‘A Thousand Days Of Failure’ In Line For Artists

Artists have been told to prepare for years of disappointment in the music industry as Face The Music's management panel managed expectations this morning.

John Watson, who's guided the careers of Silverchair, Cold Chisel and Gotye, said, “With triple j airplay for example, it might take three years to get… That's over a thousand days of failure”

Fellow panellist Bill Cullen, who manages Paul Kelly, Sarah Blasko and Kate Miller-Heidke, admitted that in the current environment: “You've got to be fucking amazing to cut through.”

Watson said bands should look to take “little wins, day-by-day”, particularly with social media interaction.

He described Kate Miller-Heidke as a prime example of “21st century artists” given her relationship with fans and her record-breaking crowdfunding effort.

Miller-Heidke's manager Cullen added, “ABC is the only airplay Kate gets. She'd love to get airplay on triple j, doesn't get much commercial airplay and so that's where the direct-to-fan comes in.”

He also described her as an artist who wanted different things from her manager: “On the budget side she trusts me and doesn't want to know about it. When it comes to social media she's incredible and that's where the crowdfunding thing comes from.”