While we’ve already announced our partnership with the BBC Amplify event, hosted by BBC Music’s Introducing series, today, we’re diving into some of the amazing opportunities available to attendees. In just a little over a week from now, on October 6-8 at London’s ExCeL exhibition center, Amplify will offer three days of workshops and presentations for attendees to learn from fellow artists, writers, and industry experts.
AWAL is very excited to be presenting the “Artists Without A Label” stage at Amplify, one of the main hubs for these educational opportunities. This stage will host a slew of varying sessions from discussions around demystifying streaming with Spotify, to capitalizing on video content with YouTube, all the way down to personal testimonials from Kobalt/AWAL artists — the “Artists Without A Label” stage will definitely be a destination point visitors won’t want to miss.
Without further ado, here are some of the sessions and speakers you’ll want to make sure are on your list to see at Amplify. Note that these sessions are all first-come, first-served with very limited seating, so please arrive early to make sure you snag a spot!
Music Publishing 101
About the session: If you care about having a successful career in music you should get to know the basics of music publishing. In this session, experts will discuss how to make money from mechanical royalties, sync licensing, and public performance.
Meet the Speakers
Neeltje Mooring: Faculty, Berklee College of Music
Neeltje Mooring is a faculty member at Berklee College of Music in Valencia and part-time lecturer in Music Business at the University Inholland in The Netherlands. She developed the mutual study program: International Music Publishing & Licensing together with Berklee College of Music. Since 2007, Mooring has run her own company, SOLID as a rock, and operates internationally as an independent publisher, sync agent and music supervisor. Mooring has also worked as a product manager, label manager, and A&R manager for several world-known and respected record companies such as Sony Music Entertainment, Epic Records, Double T Music, Idol Media and Flow Records.
Christiaan Winchester: General Counsel, Kobalt Music Group
Christiaan joined Kobalt in 2005 and has seen it grow from a publishing administration company consisting of 25 people in one room to a multi-rights music services company with 450 people across 10 offices. He is a practising solicitor qualified in English law and as Group General Counsel leads a global business affairs team of 17 people. He is passionate about music and a keen DJ in his spare time.
Richard X: Songwriter
Richard X co-wrote with MIA on her first album and her most recent album AIM. He has worked with and written for Kelis, Annie, Will Young, Little Boots, Kylie Minogue, Sugababes and Liberty X. He also co-wrote the Lee Walker/ DJ Deon single “Freak Like Me” ft MNEK and Katy B and Philip George’s single “You Don’t Love Me Like That” with Dragonette. Recently he has been working on Claire Maguire’s new album and also with the Band Of Skulls.
Jules Parker (Moderator): Director, Publisher Relations and Operations Europe at Spotify
Jules Parker has been with Spotify since the start of 2016. Before Spotify, Jules ran his own songwriter and artist management company – developing writers and bands and dealing with major and indie publishers and labels worldwide. Prior to this, he was at PRS for Music on the writer relations team. He started as a songwriter, artist and musician – working with BMG, Universal and Warner.
How to Make It In the New Music Business
About the session: Ari Herstand will present his key points of how to manage the various steps of your career in today’s music industry.
Meet the Speaker
Ari Herstand: Founder, Ari’s Take
Most musicians now know Ari Herstand as the DIY musician who has helped them fly with their instruments, book national tours, get songs placed on TV and make more money with their music career – without the help of a label. Herstand’s music business advice blog, Ari’s Take has become the go-to resource for DIY musicians worldwide. He released the best-selling book on the new music industry entitled, How To Make it In The New Music Business (Norton/Liveright Publishing) on December 20th, 2016.
Open Q&As with Artists and Songwriters
About the sessions: Join artists and songwriters such as Bruno Major, Jake Isaac, and Jordan MacKampa for open Q&As. Multiple sessions offer you a chance to ask your burning questions! And be sure to stick around following the session to network with panelists, moderators, and fellow attendees.
Meet the Speakers
Bruno Major: Recording Artist
Last year, Bruno Major set himself a task: to record and release one song a month for 12 months. “When I first said that I was going to do it most people said, ‘Nice one…that’s never going to happen.’” Major recalls with a laugh. “A lot of people thought it was overly aspirational: it probably was.” What’s impressive is not so much that he managed to pull it off, more that the challenge produced such a remarkable collection of songs. That within the time frame of a month, Major could produce such fully-realised, beautiful and inventive songs and then repeat the trick the following month, twelve times over.
Having initially worked as a session guitarist, Major moved down from Northampton to London and, inspired by the energy of the city, became obsessed with songwriting. Honing his craft writing for other artists while all the time formulating his own musical style; an impossible to pigeonhole blend of sounds that can draw upon anything from James Blake and D’Angelo to Chet Baker and Nick Drake to create its own, uniquely intoxicating aura.
“It’s definitely been tough, but it’s also been wonderful,” he reflects. “My life has been Groundhog Day for a year. I’d finish each month with a show and have a couple of nights of partying and then I’d start the next tune, work towards that, release it, over and over. It’s been kind of comforting. In a way, I’m not looking forward to that ending.”
Jake Isaac: Songwriter
Jake Isaac has had an eventful summer of touring in 2014 including a slot on the coveted Other Stage at Glastonbury. After supporting Ella Eyre on her UK tour earlier in the year, Jake returned to support Ella at her Brixton Electric show on June 12th. Other notable performances include Jake’s recent shows with Paloma Faith at her Manchester Apollo shows and Bernhoft at his Shepherds Bush Empire gig. Jake released his latest EP ‘War Child’ on June 28th while at Glastonbury, which went straight into Top 10 on the iTunes Singer-Songwriter chart.
Jordan Mackampa: Singer/Songwriter
Singer/Songwriter Jordan Mackampa is often described as a troubadour, an artist with timeless soul and lyrics drenched in heartfelt empathy. His critically acclaimed debut EP “Physics” was celebrated by the likes of NME, The 405, Julie Adengua and Clash Magazine. On his follow up EP “Tales from the Broken” released earlier this year, Jordan says, “It was about maturing my sound, there’s a smokier, darker sound to the second EP, it reflects the times we’re living in and the poets and artists I’ve been immersing myself in.”
Moderators
Tim Ingham: Editor and Founder, Music Business Worldwide
Tim Ingham founded Music Business Worldwide (MBW) in 2015. The site’s news, insight and analysis have quickly developed into essential reading for professionals across the global music industry – from those in studios to those in executive corner offices.
Tim is a well-known music industry commentator and was editor of UK trade title Music Week for four years before stepping down in late 2014. He has written about the music industry for the likes of The Guardian, The Independent, The Observer, The Daily Mail, and NME.
In 2014, Tim was named one of the world’s 500 Most Influential Britons – and one of the 20 most influential British music execs – by The Sunday Times & Debrett’s. This year, alongside the likes of Emeli Sande, he is accepting the BASCA Gold Badge – an award bestowed by British songwriters to those deemed to have ‘worked tirelessly in supporting the UK songwriting and composing community’.
Outside of MBW, Tim is a Non-Exec Director of IMPEL (Independent Music Publishers e-Licensing), which represents rights in songs performed by the likes of The Kinks, Bob Marley, One Direction, Pink Floyd, Elvis Presley and Daft Punk.
Ben Homewood: Music Week
Miller Williams: SVP, Creative at Kobalt Music
Miller Williams began his career in Nashville at Terrace Music Publishing, and moved in London in the early 90’s where he worked at PWL Records, BMG Records, and Sony ATV before setting up Global Talent Publishing. Notable Global signings included Ellie Goulding, Al Shux (“Empire State of Mind”) The Vaccines, and Corinne Bailey Rae. He joined Kobalt in 2012 as Senior VP of Creative, where he is responsible for A&R, signing songwriters and building song catalogues. His most recent signing is Norwegian writer/producer Martin Sjolie, who co-wrote and produced Sigrid’s hit “Don’t Kill My Vibe” among others.
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YouTube Artist Class: Beyond the Music Video
About the session: In Beyond the Music Video, we’ll explore how successful YouTube music channels grow their audience through innovative video strategies.
Meet the Speaker
David Mogendorff: Artist Content & Services, YouTube
David Mogendorff joined YouTube’s Artist Content & Services team in 2015. He works closely with artists, managers and labels to help them grow audiences and manage their presence across YouTube and Google Play Music. His key projects have included Gorillaz’ Saturnz Barz 360 video, Elton John: The Cut, and YouTube Presents Kano & Friends at the Great Escape.
YouTube Artist Class: YouTube Analytics
About the session: YouTube Analytics is your channel’s pulse. In this masterclass, you’ll learn how fans discover your content, how they engage with it, and how to measure your success.
Meet the Speaker
Davy Denke: Music Partner Manager, YouTube
Davy Denke joined Google and YouTube in 2011 and works with different types of Creators to build their presence on the platform. He specializes in Music, working with both YouTube-grown talents and more traditional acts in the UK and France in order to help them make the best out of the platform.
Money Flows: Following the Digital Dollar
About the session: How does money flow from Apple and Spotify to musicians and writers? Panelists in this session will discuss the intricacies of micropayments and how you collect money for your streams online.
Meet the Speakers
Annabella Coldrick: Chief Executive, Music Managers Forum
Annabella Coldrick joined the UK’s Music Managers Forum in January 2016. MMF is the world’s largest professional community of music managers with over 500 members based in the UK with global businesses and a wider network of 1700 managers in the USA. We want a fairer more transparent music industry which operates in the interest of artists and their fans. Annabella brings a wealth of experience to the role having had a career encompassing advocacy in Brussels, commercial and public affairs with Cadbury, government communications at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Head of Public Affairs at Which? and, most recently, as Director of Policy and Research at the Design Council.
Helienne Lindvall: Director of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors (BASCA)
Helienne Lindvall is an award-winning professional songwriter, musician and music and media writer for publications including the Guardian. She’s also Head of Business & Songwriter relations for the song data management platform Auddly, backed by hitmakers Max Martin and Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus.
Hailing from Sweden, she worked as a session singer, recording artist and performer in Stockholm and NYC before settling in London, where she signed a publishing deal with BMG Scandinavia. Since then she’s been working with recording artists on both sides of the Atlantic, including Roger Sanchez and Big Daddy Wilson, collaborating with award-winning writers such as Jörgen Elofsson (Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears), Patrik Berger (Icona Pop, Robyn) and Steve McEwan (Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood). In 2016, her song “A Better Man,” co-written by Andrew Fromm (Backstreet Boys, Mark Anthony) and Peter Kvint (A-ha, Andreas Johnson) made the UK Eurovision finals.
In 2007, Helienne also started writing about music for the Guardian. Helienne is Board Director of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA), and in 2016 she added another string to her bow, as Head of Business & Songwriter Relations for song data management platform Auddly.com. She remains active as a professional musician and songwriter.
Lucie Caswell: CEO, Featured Artists Coalition
Brian Message: Co-Founder, ATC Management
Mark Narraway (Moderator): Business Affairs Manager, Kobalt Music
Mark Narraway is a Senior Business Affairs Manager at Kobalt. Mark joined Kobalt in 2014 and works on the recordings side of the Kobalt business primarily negotiating label service agreements, digital service provider agreements and working for AWAL (Kobalt’s digital distribution platform). Prior to joining Kobalt Mark was seconded to Atlantic Records for six months where he negotiated recording, producer, mixer and sample agreements. Mark trained as a private practice solicitor at Russells Solicitors, one of the pre-eminent music law firms.
Rising Above: Promotion and Marketing in a Streaming Economy
About the session: How do you rise above the other artists online? Our speakers will talk about how music is marketed in streaming environments, including burning issues like playlisting, advertising, and video placement.
Meet the Speakers
David Emery: Global Marketing Strategy, Kobalt/AWAL
David Emery is the VP Global Marketing Strategy for Kobalt Music Recordings, overseeing the marketing strategy for a range of artists including Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ray BLK, Pet Shop Boys, Tom Misch, Lauv, Laura Marling, The Strokes and more.
Previous to that he was the Head of Marketing for Beggars Group Records, where amongst other things he worked on the marketing campaigns for artists like Adele, Radiohead, The xx, The National, Bon Iver, The Strokes, Queens of the Stone Age, Sonic Youth and The White Stripes.
Sammy Andrews: Founder, Deviate Digital
Sammy Andrews has a long history at the forefront of the digital landscape and is considered a leading authority on all things digital as one of the music industry’s leading digital advisors and futurologists. Andrews gained a 360 degree view of the music industry through her background as a concert promoter, artist manager and independent record label founder. She went on to head up digital departments at XIX and Cooking Vinyl Records before joining the board at Entertainment Intelligence but she is now CEO of Deviate Digital, based in Tileyard.
Liz Stokes (Moderator): Editor, Record of the Day
Liz Stokes has spent her entire working life as a music journalist. Starting out as an intern at DJMag during university, going on to help to launch an online music magazine called Rivmixx and later editing the 02 arena’s official magazine, Venue. She has now been Editor at Record of the Day for six years, starting at 5am to compile the subscription daily email and spending the rest of her time interviewing and researching for the weekly magazine.
Gain important insights to take your career to the next level! Get your BBC Amplify tickets before it’s too late. Click here.
Demystifying Streaming Music Data to Grow Your Career
About the session: In these case studies, presenters will offer details into how to access data analytics and how to use them for marketing, touring, and other purposes.
Meet the Speakers
Alex Perrin: Faculty, Berklee College of Music
Alexandre Perrin is Associate Professor of Music Business at Berklee College of Music, Spain. Alexandre has an extensive experience in the consulting and academic field, teaching topics such as Data Analytics, Business Modeling and Economics in the music industry. As the founder of the Berklee Case Center in Boston, he is conducting research about leading firms and innovators in creative industries. Alexandre holds a PhD in Management Science.
Mark Newman: Senior Product Manager, Kobalt/AWAL
Mark is a Senior Product Manager at Kobalt Music Group where he has been for the past 8 years working on Kobalt’s award-winning Portal, mobile app and the more recently launched, AWAL App. He currently leads a team focused on the development of new technology and digital products for AWAL.
Paul Hitchman: President, Kobalt/AWAL
Paul Hitchman is President of Kobalt Music Recordings which is part of the Kobalt Music Group, one of the world’s leading independent music companies. Kobalt Music Recordings includes AWAL, founded in 2004. AWAL is Kobalt’s artist development partner for artists without a label, and helps its members manage and grow their careers with full flexibility, ownership, and control. With local offices around the world, AWAL’s services include digital sales and distribution, playlist promotion, YouTube monetization, member support, A&R and marketing, and real-time data analytics with the ground-breaking AWAL App.
Ari Herstand (Moderator): Founder, Ari’s Take
Most musicians now know Ari Herstand as the DIY musician who has helped them fly with their instruments, book national tours, get songs placed on TV and make more money with their music career – without the help of a label. Herstand’s music business advice blog, Ari’s Take has become the go-to resource for DIY musicians worldwide. He released the best-selling book on the new music industry entitled, How To Make it In The New Music Business (Norton/Liveright Publishing) on December 20th, 2016.
How to Crack Streaming Playlists
About the session: Learn the importance of playlists for breaking new songs and artists, how the playlist ecosystem works, and how to get your music featured on playlists.
Meet the Speakers
Paul Trueman: General Manager, Kobalt/AWAL
Amelie Bonvalot: Director, Digital Accounts/Digital Sales, Kobalt/AWAL
Passionate about music and a digital nerd, Amelie Bonvalot has over five years experience in the music industry both at major and independent labels across Europe and the Middle East. During her time as Director of Digital Accounts/Digital Sales at Kobalt Music Recordings, she has handled international relationships with platforms like Apple, Spotify, Deezer, Google, Amazon, and TIDAL for the territories outside of the Americas. Her main objective is to get artists across the Recordings and AWAL catalogues as much visibility as possible within playlists and work on the digital strategy for album and single launches with these partners.
Expert Conversations: Taking the Next Step
About the session: How to manage the various steps of your career
Meet the Speakers
Paul Hitchman: President, Kobalt/AWAL
Paul Hitchman is President of Kobalt Music Recordings which is part of the Kobalt Music Group, one of the world’s leading independent music companies. Kobalt Music Recordings includes AWAL, founded in 2004. AWAL is Kobalt’s artist development partner for artists without a label, and helps its members manage and grow their careers with full flexibility, ownership, and control. With local offices around the world, AWAL’s services include digital sales and distribution, playlist promotion, YouTube monetization, member support, A&R and marketing, and real-time data analytics with the ground-breaking AWAL App.
Ari Herstand (Moderator): Founder, Ari’s Take
Most musicians now know Ari Herstand as the DIY musician who has helped them fly with their instruments, book national tours, get songs placed on TV and make more money with their music career – without the help of a label. Herstand’s music business advice blog, Ari’s Take has become the go-to resource for DIY musicians worldwide. He released the best-selling book on the new music industry entitled, How To Make it In The New Music Business (Norton/Liveright Publishing) on December 20th, 2016.
We’re so excited to share these discussions. AWAL is committed to helping developing, independent artists grow and strengthen their careers, and BBC Amplify is the perfect opportunity to glean first-person advice from industry experts; discover tips and tricks; and network with influencers, fellow musicians, and more.
Attend these sessions and so much more! Get your BBC Amplify tickets today by clicking here. Keep in mind these sessions are super limited and first-come, first-served, so show up early!
