| | | | Massive thanks to everyone who joined us for Selector PRO UK/Latin America. Delivered by the British Council, AIM, Biche (Colombia), Niceto Club (Argentina) and Fundación Nuevas Bandas (Venezuela)! An incredible 2,700 people tuned in from 58 countries around the world across the two days.
Through Selector PRO, the British Council connects professionals from the independent music sector around the world with their counterparts in the UK for cultural and business collaboration. Selector PRO provides the platform to learn from each other, share stories and discuss the biggest topics affecting the contemporary music industry.
Earlier in the week, a closed Cohort of 45 independent music professionals from across the UK and partner countries took part in focussed insight and networking sessions, laying the foundations for long-term working relationships. We hope this leads to much more cross-border creative collaboration.
Sessions included a revealing chat between Daniel Miller (Founder, Mute Records) and David McGiniss (Mute Song). When asked what qualities were needed to build an independent music business, Daniel said: "1) Treat artists fairly and give them the freedom to create, 2) Luck, 3) A good distributor, 4) Absolute passion." Later, a workshop on live booking opportunities for grassroots artists in Latin America and the UK was delivered by Lucy Atkinson, Agent - Earth Agency (UK) and Paulo Sanchez, Venue Manager, Colsubsidio Roberto Arias Pérez (CO).
The publicly-broadcast conference strand of Selector PRO UK/Latin America saw a packed programme of panel discussions and interviews around some of the biggest topics affecting the global music industry today, including practical knowledge on doing better business internationally, digital marketing, maximising your income online, live streaming and social and climate change.
INSIGHTS
On "Digital Marketing Hacks" - Olivia Edwards Allen (AWAL) (UK) said: "If you focus on purely on followers, it doesn't connect with the real world. You need to focus on engagement and creating your top fans."
On music and the climate emergency - Graciela Melitsko Thornton, Creative Green Lead, Julie's Bicycle (UK) gave advice for lowering your carbon footprint in music: "Promote the use of public transportation to your events. Offer financial incentives e.g. a discount on tickets if you take public transport. The best impact is 'good planning' with as much time as possible."
On opportunities with live streaming, Luis Santos, Audiovisual Director – AllArena (AR) said: "One must never underestimate the value of a live stream. We really think how we're going to communicate it. Livestreams don't just show a show. They try to convey an experience and sensations to people at home like being surrounded by 50,000 people."
Day two kicked off with market overviews of Venezuela and Argentina, with Venezuelan DJ Lorenzo Martinez on listener demographics, saying: "Venezuela is arriving late to the [digital] party. YouTube is the most used app for playing, searching and discovering new music. It represents 80% of the market in the country - probably because it's free."
On maximising income from music online, Stephen O'Reilly (UK), Director, i:e music, the management company representing Robbie Williams, Passenger and many grassroots independent artists, said: "Which platforms work best? I:e music focus a lot on directing artists to their own website. Constantly when possible sending people from Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to the artist website where we can collect artist contact details and info. We've started to work closely with Shopify."
On international collaboration, Emily Moxon (UK), MD of Brownswood said: "Working in music is naturally collaborative. There's never been a success because of just one person. We've become better at collaborating over the years, and last year we did a big project in South Africa. It felt like a beacon of light in this crappy year."
During the powerful discussion chaired by AIM Chair and Womxn In CTRL Founder, Nadia Khan (UK), Barbi Recanati, Artist & Founder - Goza Records (AR) said: "Rock hasn't been here for that long - around the same time punk started in England and by the time big movements were happening there, here we had a dictatorship. But it was through music we were clearly able to see rebellion." | | Rounding off day one, we had four showcase performances from pop-rock duo Gran Radio Riviera (VE), activist and rapper LoMáasBello (CO), buzzy dream pop band Penelope Isles (UK), and electro-pop sensation Lu Tacchetti (Argentina).
Finishing the event, showcases featured psychedelic multi-instrumentalist Las Luces Primeras (AR), Balimaya Project (UK) blurring the boundaries between West African jazz and London sounds, Bogotanian cumbia band Conjunto Media Luna (CO), and electronica band Virtual Animal (VE).
Watch back the performances today
NEXT UP - AIM CONNECTED
If you enjoyed Selector PRO, don't miss AIM's flagship independent business-building event, AIM Connected, coming up in a week's time on Thursday 11 March. AIM's Members can already access the event for free, and tickets are available to non-members for just £50.
Speakers and networkers join us from companies including Bandcamp, Beggars Group, Believe, Calm, Deezer, Deviate Digital, Domino, FUGA, Jazz re:freshed, Killing Moon Music Group, Mute, Patreon, PIAS, Soundcloud, TikTok, UK Music and YouTube as well as leading experts such as Kevin Brennan MP, Robin Millar CBE and AIM Award Best Independent Album Winner, Sarathy Korwar. Grab your ticket here.
Thanks for being part of the independent community!
AIM | | | | | | |
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