Indie-Con 2019 To Unpack The Music Industry’s Biggest Challenges

What will the Australian music scene look like in five years? That question was at the forefront of Maria Amato’s mind when she was programming music conference Indie-Con 2019.

The two-day event will return to Adelaide this month, taking over Lot Fourteen from July 25 – 26.

As well as the aforementioned question, Amato wanted to look at how record labels might evolve as well as explore current challenges the music industry faces and more. 

Over the next 12 months, she expects one of the biggest challenges the music industry will face will be “adapting to change and maximising growth opportunities with limited resources” alongside “encouraging radio and DSPs to increase Australian independent music airplay, finding new ways to increase revenue streams and increase Australian independent market share in both the domestic and international market”.

A number of new elements have been introduced to the conference as it enters its third year.

“Insights Into China featuring two international guest speakers, Alessandro Pavanello from Kanjian and Lolly Fan from Maybe Mars, as well Sync Outside The Box with some key industry figures as well as Graham Donald from the Seven Network,” she says.

“We will also lift the lid on streaming, explore what a label will look like in five years’ time and discuss the artist as an entrepreneur. Delve into gaming, esports, tech, copyright, wellbeing and the anatomy of a deal. We will also have presentations from YouTube Music, Spotify, Ditto and Jaxsta and provide workshops on leadership, HR, smart marketing and financial literacy.”

Of this year’s packed conference program, Amato shared a few she’s really excited about.

“We are blessed with a great bunch of speakers including our keynotes, Helen Smith from Impala (Brussels) and Thaddeus Rudd from Mom + Pop (USA),” she says.

“My first love was and still is to a large degree, accounting because it informs all key business growth decisions. I am really looking forward to delivering the financial literacy presentation together with Banks Group.”

Events like Indie-Con are important because, as Amato explains, “they provide the small business operators in the independent music sector with the opportunities to dissect issues that affect them, gain professional development skills and connect with speakers and industry.”

“I hope [attendees] enjoy it and come away with some food for thought, increased knowledge and networks to help them drive their own respective businesses forward,” she adds.

“Our conference is held in conjunction with the 2019 AIR Awards – an invite-only industry event that celebrates the success of Australia’s independent music sector. At the conclusion of the conference, all Indie-Con delegates will get free entry to SCOUTED, the brainchild of Music SA that will feature a plethora of South Australian artist performances across several stages.”

Head to the Indie-Con website for tickets and the full program.