ELECTRONIC MUSIC CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES PROGRAM

Asia Pacific’s leading Electronic Music Conference has released details of this year’s daytime program with more than 80 artists and industry leaders speaking on over 20 panels to be held across four premier Darlinghurst venues The Eternity Playhouse, The Beresford Upstairs, Lo-Fi and The Standard Bowl.

 

Extra speakers have also been added including Australia’s biggest dance music export Flume, Dutch big room hero Laidback Luke, Grammy award winning producer Cedric Gervais, Windish Agency’s Latane Huges, Vicious Boss and DJ John Course, The Preset’s manager Will Larnach-Jones, disco legend Late Nite Tuff Guy, Laneway Festival boss Danny Rogers, ARIA nominee Kite String Tangle and the other half of What So Not, Emoh Instead.

 

The theme for this year’s conference, ‘Discovery’, has heavily influenced the topics and issues covered in this year’s program says founder Neil Ackland, “In the past EMC has been a forum for industry leaders to discuss issues and topics that affect them and while that will still be a major part of EMC, this year we’re giving focus to helping emerging artist learn the tools to get discovered and have long, successful careers in the industry.”

 

In addition to already announced big name artists Porter Robinson, Steve Aoki, Will Sparks, Peking Duk and The Aston Shuffle in 2014, EMC is bringing some of the world's leading industry figures to Sydney including:

 

·       Donnie Estopinal (SFX/Disco Donnie Presents): Regarded by many as the Godfather of dance music in the US, Disco Donnie Estopinal books hundreds of major shows a year and along with Pasquale Rotella created the biggest touring dance festival on the planet, Electric Daisy Carnival.

 

·       Gary Richards (HARD Events/Live Nation): Tastemaker, DJ, producer and promoter, Gary Richards (Destructo) of Hard Events is the creator of Holy Ship, Hard Summer and many more of the most influential festivals and events in America.

 

·       Matt Colon (Deckstar): Matt Colon manages possibly the most recognised DJ on the planet Steve Aoki as well as Australian duo Nervo with his management company Deckstar representing over 40 dance acts.

 

·       Johnny Shockey (LED Presents): Johnny Shockey is the Founder of LED Presents which recently formed a partnership with Coachella parent Goldenvoice which sees Shockey booking electronic music talent for the famed Sahara Stage.

 

NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism and Major Events Troy Grant said: “The NSW Government is proud to support the Asia-Pacific’s leading dance music industry event, the Electronic Music Conference, as part of ARIA Week 2014.

 

I encourage everyone to make the most of the fantastic EMC 2014 line up and conference program, which will showcase some of Sydney’s great venues and cement our harbour city’s position as the live performance capital of Australia.”

 

This year’s program features over 20 panels with a full program of Production Masterclass sessions still to be announced. Highlights on this year’s program include keynote presentations from Porter Robinson and Steve Aoki, as well as a look at the team behind Flume in ‘Meet the team behind the Flume phenomenon’ and the inside look at 2014 biggest success story in ‘Meet the Team behind Peking Duk’.

 

In addition to two days of panels, workshops and invaluable networking opportunities, delegates will get free entry to EMC Play – a program of night time showcase events in Kings Cross featuring Australia’s best established and emerging talent.  The full line-up of over 120 artists for EMC Play will be announced soon.

 

Second release passes to EMC, which takes place December 2-4 in Sydney, are currently on sale for $349 (plus GST + booking fee) until November 13 and can be purchased here from Moshtix. Delegates are also entitled to discounted airfares from official EMC partner Qantas and special hotel rates from partners The Diamant and Kirketon.

 

Conference Highlights include:

 

Meet the team behind the Flume phenomenon

Four years ago, no one knew the name Flume. Today, it’s impossible to imagine the Australian dance music industry without him. We talk to Harley Streten himself and the powerteam behind him about how a guy from Manly became the most influential Australian electronic artist of this century.

 

Speakers:

·       Flume – Artist

·       Nathan McLay – Lead Manager

·       Ed Sholl – Label Australian/New Zealand & international partner liaison

·       Jarrod Bird – Publisher

·       Jay Ryves - Art Director

·       Claire Collins – PR, Bossy Music

·       Latane Hughes – North American agent, Windish Agency

 

The new mainstream: What does dance music’s popularity mean for us?

As dance music infiltrates the pop world, we’re seeing more and more electronic music on our TVs, on the radio, sweeping our charts and the ARIA awards, and infiltrating traditional rock and indie festival line-ups. What does this mean for the music industry as a whole – and particularly the dance scene? We talk to some of the industry’s leaders about the influence of dance music now and in the future.

 

Speakers:

·       Johnny Shockey – President & Founding Partner, LED Presents

·       Danny Rogers – Managing Director, Lunatic Entertainment / Founder, Laneway Festival

·       Dan Rosen – CEO, ARIA

·       Danny Robson – Manager, RUFUS

 

Moderator:

·       Grant Smile

 

Meet the team: Peking Duk

Ask anyone: 2014 has been the year of the Duk. We’ve brought together the dedicated team behind Peking Duk to trace their success story: from their early days as DJs in Canberra to their current multi-Platinum-selling success. Gain insights into how they were discovered and developed their sound, as well as the strategies they used to get to the top, as they prepare to crack the North American market.

 

Speakers:

·       Peking Duk - Artist

·       Ben Dennis - Manager

·       Jon Hanlon - Co-manager

·       Guy Lewis - A&R Manager

·       Anna Fitzgerald - Promotions and Publicity Manager

 

From Zero to Hero: Sustaining the buzz

Australia’s pool of emerging talent is huge and in 2014, it doesn’t take long to go from bedroom producer to worldwide star. But even when the buzz is big, some artists grow while others disappear as quickly as they arrived. How can an artist caught in that hype build - and sustain - a meaningful long-term career?

 

Speakers:

·       Simon Coyle – Touring Manager, Totem Onelove Group

·       Al Green – Director, Maker Agency (What So Not, Nina Las Vegas, Golden Features)

·       Tom Huggett - Artist Manager, Astral People (Wave Racer)

·       Just a Gent - Artist

·       Will Larnach-Jones – Parallel Management (The Presets, Nina Las Vegas, Beni, Swick)

 

Moderator:

·       Dan Zilber – Head of Programming, EMC Play

 

Going East: Dance music in the Asian market

Asia might be dance music’s final frontier, but is infiltration from Western brands like Ultra, SFX and Future Music Festival a good thing? With a number of local brands in the region basing their events on Western models, what can Asia learn from the growth and decline of festivals in the West? And what does the future hold for Asia’s biggest players?

 

Speakers:

·       Iqbal Ameer – Group CEO, The Livescape Group (Malaysia)

·       Eric Zho – CEO, Ato Ato Integrated Media/A2 Live (China)

·       Philipp Grefer - Co-Founder Fake Music Media, M.A.D, Electric City (China)

·       Dudley Chou – Producer/Director of Business Affairs, Ultra Music Festival Asia (Japan/Korea)

·       Arist Prachaseri – CEO, Natharat Holdings Co (Ultra Music Festival Thailand/Retox Sessions) (Thailand)

 

View the EMC program here http://www.electronicmusicconference.com/program/

 

EMC is a central part of ARIA Week and is supported by Destination NSW, the City of Sydney, the Australia Council for the Arts, Sounds Australia and the Potts Point Partnership.

 

EMC has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

 

Full EMC speaker line-up in alphabetical order:

 

Aden Mullens - Head of etcetc, Artist Manager, Kilter, Acaddamy

Al Green – Director, Maker Agency (What So Not, Nina Las Vegas, Golden Features)

Alexander Burnett - Songwriter (Motez ‘Own Up’; Digitalism ‘2 Hearts’; Flight Facilities' 'I Didn't Believe'; George Maple ’Talk Talk’)

Alexander Haeusler - Director, Funf (Jeff Mills & Melbourne Symphony Orchestra)

Amba Shepherd - EDM Vocalist & Songwriter (Features for Hardwell, Porter Robinson, Ferry Corsten)

Andrew Jackson - Milton Archer / Artist Manager, Hook n Sling, The Aston Shuffle

Andy Van - Artist/Vicious Recordings

Anthony Colombi – Director, Global PR

Arlo Enmark – Label Manager, Xelon Entertainment

Basenji - Artist

Ben Marshall - Head of Contemporary Music, Sydney Opera House

Ben Munro – General Manager, Hostess Japan

Bobby Runway - Director of Entertainment & Nightlife, SBE / SLS Las Vegas

Briese Abbott - Spark & Opus / Artist Manager, Elizabeth Rose

Callender - Agent at AM Only (What So Not, Baauer, TNGHT)

Cedric Gervais - Artist

Claire Collins - Bossy Music

Dan Rosen – CEO, ARIA

Dan Zilber – Head of Programming, EMC Play

Danny Robson – Manager, RUFUS

Danny Rogers – Managing Director, Lunatic Entertainment / Founder, Laneway Festival

Dominic Furber - Audiopaxx / Artist Manager, Just a Gent, Yahtzel, Carmada, LDRU

Donnie Estopinal - SFX/Disco Donnie Presents

Emoh Instead - Artist

Evan Coghlan – Artist Manager, M4Sonic

Frank Rodi, Deputy Director Writer Services at APRA

GABBY - Artist

Gary Richards - Hard Presents/Live Nation

Grant Smile - Artist

Henry Johnstone - Editor, Pulse Radio

Jane Slingo - Director, Young Strangers, EMC Conference Programmer      

Jeff Johnson – Director, Frank Meets Wolf

John Course - Artist/Vicious Recordings

John Ferris – ARIA Club Chart Committee member, Committee Chair APRA Club Music Advisory Group

Johnny Shockey – President & Founding Partner, LED Presents

Just a Gent - Artist

Katie Cunningham - Deputy Editor, inthemix

Kid Kenobi – Artist & Label Owner, Klub Kids

Kilter - Artist

Keiran Dole - Senior Agent, Lucky Entertainment

Kirsty Brown - Executive Officer, Music NSW

Kite String Tangle - Artist

Laidback Luke - Artist

Latane Hughes - Agent at Windish Agency (Flume, Cashmere Cat, Aeroplane)

Late Nite Tuff Guy - Artist

Lorne Padman - VP & Label Manager, Dim Mak Records

Luke Udorovic - Lucky Entetainment / Artist Manager, Will Sparks, Joel Fletcher, Zac Waters

Lynden Gare - Director, Colour Blind (Flume)

Lynne Small – General Manager, PPCA

Mac Clark – Agent, CAA

Matt Nugent – A&R Manager, Onelove Recordings

Nao Kiyota - Director, Sushi Records (Japan)

Nathan McLay - Director at Future Classic / Management for Flume, George Maple, Ta Ku)

Neil Ackland - Founder, EMC & inthemix

Neil Jacobson – EVP, Interscope Records

Neil Terry – Account Director, The Sound Campaign

Nick Jarvis - Editor, inthemix

Nick Thayer - Artist

Nikhil Chinapa – Director, Submerge/VH1 Supersonic India

Olga Heijns - Unmanageable Artists / Artist Manager, Laidback Luke

Paul Brandoli - Writer, Vocal Producer, Producer (The Disco Fries ‘Parachutes’; Angger Dimas ‘Angger Management’; Kronic ‘Fire In The Sky’; Chardy ‘Tomorrow’)

Phil Smart - Artist

Porter Robinson - Artist

Priya Dewan - Agent at Feedback Asia (Flying Lotus, Sampology, Simian Mobile Disco)

Robb Harker - Agent at Super Modified Agency (Will Sparks, Helena, Avicii, Afrojack)

Robby Towns - Founder of NestaMusic & EDMTCC

Rosanna Marks-Smith - Program Officer, Australia Council for the Arts

Sampology - Artist

Scot Crawford - General Manager Australia & New Zealand, Pledge Music

Senthil Chidambaram - CEO, Dancing Astronaut (USA)

Simon Caldwell - Artist

Simon Coyle – Touring Manager, Totem Onelove Group

Simon Moor - Managing Director, Kobalt Music Group

Steve Aoki - Artist

Stuart Watters – Director Licensing & Business Affairs, Nightlife Music

The Kite String Tangle - Artist

Tom Huggett - Artist Manager, Astral People (Wave Racer)

Tom Piper – Artist & Label Owner, Medium Rare Recordings

Vi Hermens – Operations Director, The Motorik Co

Will Larnach-Jones – Parallel Management (The Presets, Nina Las Vegas, Beni, Swick)

Will Sparks - Artist

Yvette Myhil - Executive Director, Association of Artist Managers

Zac Waters – Artist