Sounds Australia

Sounds Australia – Hitting the Road Again in May

As the weather gets hotter in the Northern hemisphere, so too do the opportunities for Australian artists to showcase their talents to the world. The UK is first cab off the rank, with Sounds Australia presenting The Aussie BBQ in London on May 12 at Cargo with 12 bands for a huge 12 hours… plus the obligatory BBQ feast. Buy tickets now.

We then return to Brighton for The Great Escape, with 20 Australian artists hitting the seaside town to no doubt dazzle and delight international delegates and local fans alike.

Come May 21, we head to the even warmer climes of Singapore, where nine Australian artists will showcase at Music Matters, “Asia’s #1 celebration of music discovery”, including a keynote performance from Gurrumul and The Aussie BBQ showcase.

May is also the time to get your applications in for local and international showcasing opportunities later in the year.

Reeperbahn Festival takes place in Hamburg, Germany from 25-28 September and application are open until July 1.



CMJ Music Marathon happens in New York City 15-19 October and applications to play close June 26.

Amsterdam Dance Event, taking place in The Netherlands 16-20 October, also has an application form to showcase (no closing date advertised).

Back home, and Brisbane’s BIGSOUND Live applications have just been extended to May 20. Apply here for the chance to showcase to local and international delegates between 11-13 September.

Keep an eye on Sounds Australia’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for updates on the action as it happens, and don’t forget to download our smartphone app for Android and iPhone for artist and industry profiles, video, audio and contact details.

This March, the SOUNDS AUSTRALIA team hit Toronto for our fourth year at Canadian Music Week. Across the event’s six days, 18 Australian artists rugged up in their winter best and showcased to international and Canadian audiences. The Aussie BBQ was an unmitigated hit, and saw nine performances and countless sausages consumed at the Horseshoe Tavern.

Sound Gallery moved to the beautiful surrounds of the Church of the Holy Trinity, which also served as the venue for the jam-packed Meet the Australians international reception.

Head to the SOUNDS AUSTRALIA Facebook page for more photos from CMW 2013.

SOUNDS AUSTRALIA again hit Austin for SXSW this March, with 47 Australian acts showcasing. The Aussie BBQ returned to venue Maggie Mae’s with 38 performances over 14 hours. It was a huge affair, with some 7000 people coming through the doors to sample delicious BBQ wares and even tastier sounds. The evening saw the debut of Beat Pie, an electronic and hip-hop focused night that had dancefloors heaving and crowds bouncing, and saw SXSW end with a bang.

Alpine at The Aussie BBQ. Pic by Dan Wilkinson

SOUND GALLERY and SHE’LL BE RIGHT were another two showcasing events produced by SOUNDS AUSTRALIA to provide Australian artists with additional opportunities to perform in front of new fans and international industry. Sixth St venue B.D. Riley’s reached capacity and crowds gathered at the windows to watch some of Australia’s best and brightest.

The Beards play Sound Gallery

To facilitate industry networking, SOUNDS AUSTRALIA held a number of events including the popular Tim Tam Slam Sessions and Wide Open Road, a collaboration with Big Day Out and the Screen Producers Association of Australia that brought together delegates from the film, interactive and music industries.

360 at The Aussie BBQ

Performance requests, new connections and positive media have already been flowing in for the Australian artists who showcased, and we’re looking forward to seeing these artists continue to export abroad.

Head to the SOUNDS AUSTRALIA Facebook page for lots of photos from SXSW 2013.

SOUNDS AUSTRALIA is proud to announce the launch of the SOUNDS AUSTRALIA amartphone app, a one stop shop to discover Australian artists and industry active at  international music conferences around the world.

Available now for iOS and Android devices, the app arrives just in time for renowned international events South by Southwest (SXSW) and Canadian Music Week.

The SOUNDS AUSTRALIA app has been designed to function as a reference and discovery tool for users looking for new Australian music, business opportunities, and showcase information on exporting Australian artists and industry working at and around international music conferences.

The app features comprehensive profiles on Australian artists and industry who are active in export markets, and includes bios, contact details, social networks, buy links and video and audio streaming. It allows the user to prioritise and schedule showcase performance times, and includes a map function to locate venues and provide directions to see Australian artists perform.

The SOUNDS AUSTRALIA smartphone app is the perfect tool to help create networking opportunities for the international music industry looking to do business with the Australian music industry.

The SOUNDS AUSTRALIA app is available now on the App Store and Google Play.

INDIE WEEK 2013 – CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Sounds Australia, AIR and the PPCA are now seeking expressions of interest from Australian independent labels to take part in an Australian delegation to the American Association of Independent Music’s (A2IM’s) Indie Week 2013 in New York City this June.

Indie Week 2013 is an member-only conference for record labels and service providers with a strong focus on the exploitation of master recordings, licensing, networking and digital revenue streams. AIR has attended previous Indie Week events and strongly believes that Australian labels will benefit from having a presence at this emerging conference focused on the specific needs of independent music labels.

As such, A2IM have extended 10 invitations to Australian labels. Due to this limited capacity we ask all interested parties to show an expression of interest by filling out this survey – it shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes to complete.

PLEASE NOTE THAT EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST CLOSE ON MONDAY 25TH OF MARCH

Sounds Australia, AIR and the PPCA will host a networking reception during the event and members of the Australian delegation will feature in a panel concerning the Australian market.Indie Week 2012 featured:

• 600+ independent label executives, predominantly from North America.
• Delegations of labels from China and the UK as well as delegates from France, Germany, Spain, Brazil, New Zealand and Japan.
• The 2012 American Independent Music Awards – “The Libera Awards”.
• Extensive executive one-on-one networking featuring labels, digital services and music supervisors from TV, film and advertising.
• Panels on Pan-European licensing, YouTube monetisation.
• Keynote speeches from Pandora’s Tim Westegren and Robert Levine, author of “Free Ride”.
• The development of an independent music “road-map” for best practice.
  Board meetings for WIN (Worldwide Independent Network) and MERLIN.

Please note:

• Indie Week 2013 will be held in New York City on the 18th to 20th of June.
• Sounds Australia’s sponsorship of Indie Week 2013 will cover conference registration for a small group of delegates as well as participation in panel discussions and one-on-one networking.
• Australian attendees are responsible for booking and funding all flights, transfers and accommodation themselves.
• A2IM’s Indie Week 2013 is an “invitation only” event and not open to the general public.
• Due to limited capacity and the small number of invitations, all attending Australian labels must have a catalogue of at least five albums and represent the music of at least three artists. It is expected that they are digitally pro-active and are doing business internationally.

For more information please contact Nick O’Byrne at AIR – nick@air.org.au