AIR’s Indie-Con & A2IM’s Indie Week Australian Edition Reveal First Speaker Announcements For 2025

The first round of speakers for two major Australian music industry events, the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR)’s Indie-Con Australia Conference and A2IM’s Indie Week Australian Edition, has been announced.

The annual conference events will return to Australia’s first-ever UNESCO-designated City of Music, Adelaide, from Wednesday, 30 July, to Friday, 1 August.

With the full program set to be unveiled later this month, the first speaker announcement is pretty exciting. It includes A2IM representatives Dr. Richard James Burgess, MBE (President and CEO) and Lisa Hresko (General Manager), Hopeless Records’ Ian Harrison, Rough Trade’s Melanie Sheehan, Secretly’s Anna Bond and Ali Murphy, and more—see the full announcement below.

Indie-Con will continue with its 2025 edition thanks to support from the South Australian Government through the Music Development Office. This year’s conference will feature international industry leaders and address challenges and opportunities within the Australian music sector.

Along with A2IM’s Indie Week Australian Edition, the three-day event will culminate in MusicSA’s Scouted event, which will highlight emerging and unsigned talent across South Australia.

AIR CEO Maria Amato said of the forthcoming events, “We look forward to welcoming speakers from around the globe to connect with the Australian independent recorded music community, discuss issues that affect our industry and explore opportunities for global growth.”

Tickets to the 2025 Indie-Con Australia Conference and A2IM’s Indie Week Australian Edition are now available here – South Australian creatives and labels can access a $70 discount using the code SA2025 at the checkout.

Indie-Con Australia Conference and A2IM’s Indie Week Australian Edition

2025 International Speakers – First Announcement

Dr. Richard James Burgess, MBE. President and CEO A2IM, USA

Lisa Hresko, General Manager A2IM, USA

Kaoruko Hill, GM, APAC, Merlin, Japan

Anna Bond, Director of Planning and Initiatives, Secretly Distribution, USA

Guji Lorenzana, A&R Business Development Symphonic Distribution APAC, USA/Philippines

Ian Harrison, EVP Hopeless Records, USA

Melanie Sheehan, US General Manager, Rough Trade Records, USA

David Barnes, COO, Rhymesayers, USA

Salvatore Maicki, Senior A&R, The FADER Label, USA

Ali Murphy, Senior International Marketing Director, Secretly Group