Face The Music Speaker Focus: Mikey Cahill

Company: News Corp - Rock City Columnist & Video Content Crusher

How did you first become involved in the music business? Piercing my buddy's ear with Strongbow Sweet as antiseptic before U2's Zoomerang Melbourne show. Perfect angle. Then I started as a journalist for Buzz Magazine and got my big break with Inpress using Mentos sticks.

What's your area of expertise and what experience do you have? All of the musics. My experience: Getting groped by Molly Meldrum. Consensually.

What topics will you be mostly talking about at Face The Music? Let There Be Rock City: a bespoke keynote on my 11 years as a weekly local music columnist in Herald Sun (daily circulation 350,000+). Eleven key moments plus special guests.

What's been the biggest change in the music business you've seen over the past 12 months? Face The Music catching up to Brisbane's BIGSOUND, now neck and neck as the premier music conference in Australia.

What do you think will be the biggest issue affecting the music industry in the next 12 months and why? Artists deciding whether to put their albums on CD and how many copies they should make. Also, whether Spotify can continue on their merry way.

What advice would you give young practitioners in your area starting out today? Be persistent, compassionate and eat two bananas every day.