CHANGES is set to return in 2019 with a renewed focus on where the future of music will take us.
The event is curated by programmer Emily Ulman and will this year be held at the Abbotsford Convent in Collingwood, with live music events to take place across the Fitzroy area.
Ahead of the event, and in recognition of Creative Victoria’s Music Passport program, which will bring influential Brazilian industry figures to Melbourne, The Music asked some of the event's international speakers about their impression of the Australian music industry.
Find out their thoughts below and click through to their profiles to find out more.
Fabrício Nobre, Bananada Festival, Brasil
"Australian Music, especially rock (From AC/DC to Tame Impala), is really big and influential in Brazil"
Cameo Carlson, MTheory, Nashville
"From my perch in Nashville (and formerly in NYC and San Francisco), I see the AU industry similarities to us… a small and vibrant music community that has competition on the A&R side, but is very close in terms of creating ways to help artists advance. I LOVE that the government acknowledges the importance of music and helps artists with funds and resources. I believe the media and promotions opportunities can be challenging for “outsiders” as it understandably focuses on local acts."
Nando Machado, ForMusic, Brasil
"I´ve always saw the Aussie music industry as a vibrant, original and creative one. The biggest challenge, I think, is to take these very talented artists to a next level by developing their career overseas. I see all these initiatives such as Sounds Australia, BIGSOUND, CHANGES and so forth; these guys are doing such an important job, they are building the future of Australian culture. It is so important to help develop new artists and Australians value that. I really love the fact that Australians are not prejudiceD in terms of music genres as well; I´ve been to some Australian music events where I saw many artists from complete different styles supporting each other. I believe it has to do with the mateship of the Australians in general and it's also cultural. That is so beneficial when it applies to music and arts in general.
Carlos Mills, Mills Records, Brasil
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"This is a view I still need to develop further. I know that the export office has a very active role and that Australia is one of the top ten music markets, with lots of pop-rock artists."
Ana Garcia, Molotov Cocktail Festival, Brasil
"Australia makes great music! But I still think that the industry is not well promoted in my country Brazil, so I know very little. It is one of the largest music market and live shows seems to be very important to the country."
"To be honest, I don’t know about the Australian music scene so deeply. When I think of Australian music, rock and folk come to my mind. I know also that you have many great venues and relatively small cities, and it's easy to catch great live music. I’m really curious to see this closer. The experience I had with Australian artists, was a tour that I made in Brazil for the band The Beautiful Girls."
For more details about CHANGES 2019 and how you can get involved, follow the link here.
