Artist:Entrepreneur Day Islington
As we at the FAC sit back and look at all the knowledge shared at yesterday’s A:E Day we realise what a great success it was. Artists, Managers and music professionals alike travelled from all over the UK to hear what our industry professionals and artists had to say regarding a wide range of music topics.
The day kicked off with a networking session over some tea and biscuits, where our guests got to interact with each other, as well as a host of company partners and friends of the FAC who attended the event. Following this, the morning came together with an overall trend: how does one monetise their craft? This took the form in CMU’s very own Chris Cooke discussing the evolving world of copyright, and how an artist can stay ahead of the game by being informed on how they earn their rightful royalties. Our panel artist entrepreneurs, including FEMME, Roxanne de Bastion, and Eckoes demonstrated their own music, and discussed with the audience what exactly in those songs now belongs to them as the featured artist and songwriter in order to show the audience how copyright comes into play as a recording artist. They also discussed how they have generated revenue streams from those very songs. Lastly, Cooke, along with the panel artists, looked at copyright from the view of PRS and PPL, and how artists can utilise the services of these organisations.
Next, the day moved into the live sector, where Chris Cooke discussed briefly the live industry, and where the money is for live gigs, as well as how artists must utilise creative marketing and social media to build a live following, and ultimately, their fanbase. Lauren Louise from music promotion company “iluvlive” joined our panel to discuss how an artist can get shows and gigs and also find out what a gig promoter’s role is in the entire process. This led perfectly into our next segment, where Chris Cooke and our artist entrepreneurs dissected their own careers and discussed how they built fanbases along with a personal brand. This section truly tied together themes from the previous segments, showing our audience how developing a brand allows one to find a specific fanbase, ultimately leading to increased ticket and merchandise sales. This conversation with our artists included finding out which services they use to engage their fans, how they chose to build a creative persona both on and off stage, and lastly, how this translated into earning more money from their art. In this segment, industry professionals also joined our panel to discuss how they recommend developing a brand from a business perspective. This panel included the likes of X-Ray Touring, Dench Records, AIM, iluvlive, Do The Rights Thing, IE music and Deviate Digital.
After a short break for some lunch, the discussion turned to team building, and how an artist can build strategic partnerships in order to get the most out of their career. This included speaking about streaming partners, artist service companies and legal counsel. Our artist entrepreneurs then revealed how they navigated this area for their own careers. Whether it was attaining a manager or touring agent, or exploring different suppliers to make sure that their music was distributed well and they were being treated fairly. Lastly, we were fortunate enough to be joined by our very own Imogen Heap, the FAC’s AIR CEO, to give a brief overview of her career thus far as it relates to music, artistry, developing a brand, but also how it has evolved into something much greater than just music. She told the audience about how her background and experience helped her transition into the realms she occupies today, such as blockchain and music technology. After sharing some personal history and professional wisdom, she was joined again by our artist entrepreneur panel, where the day culminated in a series of audience questions regarding any topic covered throughout the day.
We at the FAC want to extend our gratitude to all of our panel members, MC’s, attending business partners (Resonate, AWAL, AIM, and PPL), artist entrepreneurs, and most importantly, our audience. This truly was an incredible day for all parties involved, and provided knowledge for helping the next generation of artist entrepreneurs make the most out of their careers. Please keep an eye out for new updates on this event as we tour throughout the UK, informing and educating artists and professionals across the country!
For more information on Artist:Entrepreneur Day visit out website here
If you would like to get involved in Artist:Entrepreneur day please email Jordan