One Movement - Panels:Independent Asia

Tue 20th Oct, 2009 in Gig Reviews

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So many Perth bands played at One Movement, yet a huge number of them didn’t attend the industry panels, a vital element of the event. It’s true that some were anecdote-swapping sessions, but even those would’ve paid dividends to performers who could toil for years to attain half the knowledge and connections they could’ve picked up in a single weekend. With that said, the panels may have been an expense that young bands simply couldn’t afford.

The weekend’s focus was on three main areas: digital tech’s influence on all areas of the industry, the growing importance of live performance and the opportunities and innovations for music happening all through Asia.

*Disclaimer – many of these panel – œreviews’ may contain random factoids and curious snippets rather than useful summaries.

INDEPENDENT ASIA

•The massive opportunities in Asia should be pursued with savvy cultural awareness; knowing how those regions do business, how people relate and how these differences dominate those industries.

•In Japan, Facebook is a non-entity for bands. MySpace hasn’t got much traction. Mixi is where it happens. Don’t cold-spam the Japanese industry as we do here; personal connections or recommendations through friends are fairly vital.

•Western acts can be anti-sponsorship without knowing quite why. Asian regions thrive on it; sponsorship alone drives many sectors. Western acts would do well to question the source and validity of notions of – œselling out’ if they want to take their tunes to new audiences.

•In Thailand, punters will flock to a visiting act’s first performance, but they won’t go back to later gigs.
Hi5 is a popular site for Thai music, with forums etc.

•China is dominated by “Pop. Across the board. Aspirational and non-threatening”. Also, check out www.douban.com because MySpace & Facebook don’t get a run.

•Albums are just a calling card now. Live is where it’s at.

•In Japan it’s all about good-looking young guys and girls. Sex appeal. Style is paramount. Ugly, unfit, unstylish acts will struggle. Dress crazy, all the time.

•India has more English-speakers than Australia and the UK combined. Indie acts who visit India and run a lean operation with aggressive social marketing, playing small clubs, can do very well. But it takes multiple visits and solid follow-up.

•If you can get your music into games, you’re on a winner.

•Hong Kong gigs go a lot longer than most. Big acts go for 3 ½ hours, with the support act playing in the middle.

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