What To Expect From WAM Festival's 2014 Conference

We heard the sad news last week that both Ya Ya’s and The Beat are set to close their doors. It’s an immense loss and a massive blow for the local scene especially because, as Sanders explains, Perth’s music scene is as strong as ever. “It seems like there are amazing new bands starting up all the time, and there are some great venues working hard to support them. You can pretty much walk in to venues like The Bird or Mojo’s on any day of the week and see something mind-blowing that you’ve never heard of before. Then before you know it, you’ve got a new favourite band.”
The WAM Festival, which takes place over three days, offers anyone interested in local music the opportunity to discover and learn more about the local music climate. A purchased ticket to the conference grants you free entry to the opening party, the awards night and other WAM events, and Hodgson is happy to emphasise just how much you can get out of it. “There’s a lot on offer this year, but the main thing we’ve tried to facilitate is providing genuine opportunities for WA’s industry. For example, normally WA acts have to travel to the eastern states in the hope that a booking agent or label rep will be at the show, but this year we’ve invited four representatives from some of Australia’s finest booking agencies to speak about what they look for in an artist, to meet people and scope some fresh WA talent, and hopefully be impressed enough to sign up some acts.”
“It may not be quite as large an event than last year, but it’s certainly going to be better.” Saunders continues, “Last year the WAM Festival was this massive sprawling beast spread across town, and I think a lot of really good content wasn’t able to be given the attention it deserved from punters and industry as a result. This year the festival is more streamlined and focused, which will make it a much more rewarding experience for artists, industry reps and the general public alike.”
Hodgson recognises it’s easy to be overwhelmed by what’s on offer. “The best way to get the most out of the WA Music Conference is to devote the entire two days to checking out as many sessions as possible, including the side events. Don’t be afraid to grab the business cards of the speakers you really want to meet straight after they finish their panels. It’s the easiest way to introduce yourself and a good lead-in to having a chat with them... who knows what fantastic opportunities these introductions could lead to down the track? The world’s your oyster, folks, and networking is king! Luckily we have a heap of one-on-one networking sessions soon to be announced, exclusive to WA Music Conference pass holders. We can safely say that never before have we assembled a group of speakers with as much power and ability to actually create amazing opportunities for [everyone]; whether you’re a muso, manager, media representative or just a massive fan, it’s not to be missed.”