…Sometimes Music Takes You On The Strangest Journeys

Sometimes I think my job as Chairman becomes as much PR as actually running a music company… I was invited to attend the One Music Festival in Perth on the weekend as a guest speaker alongside Dave Holmes (manager of Coldplay, Interpol etc), Dann Bowley (International Institute Of Entertainment USA), Ralph Simon (Chairman Mobile Entertainment Forum USA), Steve Strange (Director XRay touring .. he looks after live bookings for Coldplay, Scissor Sisters, Eminem, The Pixies etc).

We covered a lot of ground in a 90 minute panel, but two of the biggest issues and potential areas today are:

• Digital is the real opportunity is getting music for artists and consumers and the possibilities are infinite. EMI is already testing and trying in this space but we need to be doing more and making the connection to legally purchase music as easy as possible.
• There is more appetite for music than ever before in history – its ubiquitous – its everywhere! So part of the challenge from music companies like EMI is to find a new model… so we can keep investing in artists and creating great music so artists can have long-term careers.

Over 100 guest speakers came in from all over the globe, meanwhile there were 2 days of bands performing in festival, fringe and club settings, plus thousands of music fans. Its mission is combining the artists, industry and fan together as One Movement – all sharing a love of Music. Im sure well see it return next year and for years to come. EMI artists Miami Horror & Matt Nathanson both played great sets and garnered great reactions from the crowds.

Personal highlights…

• Reminding people that music companies are the ones who invest blood, sweat, tears, passion and $$$ into new talent. That despite how the media portrays us sometimes… people at EMI work long and hard hours because they are passionate and believe in artists and getting great music out into the world.
• Having healthy intellectual debates with people from the industry about how we can work better together and about the state of the business and music right now.
• Talking to people about what music and artists are turning them on
• Being able to say that EMI Australia is a healthy, profitable music company and that for the most part – people love what they do and are turned on by working in music and with artists for a living. Its not all doom and gloom in fact as per the recent half-year figures from ARIA… the Australian music market is one of the healthiest in the world right now.
• Being able to say we have 22 nominations for the ARIA Awards and having a bunch of the biggest Australian success stories of the year in Empire Of The Sun, Paul Dempsey and Keith Urban.
• Being able to point out to the room that it’s a great time for Australian music right now with global success stories ranging from The Temper Trap (Top 10 in the UK and Japan), The Veronicas (Top 10 in the US and UK recently), JET (#2 in Japan and Top 40 or better in a raft of countries around the world)… and our own Empire Of The Sun with global success and collabs with Jay-Z… featured and endorsed on Entourage… blogged about by Kanye and Timberlake etc.
• Being able to say how proud EMI is of Lily Allen for speaking up about illegal filesharing and that our artists work hard to produce great music and that artists (whether it be music, tv, cinema) deserve to be paid for that they do… there has to be a better way.

photo courtesy of andrewmcmillen.com

Somehow I got roped into playing a DJ Set on Friday night with the good folk from Inertia Records who had a back bar at the end of each night. Here’s my set… I managed to clear the floor and fill it in equal measure. Trainspotters note : I got Sarah Blasko up dancing when Prince came on!!

• Oasis – ‘Fuckin in The Bushes’
• YYY – ‘Zero’ (Errol alkan rework)
• We Have Band – ‘You Came Out’ (Stereogamous mix)
• Late Of The Pier – ‘The Bears Are Coming’ (Beyond the wizard sleeve re-animation)
• Hot Chip – ‘Ready For The Floor’ (extended version)
• Phoenix – ‘1901’
• Friendly Fires – ‘Paris (Aeroplane Mix)
• Prince – ‘Raspberry Beret’ 12” Extended Mix
• The Scare – ‘Could Be Bad (Stereogamous Mix)’
• Lily Allen – ‘Not Fair’ (Annie nightingale far too loud electro mix)
• Calvin Harris – ‘Ready For The Weekend’
• Peter, Bjorn & John – ‘Young Folks’ (Beyond The Wizard Sleeve Re …)
• Franz Ferdinand – ‘Take Me Out’ (Daft Punk mix)’
• The Kinks – ‘All Day and All Of The Night’
• Bat For Lashes – ‘Daniel‘ (remix)
• Animal Collective – ‘My Girls’
• Radiohead – ‘Everything In Its Right Place’ (Mix)
• Temper Trap – ‘Sweet Disposition’ (Curtis mix)
• Talking Heads – ‘Psycho Killer’ (Live)
• Hercules & Love Affair – ‘Blind’ DFA Remix
• LCD Soundsystem – ‘Daft Punk Is Playing at my house’
• The Vines – ‘Get Free’
• Eddy Current Suppression Ring – ‘Which Way To Go’
• Goldfrapp – ‘Train’
• Miami Horror – ‘Sometimes’
• Empire Of The Sun – ‘We Are The People’ (Sam La More Remix)
• The Clash – ‘This Is Radio Clash’
• Jay-Z and Luke Steele – ‘What We Talkin About’
• Dizzee Rascal – ‘That’s Not My Name’

More about One Movement here…. www.onemovementmusic.com