensing staff get aggravated, they come and aggravate me. I get it down the line. That always annoys me, the “Hi, I’m in marketing and I want it for nothing.”
Put it this way; we’re a bit bulletproof here at Mushroom. It’s a big organization. Not many people try and cross us. No one succeeds. It’s not like I’m particularly vulnerable to things really annoying me because we’ve got a way to deal with it.
Finally, Ian, what are the personal qualities are integral to achieving success in the music industry?
I think you’ve got to be lively. I think you’ve got to have a good mind and you’ve got to be lively. That applies to both musicians, and to people that work in the business.
Since 2001, Ed St John has been the Chairman of the ARIA Awards and the ARIA Hall of Fame. In January 2005 he became President and CEO of Warner Musicafter managerial stints at bothSony Music and BMG, before their merger. And in April 2008 he was appointed Chairman ofARIA, the Australian Recording Industry Association.
But before all of that, he stepped into the music industry industry as a freelance writer for Rolling Stone Australia in 1977, and it’s here where his conversation with Andrew McMillen begins.
Andrew: Ed, you left music journalism behind in the early 1990s. Did you feel as though you rode it out as far as it could go?
Ed: Yeah, I sort of felt like I’d covered it; I felt like I was writing the same article about different people every week. When you do a lot of music writing for a long time, you feel you’re just inserting new names into the same story. After 15 years as a music writer, I just felt like doing something else with my life.
During all those years of music writing, I gained a pretty good understanding of how musicians think, and what they go through; the process of writing songs, recording them and playing them live, what that’s all about. I think I gained a certain amount of empathy for that process. I think that those kinds of life experiences stand me in good stead, because now I find myself sort of in the position of being their business partner in making their careers successful.
We’re in business together. We’re in the business of making money together, I suppose, but we’re also in the business of bringing their creative efforts into the public eye and they need to feel they’re working with people who understand what they’re going through, what they’re trying to achieve. I still spend a lot of time talking to artists about what they do. I think it’s good to have that understanding.
You’ve been invited to appear as a panellist at One Movement For Music. Have you been on many panels before at events like this?
Not many, no. I tend to avoid conferences in Australia, as a rule, because many of them seem to be pitched at an entry-level delegate who is looking to get a start in the business. Some of the conferences I’ve attended in this country seem to be an opportunity to take money from a whole lot of people, but they don’t necessarily add much value to the industry.
There are a lot of people who have vested interest in criticising the status quo, but not necessarily coming up with any kind of solutions. They get up at conferences and make provocative statements and generate publicity for themselves, and I just find that a bit of a waste of time from my perspective. I don’t feel like I gain much from them.
I’m all for discussing issues in a productive way, in a positive way. I love talking about new ideas, new business models, new ways of marketing music. But I just think you have to steer clear of people who are in the business of criticising major record labels for their own gain.
But anyway, this conference looks alright. I think the people behind One Movement have a high level of credibility, so I thought I would give it a shot.
Do you think the volume of people who now seem to be speaking up online against major labels is one of the downsides of everyone having the ability to have their say?
You can’t criticize people for having a point of view. The internet is democratic by nature. Everyone is entitled to say whatever the hell they like, which is fine, of course. But I don’t think many people really understand what record companies do; they’re very quick to judge the way the business works, or the way it has worked, without really understanding it.
I just think there are a lot of uninformed opinions out there, but I suppose to that point, that’s why it’s good to attend a conference like this. If we’re not there explaining how we do or how we work, then no-one will really understand our point of view, will they?
I think that a lot of those misinformed comments come about as a result of people finding it hard to relate to a major label as a group of decision-making individuals. It’s easier to see major labels as faceless organisations.
I think that’s true. I think there has been a lot of demonisation of the music industry in general, and major record labels in particular. It’s sort of easy to do. It’s like saying the big Hollywood studios are evil. It’s an easy position to take, because you don’t really have to explain how they’re evil. It’s generalised evil, but if you actually break it down; if anyone bothered to come look at the people that work at a record label, and the work they actually do, they’d realize that there is actually a group of quite dedicated people trying to make their artists successful, which is pretty much the same as in a lot of other businesses. It’s not like we’re sitting here plotting how to destroy the world, or anything.
A lot of things have changed in the last few years. We, like any business, need to accommodate those changes in consumer behavior and the way that people share, experience and discover music. It’s quite easy to set up an illegal business model that is based around stealing someone else’s property. It’s quite a lot harder to run a legitimate business, and our challenge is that we run a legal, legitimate business. We have actual agreements with artists that we can’t just change on a whim.
If we want to do something new, we often need to get the artist’s consent. Call us old-fashioned, but we have a business that’s based around observing people’s rights and paying people royalties.
When circumstances change in the way people experience music and interact with it, it’s our job to understand that and respond to it. It’s not as if we’re pretending it hasn’t changed, because obviously it has. Our challenge is to evolve with these different media whilst still running a legitimate business, adhering to those contracts, and paying our artists.
It’s quite challenging to evolve quickly in a rapidly changing market. The music industry today is a very different beast to what it was 10 years ago. There has been a huge shift in focus. I think we all understand how much has changed. We’re just learning to have a different role and provide a different range of services for our artists, and a different offer for a consumer that fits the way people experience music now. That’s obviously a constantly moving target. It evolves all the time.
To me, that sounds incredibly difficult to be willing to unlearn the business tactics that worked in the past. It must be mentally draining on a personal level, to turn up week to week and have things change on you. It must be maddening.
It’s not maddening. It’s actually quite exciting. Look, for example, at the role of the record company; ten years ago or even five years ago, the role of the record company was pretty straightforward. Our job was to get an artist’s songs played on the radio, to market the act and to make sure that the CDs were racked up in the shop so that people could buy them, and that was primarily it. That was our job.
Nowadays, the modern record companies see themselves as providing a very different range of services. We’re involved in many cases in working with artists, either at a management level, or a touring level, or providing them with merch, or a whole range of digital activity. We’ve gotten ourselves into all sorts of areas of the business that simply didn’t exist five years ago.
I think for most of us involved in the evolution and transformation, it’s been a really exciting process. It’s certainly challenging, because there’s a whole lot there that you just didn’t know about five years ago. We’ve all had to learn a huge amount.
I wouldn’t say it’s been a negative experience. I think it’s been quite positive, really. The business has to change to survive and that’s all part of the fun.
I’m glad you have a positive outlook, Ed. That’s really cool.
You have to, really.
It’s an ‘if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry’ sort of thing?
Yeah, well often I think people look at the music business and say “CD sales are declining, so therefore the business is in trouble”. I don’t really see it that way, because whilst CD sales are obviously under some sort of threat in the longer term, the sales of legitimate digital music are increasing at an incredible rate. You are seeing an industry that’s changing before your eyes in terms of the way people buy music and experience it.
Unfortunately, people look at the CDs declining and go, “Well, the business must be in trouble. These people must be really worried,” but it’s been fairly obvious that CD sales were going to slowly decline as other businesses evolved. The business is only failing if you look at it from that particular angle. I think everyone involved in it chooses not to do that.
Alright Ed, one last question that I’ve been asking everyone I’ve spoken to for this blog. One Movement’s tagline is “Artist, Industry, Fan United”. What needs to change in order to better unite those three things?
I always like to say that the most important relationship in music is the relationship between an artist and their fan. That is at the core of all music experience, whether it be the live experience, people buying records, or people listening music on the radio. An artist creates a piece of music, and someone loves it. That relationship between the fan and the music is absolutely sacred, and it’s what drives our entire business at every level.
The job of the industry is to facilitate that relationship and make it enjoyable, seamless, and rewarding for everybody involved, and to not get in the way of that process any more than we have to. And as much as possible, to add value.
So to answer your question, Andrew, the challenge to the industry is to always add value to the relationship between artists and fans.
Michael Chugg’s Chugg Entertainment is one of One Movement For Music’s three major players, alongside David Chitty’s Sunset Events and Sat Bisla’s A&R Worldwide. Andrew McMillen caught up with the internationally-acclaimed promoter to discuss One Movement and the changes Chugg has seen within the industry over the decades.
Andrew: What can you tell me about One Movement’s origins, Michael?
Michael: We were looking for some sort of music-based event in Western Australia. David Chitty from Sunset Events mentioned the idea to me. I’d just been at an amazing event in LA called MUSEXPO. It was a really fresh and exciting conference. I go to a lot, as you’re probably aware.
I met Sat Bisla, the guy who ran that, and he was telling me that he had some interest from Asia about doing a conference in Asia. We got talking, and for me, my experience in Asia and how each country is different and how they work, the perfect place for an event like this was Perth. I told David, and the three of us got together. And here we are.
I’m specifically interested in the event’s Asia focus. You mentioned that it is a big focus or goal of the festival and conference to have some outcomes for artists who want to either explore Asia or for Asian artists coming to Australia. What provoked that interest, other than the fact that you’re based in Thailand, I believe?
I live between Thailand and Sydney. I’ve been doing a lot of stuff up there for a long time. It’s always sort of frustrated me that the interaction between the Western music industry and the Asian music industry was pretty negligible. It’s only started to change in the last few years, slowly. That’s always been a frustration.
For me, this event was always about an Asian-Pacific focus. The Government makes no secret that we need to be part of Asia. The Socceroos play in Asia. It’s all slowly changing, and we just thought a music event would be attractive. It’s certainly neutral ground for the different Asians that are coming. We thought it would work and the support we’re getting from Asia is showing us that it probably will. It’s very exciting.
We’ve got acts coming from Japan, India, Thailand, Korea, Hong Kong, China, and we’ve got both delegates and speakers coming from all those countries. Malaysia and Singapore, have bands coming as well. There are probably bands from ten or twelve countries, plus you have South Africa, England, Scandinavia, Germany, the States, and Canada. There are bands coming from all over, and there are some huge Australian acts playing there, as well, along with a lot of the new breed.
People in on the east coast are really blown away by the quality of lineup of acts. That was the whole idea, to put acts from all over the world in front of fans in Perth so the industry can actually see them in front of a lot of people, not in a club with only five people there, which is what happens in a lot of these showcase conferences.
Oh yeah, from Thailand, Tata Young [pictured below left]’s manager.
We talked at length about how he sees the way Asians do business is much different from the way that westerners do, in that it takes a long time to build trust. It’s not the kind of thing where you can fly into a festival and make a connection and do a deal in a day. It’s kind of built up over time.
Definitely, there is no doubt about that. It’s a bit different in some countries, but yeah, it’s all about being respected and having relationships. That’s why Sat Bisla and I certainly – because of our international work - have that respect. These people trust you enough to come down, which is a really great step.
It’s big face for us in the Asian world, to have the lineup we’ve got coming. A lot of them are really wanting to tell people about how it works in their countries. It’s already starting; out of what we’ve been doing it’s starting to be discussed between Australia and acts in Asia. It’s great. There are a couple of other initiatives that will be announced shortly. They’re all along the same line. It’s very exciting and interesting.
What are your goals with this first One Movement festival?
To do a great event, and with the things we attempt to do, go to the top level and to make it as exciting, doable, and interesting as possible. And certainly, to give the fans a great show. You’re going to have 80 bands who are all there to do a great show. It’s pretty special from that point of view.
It’s also about we’ve got the Independent Times stream, which is the indie panels. For young musicians and people wanting to get into the business and the industry, they still may be doing courses about music business. That little conference will be amazing for people wanting to get in and learn about the industry. This will be a great learning place for everybody.
I go to conferences and I learn stuff all the time. You never stop learning in this business. Just to have the opportunity to listen to the Asians tell us about the digital download, because Asia is so far in front of the rest of the world and Americans and British tell me this themselves; the Asians are just so far ahead with all the downloads and delivery of digital music. They’re way ahead of the western world, and that’s going to be a big learning curve for us.
I think the other thing about Asia is, like [GMM] Grammy Records of Thailand, and a couple of the big ones in China, they have amazing networks around the world selling music to ex-pats in their countries, in every city in the world. Grammy has two acts a week somewhere in the world working. We’ve got those people coming to tell us about that. All their music sold around the world is sold digitally. It’s quite incredible.
This is something I’ve been asking everyone I’ve spoken to for the event, so far. One Movement’s motto is “Artist, Industry, Fan United.” What do you think needs to change in order to bring those three elements more together to unify them?
I think that’s happening naturally because of the Internet. I think that’s something that is happening anyway and what we’re doing is bringing it all together in real time. You know, the amount of acts that we tour that barely get played on radio, press, or TV. It’s amazing these days, the amount of kids that have turned onto these acts. I think this is certainly an event where they can learn more about the industry, but the industry is being forced to get closer to the fans and the artists because of the changing way of the industry, certainly, from the recording business side of it. So I just aim to bring those elements closer. For me, the internet is the radio of the 21st century. There’s no doubt about that.
I just want to see that get closer and for people to understand it more. You have so much going on these days. There is a new business that actually originated out of an Evermore concert in Perth, a new business called Posse, where fans sell tickets to one another. It’s fantastic. Things like that, there is so much going on that people need to learn about and it’s changing so quickly. It’s incredible.
I was shown a presentation by PRS in London, by this young economist, Will Page, about the changing face of where the money is coming from. They collect from records, downloads, and gigs and all of that. It’s an incredible thing and hopefully he’ll do a presentation of that, which will just blow peoples’ minds. It’s pretty exciting. There’ll actually be shit there I want to see!
To learn more about One Movement For Music Perth in the lead-up to its October 2009 debut, you’re in the right place. To learn more about Chugg Entertainment, click here.
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.
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!
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!
Scott Murphy is the CEO of D:Net Media, who debuted a new method of music distribution in December 2008. His idea to combine the aesthethetic values of the physical music release with digital technology saw five albums released at the time of launch, featuring a USB stick that included extras such as promotional videos, song remixes, interviews, press releases, biographies, photos and lyrics. Seven months since the product launch and two months out from his presentation at the inaugural One Movement For Music Perth conference in October, Andrew McMillen discussed Scott’s future plans for the DDA format.
Andrew: How did the idea behind the DDA format come about?
Scott [pictured below right]: Working in the recorded music business and with the digital age upon us, I wanted a richer, more ‘album’-like user experience to the digital download world. That’s the thought that started the process.
How long did it take to turn dream into reality? What were the toughest barriers to navigate?
The original idea was back in 2002 so it’s taken a while – however, it wasn’t worked on full time for most of that time. Toughest barriers were and are financing the development and marketing, as well as communication between myself and the software programmers to ensure I get from them what I’m after.
We’re still technically in a test marketing phase – from September 2009 onwards, we start releasing many more titles, under a new phase. The period to date has been to iron out bugs and functionality issues that aren’t necessarily bugs, but just weren’t delivering the results we wanted.
We have also used the feedback from the record companies/artists we’ve dealt with, plus retailers and consumers in order to work out a short list of functionality additions and/or upgrades. Two of such are in the works right now, being readied for our September rollout of new titles.
Are D:Net looking to work directly with artists who want to release their music in this format?
Absolutely. In fact, one of the two functionality additions I refer to above is a ‘White Label’ version – basically, a simple DIY way to create and release a DDA. Therefore any artist can DIY a DDA and we’ve chosen the cost for doing so to be very affordable.
Artists can still create their own DDA and not use the White Label version – the cost difference is paying a trained HTML or Flash designer/programmer to build your DDA.
Have the current DDA artists been selling the item at the merch desk of their shoes, or is it just a retail-only deal? What’s the pick-up rate been like for live shows?
Interestingly, Gurrumul and Skipping Girl Vinegar have had the best sales results at gigs. At one Gurrumul concert they said the sales ratio for DDAs to CDs was 1:5, which is pretty high for a new format.
Retail has been tough. We’ve had good support from the indie store, such as all of the Leading Edge chain stores, but there’s been concerns about product theft.
A major part of the next phase of DDA is that the USB is optional. The system was always invented as a direct download system – so rather than just buying a few faceless MP3 files online, the listener can buy a bundle that comes with all the extras including an ongoing experience.
We chose to go ‘physical’ in the test marketing phase here purely for marketing reasons. However, from September onwards, artists can choose to release a DDA on a USB or as a direct download – or both. Without USBs it considerably changes the cost for artists.
In the case of artists looking to release their own DDAs, are there any potential barriers to release to navigate here? Say an artist approaches you with a desire to release a DDA - which elements of their music are they required to own? (eg. copyright, publishing rights, master copies)
Our business model doesn’t interfere with the current music industry model. We don’t license anyone’s content – we license the artists our technology and ongoing system development. So for an artist, it’s the same as releasing a CD or selling MP3s through iTunes or other digital retailers.
A barrier for artists has been the high cost of USBs – when they can be as much as 8 times the cost of a CD it makes it tough for artists – however, artists will have an option to release without the USB bundle from September onwards.
The first One Movement Perth has come and gone! Watch exclusive showcase festival and discussion panel videos on One Movement Word by clicking here.
MATT NATHANSON ON CHANGING THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
Platinum-selling US singer-songwriter Matt Nathanson on what needs to change to improve the industry/fan/artist relationship; full story here.
HILLTOP HOODS ANSWER FOUR QUESTIONS
Our headliners name their fave song of the week and their liquid prediction for uniting the music industry with its artists and fans. Click here for the full story!
FOUR QUESTIONS WITH SARAH BLASKO
The ARIA award-winner and J Award nominee took the time to mention her song of the week and her goals for One Movement. Click here for the full interview.
Interview with Ian James of Mushroom Music Publishing
Mushroom Music Publishing MD Ian James shares his wisdom on genius, Australian independent labels, and the Eagles Of Death Metal. Click here for the full story.
Andrew: Iain, what do you hope to get out of these panels as a music writer? Are you there looking for stories, or are you just there to share your knowledge?
At this stage in my career, I’m looking to guys like yourself, and Noel Mengel [of The Courier-Mail, pictured left], and Christie Eliezer as kind of the prototypes for the big, established music writers in this country. 
Sunset Events is an events company specializing in unique music festival experiences in Western Australia. We also do some contract work for other companies as event managers and, of course, are partnered with 
The first one that springs to mind is Michael Franti. We also worked a lot with Xavier Rudd in his early days (and still do today) and gave Wolfmother there first-ever show in Western Australia at Southbound. There are now literally over a hundred emerging national and international acts that come and play at our festivals for the first time to decent-sized crowds; Santigold is a good example, as she played to 20,000 people in her first show in West Australia at Southbound 2009.![Melbourne rock band [ME]](http://www.onemovementword.com/wp-content/uploads/me_band.jpg "Melbourne rock band [ME]")
Ian: It’s to impart information. It’s about sharing what I know with the next generation of managers as much as anything. I know that a lot of artists attend these events but I’d like to see an improvement in the infrastructure of our business, which primarily means having a lot better level of training or information going to the next generation of managers.
The ability to convert it into millions has been seriously diminished in that the little labels are struggling and unfortunately we are not seeing too many of them rise up. Certainly, the current financial situation has got something to do with it, including the fact that people simply aren’t buying or paying for things the way they used to, and particularly the output of indie labels. I find the hypocrisy almost stunning that these people can profess to have their favorite bands and not feel the need to actually do anything towards supporting them. I’m looking forward to debating that with anyone who wishes to cross the line when I’m in Perth, and explain that particular piece of self-serving philosophy.![Ian James [right] with Jesse Hughes of Eagles Of Death Metal](http://www.onemovementword.com/wp-content/uploads/ian_james_jesse.jpg "Ian James [right] with Jesse Hughes of Eagles Of Death Metal")
Also, the great shows. I’m a big fan of 
Ed: Yeah, I sort of felt like I’d covered it; I felt like I was writing the same article about different people every week. When you do a lot of music writing for a long time, you feel you’re just inserting new names into the same story. After 15 years as a music writer, I just felt like doing something else with my life.
There are a lot of people who have vested interest in criticising the status quo, but not necessarily coming up with any kind of solutions. They get up at conferences and make provocative statements and generate publicity for themselves, and I just find that a bit of a waste of time from my perspective. I don’t feel like I gain much from them.
A lot of things have changed in the last few years. We, like any business, need to accommodate those changes in consumer behavior and the way that people share, experience and discover music. It’s quite easy to set up an illegal business model that is based around stealing someone else’s property. It’s quite a lot harder to run a legitimate business, and our challenge is that we run a legal, legitimate business. We have actual agreements with artists that we can’t just change on a whim.
Michael: We were looking for some sort of music-based event in Western Australia. David Chitty from Sunset Events mentioned the idea to me. I’d just been at an amazing event in LA called 
I just want to see that get closer and for people to understand it more. You have so much going on these days. There is a new business that actually originated out of an Evermore concert in Perth, a new business called 
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.
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.
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!
It was one of those lucky things. We had our songs registered with a Brisbane sync company, 
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.
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