Returning to the Arts Centre in its sixth year, Face The Music saw industry figures from far and wide join the Melbourne music community for two days of discussion, debate, workshops and some cheeky networking. It was already gearing up to be a huge weekend with the launch of Melbourne Music Week, as well as the Australasian Worldwide Music Expo and although it seemed that Victoria’s capital had been hit by a music typhoon of sorts, it was absolute heaven for us enthusiasts.
Chairperson of The Push and lawyer Darren Sanicki welcomed the growing crowd within the Arts Centre and with so much happening across the board over the coming days; it was inevitable that some session times would clash. Although I would have loved to have gained an insight into radio play from the Triple J Unearthed team, there was no way in hell I was going to miss Big Day Out co-founder Ken West take part in a panel discussion concerning the current state of music festivals in Australia.
Moderated by The Vine’s Marcus Teague, “What The Festival!” saw Paul Sloan (Billions Australia), Ian ‘Blink’ Jorgensen (Camp A Low Hum) and Groovin’ the Moo’s Steve Halpin join West to face the music themselves in acknowledging whether the Australian festival scene really is facing a crisis. All panellists agreed in that there is a shift in what punters want, with Paul Sloan believing “Multi genre festivals are the one’s suffering the most.” West on the other hand was refusing to accept the majority’s belief. “I don’t believe there is a crisis going on at any level.”
The panel continued to discuss possible causes of this suggested crisis, whether bands are being overpaid or if Australian audiences have been spoilt and although West appeared to be in slight denial of the whole issue, he still served as a highly valuable contributor throughout the session. From almost shutting down last year’s Big Day Out in Sydney (“We were 10 minutes away from pulling RHCP’s set due to the heat”) to the addiction of his job (“It’s like leaving the biggest band in the world and you’re the front man. You can’t do it.”), West was very intriguing and revealing, particularly when asked about AJ Maddah joining the BDO family. “I like AJ’s craziness. It needs a bit of calming maybe, but he’s got all the passion in the world. He went to the first Big Day Out, he analyzed it to death. It seemed logical.”
Next up was “State of Play: National Music Issues”, in which eight panellists joined Music SA’s Gordon Anderson in discussing key concerns of each state and the Australian music industry as a whole. Piracy, all ages gigs, artist income and cost of living were all raised but it was lack of government support and funding deemed as the biggest issue, with ARIA CEO Dan Rosen stating “What is important is changing the perception of how the music industry is seen in the ACT”. The end of the session saw the Q&A escalate quickly into a slightly aggressive rant, as an audience member accused ARIA of providing no support to live music venues to which he was quickly shut down by Rosen who said, “I think you might mean APRA”, and another audience member biting back that “Venues need to take more responsibility”.
“Moving Pictures – Music Videos” saw Beat Magazine editor Tyson Wray sit down with a panel of 5 including Rage programmer Tyson Koh and Ball Park Music’s Sam Cromack, as they analyzed the good and bad of music videos and how to make a lasting impression whilst on a small budget. Clips from Abbe May, Dan Sultan and Unkle fell into the good books of the panel, particularly Blur’s infamous clip for “Coffee & TV” in which Cromack believed “Everybody would be charmed by this. Unless your lactose intolerant of course.”
Venue bookers from Melbourne and beyond came together for “Small Rooms, Big Dreams”, in which useful advice was offered to budding musicians in attendance on scoring small gigs and residencies. Joel Morrison of Old Bar/Public Bar was particularly vocal on the do’s and don’ts concerning venue relationships, insisting that bands should never play any other gigs whilst undertaking a residency with a venue. The panel was determined to emphasise the importance of playing smaller venues as part of artist development, referring to music icon Paul Kelly who recently said, “These venues are my university.”
Arguably the most anticipated talk to take place at Face The Music, was an exclusive sit down with Mushroom Music founder Michael Gudinski and his son, Matt. The ANZ Pavilion was packed out as a video montage of the father son duo played out and it was damn impressive to say the least. Gudinski Snr is without a doubt one of the bluntest and passionate people working in the music industry, which was particularly clear when asked about the secret to his success, “Being my own boss. I would have been fired half a dozen times if I wasn’t.” He also wasted no time in jumping into a political rant concerning lack of government support for music, which was received with huge applause from the crowd whereas the younger Gudinski proved to be the calmer of the two as he spoke of his current project Purifier and future plans for Mushroom.
We kicked off Day 2 with Jamie Farkas from Vice Music, who overcame her “complete and total terror” of flying long distance from the United States to take part in the conference and share her thoughts on what it takes to be a global artist. Farkas spoke of her humble beginnings working in her local music store and the limited level of access fans had to artists 20 years ago, to now serving as General Manager for Vice, a brand that is proving to be truly making its mark all around the world and claiming to be the definitive guide to enlightening information. “Access to technology and social media, these are the pillars of artist development in 2013” Farkas stated as she spoke of her company’s particular focus on creating content and the importance of “expressing multiple elements of an artist”, using their Vice Eats collaboration with rapper Action Bronson as an example. Farkas’ 50 minute talk proved to captivate and inspire those in attendance as the first question asked from the audience Q&A was, “How do I get a job with you guys?”
A panel of writers and bloggers joined Billboard Magazine’s Lars Bradle inside the NGV to analyze the hits and misses of 2013 in terms of viral campaigns. Daft Punk’s album release was of course up for discussion, with some feeling the French duo were “disconnected with the audience”, whereas The Vine’s Marcus Teague believed “Not giving much was keeping in line with the campaign they were carrying out” and that Daft Punk are still “the most sought after band in the world”. From Miley’s controversial VMA performance, to that random band that played the Hottest 100 in its entirety, this panel provided an insightful look into how things go viral and impact an artist’s career.
Triple J’s very own Dom Alessio took to the stage next for “In Conversation”, with Sam Cromack from Ball Park Music. It was a pretty laid back interview between the Home and Hosed host and the front man Cromack, who revealed his strong love for producing and song writing, a duty in which he prefers to do alone. “My favourite bands have always been those that are lead by a sole songwriter. For me, song writing is a very private process.” It was intriguing to learn of Cromack’s thoughts on the band’s two studio albums, particularly sophomore release, Museum. “There are so many things about it that I would have done better.”
Back at the ANZ Pavilion, it was time to look at another hot topic of 2013, the current craze of reality talent shows. Moderated by FasterLouder’s Darren Levin (“Joel Madden couldn’t be here, he’s too busy selling fried chicken.”), the discussion was bound to get heated with panellists Tim Morrison, Peter Karpin, Andrew Furze and Darren Sanicki facing off with Brendan Maclean, the former Triple J presenter who made his thoughts on The Voice crystal clear in a brutally hilarious opinion piece published earlier this year.
Morrison, the former front man for Melbourne band Trial Kennedy, reinforced his support for reality talent show The Voice, but when asked about the upcoming kid’s version, he had a completely different opinion. “I’ve got a lot to say about that. It’s a very fine line.” Maclean on the other hand, emphasised that when it comes to breaking into the music industry, reality talent shows or even Triple J Unearthed are not the only options, before admitting himself that he auditioned for Australian Idol at the tender age of 13.
I could have easily watched these guys all day, but unfortunately time was running out as Mercury Records’ Peter Larkin proudly stated that the highest selling album of last year belonged to season one winner of The Voice, Karise Eden to which Maclean asked “What was the name of her song?”. Snap! Despite differing opinions on the panel, it was agreed that reality talent shows and the music industry are two different things and that you are a contest on these shows, not an artist.
One session deemed as a favourite amongst budding musicians was “Touring Australia: Highway to Hell Or Long Way To The Top?” It was a very colourful panel consisting of Lindsay McDougall (Triple J) and Melbourne musician Cash Savage who both shared their touring experiences as well as moderator and musician Dave Larkin (Dallas Crane), who probably had the best advice of all – “Guys, don’t smoke pot on stage when there’s a cop in the audience.” Touche.
The two day event came to a close with a special debate on music in advertising. It was really a case of Logic vs LOL’s as Lindsay MacDougall, comedian Rose Callaghan and Monash University’s Dr Stuart Grant argued that despite being in the digital age, the role of music in product endorsement is still considered selling out. Whilst Nic Warnock and Jordana Borensztajn were entertaining in their support of music in advertising, the negative team had the audience wrapped around their finger as MacDougall handed out chocolates and Dr Stuart Grant proving that doctors can have potty mouths too.
Whether you’re a budding artist, music journo, manager, promoter or even just a fan, I can guarantee spending 2 days at Face The Music will enlighten and inspire you. To think that this conference is only in its sixth year and is making such a mark on the industry already, with some of the most well known music figures happy to volunteer their time just to be a part of it, is impressive to say the very least. I know I will most definitely be returning next year and to be frank, you would be stupid not to join me.
