Face The Music Drop Massive First Speaker Announce

Melbourne music summit Face The Music are expanding their horizons this year with a kickass set of speakers, live music for the first time and a fresh, new event format. To get the ball rolling, the first speaker announcement is here this morning and it should really prick your ears up.

The 12 names they've dropped today are really in the thick of the music industry; they're core members who know it inside out and this is your chance to catch their bright ideas at what will be some of the boldest, most innovative music discussion panels all year.

Leading the announce this year is American music blog/vlogger The Needle Drop — that is, Anthony Fantano, the self-proclaimed "internet's busiest music nerd". With a number of awards under his belt and nearly 750,000 YouTube subscribers, Fantano's word on new music is both influential and interesting.

You can also catch Bandcamp Weekly podcast host Andrew Jervis, bringing 15 years of experience in A&R to his role of label and artist outreach at Bandcamp, home to prestigious labels like Sub Pop, Epitaph and more.

On the Aussie front, beloved triple j radio host Zan Rowe will be in attendance, along with music icon Robert Forster, Grammy-nominated neo-soul outfit Hiatus Kaiyote's Nai Palm and Vivid Sydney's Festival Curator Ben Marshall.

Also on the bill are Ricki Askin (Head of Music Licensing & Archival, VICE Media), Woody McDonald (Music Director, Meredith Music Festival), Lorrae McKenna (Remote Control Records) and a handful more.

Face The Music envelops Melbourne from November 17 to November 18, with co-programmers Ashley Sambrooks and Zac Abroms stating, "In 2016 we at Face The Music have instigated a raft of changes to the event format, content and brand with a view towards presenting a more innovative and forward thinking contemporary music summit with an increased focus on fostering interstate and international development, that's still iconically Melbourne at its heart."

Check out the full first speaker announce below.