Published 5 July, 2019

CHANGES returned for its second year in 2019 with a renewed focus on the future of music and at new headquarters, within Abbotsford Convent.

CHANGES is a collaboration between The Push, Yarra City Council, Music Victoria, APRA AMCOS, VMDO and the Victorian music community, with a focus on MUSIC, TECH, TALKS & IDEAS.

As a major partner, the Victorian Music Development Office’s focus was to deliver a group of international critical thinkers, which included:

• Jake Beaumont-Nesbitt (UK) - advisor to the International Music Managers Forum (IMMF) on new digital business models. Music rights and technology consultant with clients including Radiohead, The Eagles, Beyonce, Rihanna, Nelly Furtado, Fatboy Slim and The Clash.

• Chris Carey (UK) - Founder of FastForward Music Conference and music industry entrepreneur, strategist and data expert with clients including Spotify, Sony Music, The O2 and BMG Music.

• Cameo Carlson (USA) - Trailblazer at the forefront of the digital music revolution from its earliest stages and President of mtheory Nashville with clients including Keith Urban, Kacey Musgraves, Amy Winehouse, Lil Wayne and Jack Johnson.

While in Melbourne, the VMDO international guests engaged with the music industry through a series of workshops and meetings; and also presented keynote presentations at CHANGES – covering topics:

• 2020 Vision: The future of the global music business – Cameo Carlson, Jake Beaumont-Nesbitt, Chris Carey and Bonnie Dalton

• Swimming in data, but still thirsty? – Cameo Carlson, Jake Beaumont-Nesbitt and Chris Carey

• How to sell music and influence people – Chris Carey

On DAY 1, the VMDO and Chris Carey of Media Insight Consulting announced some of the key findings of the VMDO Consumer Insights research, which revealed:

• Album listening isn’t dead and CDs are still in demand
• YouTube is the biggest music streaming service in Australia
• Live music has a mass appeal and Australian music matters most
• Music discovery is driven through traditional media and streaming
• Radio still really matters for listening, gigs and discovery

“The survey findings help us explain the attitudes that underpin consumer behaviours – they join the dots so we can understand how Australians connect with music through different access points from streaming services to purchasing tickets to a live performances,” said Carey.

Read on to explore the findings in full and download a copy of the presentation.

Yorta Yorta yiyirr Artist, & VMDO First Peoples Music Business Manager, Neil Morris curated the Still Here showcase at the Evelyn Hotel on DAY 1 of CHANGES.

On DAY 2, Neil discussed The Future of Hip Hop with a panel of experienced industry within the Melbourne scene. He also lead the Sound Past, Sound Present, Sound Futures conversation with a panel of First Peoples voices including artists Allara Briggs Pattison, Paul Gorrie and Crystal Clyne (Lady Lash).

The group addressed why they practise music, how their connection to this land of thousands of year leads to their involvement in music and what a perfect future working with Sound looks like both within the music industry and elsewhere for First Peoples upon this land.

Throughout the CHANGES week, VMDO staff members Bonnie Dalton (General Manager), Katie Stewart (Music Business Manager), Neil Morris (Music Business Manager - First Peoples) and Sianne van Abkoude (Communications Coordinator) facilitated important connections for the Victorian music community with international and local contacts.

Cameo Carlson spoke at the 6th Networking Breakfast within the White Sky Hub. Cameo shared her tips for international artist development and what happens when an artist manager teams up with mtheory. Cameo then went on to meet with 12 x export-ready Victorian artist managers, as part of the Experts in Residence Program.

Sianne van Abkoude and Neil managed two workshops for the Blak Sound program, Copyright 101 with Michael Hutchings (APRA AMCOS) and Jake Beaumont-Nesbitt (IMMF), as well as Releasing Music with Mardi Caught (The Annex) and Spotify.

The VMDO also hosted the international delegates on Friday afternoon, taking them on Aboriginal History Walk with Uncle Colin Hunter and to Nocturnal x NAIDOC week with Briggs, Alice Sky and Soju Gang.

The connections, learnings and ideas that came out of CHANGES week were both rewarding and productive. We’re looking forward to doing it all again in 2020!

CHANGES is supported by the Victorian Government through the Community Support Fund.