WAMCon Focus: Michael Tucak

Organisation: creativecapacity.com.au - Lawyer, creative/legal

How did you first become involved in the music business and how did you end up where you are today? By not being a musician, but loving everything about music! I co-hosted RTRFM's Homegrown show in the early '90s, interviewing Jebediah, Eskimo Joe, John Butler etc, then as a young lawyer got into music law. 

What's been the biggest change in the music business you've seen over the past 12 months? The continuing challenges facing live music really worry me - lockouts show a fundamental misunderstanding of what live music is all about. Seriously! Also, unfortunately, violent fence jumpers at festivals is quite a disturbing trend.

What do you think will be the biggest issue affecting the music industry in the next 12 months and why? Continuing to show the real 'value' of music as an essential component of human experience - more than just a streamable 'commodity' but something to engage in quality experiences with, whether live or other ways.

What advice would you give young practitioners in your area starting out today? In music law, get a wide range of general legal experience, then specialise. Get to know as much about the music/entertainment industry as you can, and the people in it, then start applying your skills.

What will you be primarily discussing during your appearance at the WAMCon? How important all forms of creativity, including music, are to our collective future - we'll be very reliant on creating new solutions, opportunities and approaches. We need to build this 'creative capacity' right now.

What are you hoping that people will be able to learn from your panel/interview? Music is much more than entertainment - it offers us an international language, the ability to experience and share emotion, connect, collaborate, and in fact develop creative mental abilities - and it works best live.

What do you personally hope to take away from your time at WAMCon? New conversations, connections and ideas, an scope for future collaborations on how we can keep building a strong WA music industry that has a broad, satisfied audience and gives our musos long and sustainable careers. 

Which acts are you most looking forward to checking out at WAMFest? Lionizer. Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving. Lucy Peach. Riley Pearce. Mei Saraswati - actually, how can you narrow down a list like wam.org.au/event/wamfest-2016-saturday-spectacular! Or the Friday showcases.