BIGSOUND 2016 Speaker Focus: Vanessa Picken

Organisation: Comes With Fries, Founder/Director

How did you first become involved in the music business and how did you end up where you are today? Like most, my heart leapt over my head and I ended up at EMI as a label manager at Capitol Records. Nowadays, I navigate the digital landscape for independent artists and industry. 

What's been the biggest change in the music business you've seen over the past 12 months? The drive to navigate the music industry as it is today instead of looking at the past. Seeing the positives in a fragmented industry and paving an individual and unique career that's true to oneself. 

What do you think will be the biggest issue affecting the music industry in the next 12 months and why? The music industry is awash with big data. We need to embrace the data, enable the data, find the most intelligent uses for it and balance data vs art. 

What advice would you give young practitioners in your area starting out today? Get involved. Learn. Be open and adaptable. Get connected. Be driven. Have fun. 

What will you be primarily discussing during your appearance at the BIGSOUND conference? We will be exploring the ways in which the roles within labels are working together to pave the way for their artists to cut through the digital clutter and shape the future for the industry. 

What are you hoping that people will be able to learn from your panel/interview? To find out how labels are finding new artists, how they are finding new audiences to connect with, and how they are working the musical landscape together to cut through. 

What do you personally hope to take away from your time at BIGSOUND? New connections, new favourite artists and a greater understanding of where our industry is headed. 

Which acts are you most looking forward to checking out at BIGSOUND? Allan Smithy, Gawurra, Jack River, Lastlings, LANKS, A.D.K.O.B, Middle Kids, Alex Lahey and Young Tapz. 

When and where is your panel/interview? 8 Sep, The Judith Wright Centre, 11.20am.