WAM Festival Speaker Profile Millie Millgate (Sounds Australia)

Name: Millie Millgate

Organisation and Position: Sounds Australia, Executive Producer

How did you first become involved in the music business? Started as the Marketing and Activities Assistant at Macquarie University Union and was promoted to Entertainment Manager the following year.

What's your area of expertise and what experience do you have? Music Export. As Executive Producer for Sounds Australia I've been responsible for the roll out and representation of the Australian music industry at key international music events, including SXSW, The Great Escape, Canadian Music Week, MIDEM, CMJ, WOMEX and Music Matters and have been instrumental in the growth of Sounds Australia worldwide, having overseen the marketing, networking and showcasing activity undertaken at 40 international events (many multiple times), in 44 cities, across 16 countries since 2009.

What topics will you be mostly talking about at WAM? Exporting, showcasing and international touring.

What do you hope to personally take away from the WA Music Conference and WAM Festival events? I'm keen to meet up with old friends and make new ones and am particularly keen to see the next crop of WA artists that are looking likely to head overseas in the next 12-18 months.

What's one question about the music industry you'd love to have the answer to? Not so much just the music industry however imperative to what we do within it, I'd love to know what the Australian dollar is going to do well in advance.

One piece of advice to make it in the music biz? Common sense and good manners go a really long way.