Face The Music conference returns this November

09 September 2011

by Poppy Reid

The Face The Music conference is back for its fourth year at The Arts Centre in Melbourne this November.

Presented by The Push, Face The Music will run from Friday November 18 to Saturday November 19 and feature panel discussions, keynote presentations, music showcases, and one-on-one artist development interviews with music industry personnel.

New to the non-profit event this year will be The Push's joining with the Association of Artist Managers (AAM) as sponsors to the Face The Music conference.

The conference will feature informative sessions for music managers by some of the industry’s respected managers, including Bill Cullen (Paul Kelly, Sarah Blasko, Seeker Lover Keeper, Clare Bowditch), Catherine Haridy (Eskimo Joe, Jebediah, Bob Evans), Correne Wilkie (The Cat Empire) and Mark Richardson (Bertie Blackman, Kimbra).

Executive Director of AAM, Nicole B-Z says: “On behalf of AAM, our members and board, I am honoured to not only endorse Face the Music as a stand-out skills development opportunity, where musician and industry alike can learn from and inspire each other, but to also be a partner in the 2011 program is a double whammy.

“The attending panelists, discussion topics and artist presentations enable the earliest beginner and the seasoned veteran to re-think and re-discover their love for the business of music.”

The Cat Empire’s manager Correne Wilkie said she walked away from a high paid professional career ten years ago to pursue band management.

“I wasn’t handed a black book of industry contacts and a leather jacket. No one took me under their wing. I was told more than once, ‘Sweetheart, you and your band are going nowhere fast’, by men wearing black leather jackets and carrying black books; but I was deeply passionate about the fact that The Cat Empire was unique enough to be a worldwide sensation, and that it was critical that audiences all around the world should get to enjoy this great Australian act. Mine is a story about how passion, talent, determination and a shared vision can combine to create a whole lot of what some people might call luck.”

Register for Face The Music 2011 at Facethemusic.org.au or via phone (03) 9380 1277.