Following a mammoth event last year, Australia's premier music industry gathering BIGSOUND has announced a number of changes ahead of its 2018 summit to coincide with artist applications opening today .
Due to a record-breaking 40% increase in patrons at BIGSOUND 2017, a new format is being launched which in turn will introduce a new level of participation and discussion from its attendees; while punters will still get the chance to sit in on panels and keynotes, this year they will have the opportunity to contribute to new forum sessions.
"We want to use BIGSOUND this year as an opportunity to create growth not just in the music business and economy, but culturally and socially too," BIGSOUND Executive Programmer, Maggie Collins, said.
"We will be inviting people from across the community to help us reimagine the future of the music industry and open our eyes to new ways of doing things, including thought-leaders from other fields like sport, entertainment, design, psychology and more."
Meanwhile, BIGSOUND 2018 will also have an increased focus on First Nations people in the Australian music industry and has today announced the addition of new First Nations producer, Alethea Beetson, who will work with the team to enhance the cultural appropriateness of this year's gathering.
The September event will open with a welcome event, putting Indigenous music front and centre of the 2018 experience.
read more: Here's everything that went down at bigsound 2017
"BIGSOUND, as Australia’s largest gathering for the contemporary music industry, showcases our songwriters and performers, and importantly brings together our emerging talent and national and international market leaders," Queensland's Minister For The Arts, Leeanne Enoch, said.
"The new elements QMusic has introduced to BIGSOUND this year, including celebrating the contribution First Nations people make to the music industry and a stronger focus on a unified music community, will inspire and enable artists and musicians to take their career to the next level."
QMusic CEO, Joel Edmondson, added, "The new BIGSOUND program will be a revolution in the way the Australian music industry comes together to make change happen.
"We realise that conferences based purely on a ‘talking heads’ model no longer have a place in a 2018 music industry that values the contributions of diverse peoples.
"BIGSOUND has always been here to create opportunities for networking and learning, and with this year’s event, we will be at the cutting edge of both."
BIGSOUND 2018 will go ahead in Fortitude Valley from 4-7 September and conference tickets are on sale now; for more details, including information on artist applications, click here.
