Beacon
AMPLIFYING YOUR PROJECT AND CUTTING THROUGH THE NOISE IN 2022
With more and more acts getting stuck in with their release and live strategy now that the industry is feeling increasingly ‘open for business’, it can feel that we are all competing for the same attention, facing more and more barriers to getting heard by wide audiences and that those who are well-connected, have large finances behind them, or even just having geography on their side will be the ones that cut through the noise.
For this second edition of Beacon, we’re going to look at different ways of amplifying your project by hearing from those who are creating their own pathway through the modern music industry. We will be speaking to artists who are creating communities around their project and professionals that are innovating and fighting for a fairer future. We will be exploring what that future might look like and dig into the ongoing campaign around streaming, as well as how we can make the most out of what’s available to independent artists. With so many social media platforms and the pressure to spend so much time on them, we will look at how to navigate our online output in a manageable and effective way.
SUNDAY 27TH FEBRUARY 2022 // 11AM-5.30PM
We all know that this industry is constantly changing and evolving. Artists are taking responsibility to create safe spaces for their fans, or to speak up on behalf of each other on inequalities that are encountered. More and more are speaking out about unrealistic expectations on how much of their life is spent online promoting themselves and that the level of expertise needed to negotiate the different social media platforms would gain them jobs in marketing rather than performing.
Beacon signals a brighter future. With live shows returning and spotlights glaring on major issues with how artists get paid, there is much to learn in order to shape the many ways you can propel your music career. Our industry is built on mavericks, activists and those who won’t settle for the accepted way it’s been done before. Beacon is your chance to get inspired and think about how you can build your project beyond your current barriers.
How can you maximise your streaming potential? How can you create a community around your project? How can we pick and choose what platforms we should be using? What is being done in the modern music industry to ensure that artists can create a more sustainable future?
Join us online for a day of ideas and solutions led by industry experts and inspiring artists who are making waves in the modern music industry. The line-up is set to include:
Tom Gray
Tom is a musician, songwriter and industry campaigner, recently voted in as Chair of The Ivors Academy. Affectionately known at Future Yard as ‘Mr Streaming’ Tom’s frustration of how artists and songwriters are disregarded when it comes to equitable income from streaming and fair representation to tackle outdated copyright laws that benefit labels rather than creators. This has resulted in a huge social media campaign – #BrokenRecord which has yielded results already, with a Government enquiry looking at the streaming model, Parliamentary involvement and now all three major labels cancelling the historic debt of unrecouped artists. We’re going to dig into what this all means for new artists and songwriters and what the light at the end of the tunnel looks like with regards to streaming.
Crawlers
Undoubtedly one of the hottest bands in the UK, it’s been an absolute treat to watch the rise of Crawlers going from playing to empty rooms pre-pandemic, to building up such a dedicated community of fans through Tik Tok and other social media interactions, creating and releasing music that touches on incredibly personal yet universal themes and now amassing 20 million streams on their latest single, selling out their first UK tour, signing to Polydor and Interscope and announcing their first US tour. We’re going to be talking about the growth of their community of fans, their ethos when it comes to building safe spaces and protecting their audience alongside a look back at how they’ve used social media to let people into their world and take their growing audience along for the ride.
Ceri Dixon
After working closely with the streaming platforms at major labels on global campaigns for a whole breadth of acts, Ceri is now an artist manager working with Liverpool-based, Chess Club Records signed The Let Go and Irish electronic duo 49th & Main. Alongside this she is Head of UK Digital Partnerships for Redlight Management and is responsible for all the digital strategies, relationships and partnerships for the company’s roster. We’ll be chatting with Ceri about not only the challenges faced by new artists, but the opportunities too. We’ll be gathering up things to bear in mind when putting together release strategy and discussing parts of this that may be misunderstood or overlooked.
Yaw Owusu
Yaw is one of those individuals in Liverpool that people gravitate towards. A supportive and knowledgeable figure that works tirelessly to uncover talent and provide opportunities for them to bridge the gap between working regionally and nationally. His lived experience in the industry means that we can’t think of a better person to discuss the barriers that many musicians face in cutting through the noise and elevating their status, turning a passion into a career. It’s important to highlight the issues but always look towards building solutions and uncovering opportunities for new artists facing difficulties with reaching wider audiences, larger budgets and industry assistance.
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