Participants & Guest Speakers For 2024 Music Writer's Lab Revealed

The Music Writer’s Lab is returning to BIGSOUND next week (Tuesday, 3 – Friday, 6 September), today announcing the writers who will receive mentorship from some of Australia’s finest, most established music journalists.

Already impressive, this year’s Music Writer’s Lab has locked in Lyndsey Havens, the Deputy Editor of the US edition of Billboard, as a closing keynote speaker. A journalist who’s written cover stories on Billie Eilish, Post Malone, and Lil Yachty, Havens is also a moderator for She Is The Music and The Grammy Museum.

This year’s mentors are Tyler Jenke – who recently announced that he’s writing a book on TISM and will feature on The Music’s Local Journalism Project, Jack Latimore (The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian), Adele Luamanuvae (The Snacc Pacc on FBi Radio, Acclaim Magazine, Junkee, also part of The Music’s Local Journalism Project), and Owen Morawitz (The Pitch of Discontent, Bandcamp, The Line Of Best Fit).

After viewing applications from across the country, four writers were selected to receive mentorship at this year’s Music Writer’s Lab, and they are: Adeline Chai (NSW), Shambé Olweny-Pu (VIC), Keeley Thompson (QLD), and Tierney White (NT).

The participants won’t just hear from their mentors but also a group of guest speakers, including The Music’s Dan Cribb, Vivienne Kelly (Sound Story), Tait McGregor (2022 mentor, freelance journalist), and The Australian’s Andrew McMillen. In addition to the guest speakers, the emerging writers will hear from Support Act on prioritising their well-being in a busy industry.

The Music Writer’s Lab will also share another exciting announcement as BIGSOUND approaches.

This year’s Music Writer’s Lab was developed in partnership with MusicNT and Music Australia. MusicNT’s Executive Director, Mark Smith, said of the collaboration: “We are excited to bring the Music Writers Lab back to BIGSOUND in 2024, continuing the goal of amplifying music writing across the country.

“Since its inception, we have seen the focus only increase on the power of music writing to support the music sector, and returning to BIGSOUND brings further opportunities to support the next wave of music writers in this country.”