Never stop dreaming, never stop learning, laughter is a cure ... - APRA

the digitisation of the massive
independent catalogue that
AIR represents for its members
so that they can enter into
digital licensing deals. AIR’s
new partnership with Glasgowbased
company, Rightsrouter,
helps AIR members get their
catalogues ready and then
deliver them into a digital
platform. By approaching this
issue collectively, we’re able
to negotiate a better deal for
the indies.
Pros: Indie vs Majors
You have complete control
over the quality and direction
of your music and how you
would like it presented. You
also need to sell much less
to get a higher return on
your investment and even
less to break even. Plus,
there’s greater flexibility in
terms of where you want to
focus your energies.
Expanding distribution
Getting a distributor doesn’t
mean that everything’s
sorted. You need to be
proactive in channeling traffic
to you. It’s the distributor’s
role to get your product to
the store but it is your role
to get the product into the
hands of the punter. With
a solid marketing plan and
clear lines of communication
with your distributor you can
make everyone’s life easier.
Good managers add
value
To get on board with the
right manager you need to
demonstrate that there is a
percentage in it for them at
the end. Your first port of call
should always be the Music
Managers Forum (MMF) –
attend their monthly forums.
Help with tours and
promotion
First check with your state
music association. Once you
can demonstrate that there
is a demand for your music,
consider a booking agent as
they can get you in front
of the right audience at the
right time. Getting someone
to plug you on radio can
be beneficial but be ready
to back that up by touring.
The more you tour, the more
people will see you, the more
CDs you will sell and the
more the industry will take
notice. Go to conferences,
seminars, AIR Pocket, MMF
forums and meet with others,
hear their stories and apply
them to your own situation
Advice for bands
Work out what your market
is. Get on the festival circuits
and do side gigs around
them – use the festival’s
promotional power to boost
your own strategies. Get an
electronic press kit (EPK) so
that you can further market
expose yourself without the
cost of postage and losing
yet another CD for promo
purposes. And TOUR LOTS!!!
Sebastian
Chase
Music Manager /
MGM Distribution
Biggest challenge
The biggest challenge is the
impact of technology on
culture and how that affects
the future exploitation of the
artist’s work. As CDs give
way to digital distribution
we’re moving into uncharted
waters. It’s not clear how
the shift in income source
will affect the returns that
artists receive for their work.
Independent artists need to
keep this in mind as they
negotiate the value of their
work.
Pros: Indie vs Majors
It’s not a case of picking one
over the other. Most artists
start off as independent
artists. The artist’s journey is
a journey from self-belief to
the market, and it’s a journey
that involves an extension of
partnerships. As it gathers
momentum, the artist may
enter into a partnership with
a manager, a booking agent,
a distributor, a record label.
Today there’s a greater number
of options for artists, they can
move their careers further by
forming partnerships with the
majors.
The value of staying independent
is artistic control. Sometimes,
being independent is the only
way to survive, because your
income is not eroded by too
many participants.
Expanding distribution
Distribution does not create
demand, it fulfils demand.
Before you can talk about
distribution, you need to
build demand. Artist should
be continually engaged in
developing and exploiting their
market. Distribution is not just
a single format method – once
you have a repertoire, you
might have to build several
platforms to push what you’ve
created. John Butler is one of
the great examples of what I call
the whirlpool of distribution.
He started off as a busker
and then made great use of
his domestic market; beginning
with distribution at live venues,
then retail, internet, e-stores
and digital providers. Now it’s
expanding overseas. It was a
momentum driven by himself
and his manager – they really
understood how to make the
whirlpool happen.
Good managers add
value
Australia is going through
a creative renaissance at
the moment and the music
industry is once again being
driven by artists and their
managers. There are very few
good managers around and
you might have to go out
and create one. When I first
started in this business, the
artists I managed knew more
about the business than I
did. They were my teachers.
Artists have to cultivate their
managers as part of their
own development. What
to look for: integrity and
communication skills.
Help with tours and
promotion
To be successful, a band has
to engage with the industry.
Who are the players?
What’s their history? What
do they do? Get to know
tour promoters and booking
agents – not just by their
company identity, but by
the people who work for
them. There are plenty of
books and seminars around
to inform you. Check with
APRA, the MMF. Investigate
the industry.
Advice for bands
Because of technology
we’re seeing two disciplines
merging into one: the artistic
discipline of recording
with the artistic discipline
of performance. Successful
artists occupy a presence
in time and space. They
offer entertainment value
in what they do. No third
party is going to make you,
you have to make yourself.
Take on the responsibility
for being a performing and
recording artist and when it
works, the partnerships and
relationships you need to
cultivate will fall into place
by themselves.
Remembering
Paul Hester
by
Deborah Conway
Paris (Hester)
I wore a dress in Paris / I upset the French in Paris
Someone called me a shameless hussy
It must have been someone working for EMI
My lovely old friend Paul Hester, drummer, funny man, song writer, killed himself on the 26 March,
Easter Saturday. He always hated holidays.
I met Paul when I was 20 years old. I was renting a rambling house in Melbourne with a lot of
bedrooms and somebody was moving out. I’d heard about this drummer in a band called The Cheks,
who needed a place to live, so that night I went to Hearts in Carlton, where he was playing.
The Cheks were very entertaining; the songs were hooky and the combination of personalities on
stage (John Clifforth, Ken Campbell and Steve Carter) worked very well. Paul was an incredible
drummer. He managed to be a personality on his instrument while always letting the tune shine
through; he put the song before the drums. And he wanted to move in to my house!
These were heady days in Rockley Road. I’d just joined my first band, The Benders, and we went
to each other’s gigs all the time. We smoked a lot of pot, watched Countdown religiously and
laughed a lot. He made me laugh so much; he could literally make me cry laughing so hard. Paul
was an incredible mimic and an acute observer of people, he could get you to see the bleeding
obvious in a way you’d never thought of before.
Within a year I’d moved to Sydney to form Do Re Mi. And Paul followed with the newly named
Deckchairs Overboard. We took up residence together in an Edwardian house in North Sydney.
My overwhelming memory is of Paul with a tea-towel slung over his shoulder wiping stuff; he was
highly evolved in the housework department (got it from his dad) and loved nothing more than a
good vac, book-ended with cups of tea and perhaps a spot of furniture rearranging.
One day Rob Hirst called me up and asked me if I thought Paul would like to join Split Enz. Paul,
though initially nervous of the impression he would make on these seasoned musicians, played
like a demon in the audition and made them all cack themselves laughing in the breaks. He was
a shoe-in for the job.
These were great days for Paul, living his childhood fantasies of joining a hugely successful band
and playing shows most nights. (He was so comfortable in the role that he’d virtually patented the
streak followed by the nude encore.) By day he was concentrating more and more on his song
writing and with Tim and Neil as co-band members it wasn’t hard to feel motivated. He would work
at a song for a long time and in a sense he never quite finished them as he was always looking for
ways to refine them. He was a bit of a perfectionist. Paul’s lyrics reflected his humour, sometimes
a little macabre, sometimes sweetly romantic.
When Split Enz split and Paul, Neil, Nick Seymour and Craig Hooper toured as The Mullanes, Do
Re Mi supported. It was a rocky start; we played large venues that no one came to and we dubbed
it the “burn the promoter tour”.
Crowded House went on to become one of the great bands; the songs; the musicianship and
the fact that Neil, Nick and Paul were all as strong as each other in performance made them
wonderfully endearing and enduring.
Paul played drums on an early Do Re Mi EP, but then we didn’t officially work together again until
I was pregnant with my first child. I asked him to play drums on a new little outfit Willy Zygier
and I had formed called Ultrasound. He was magnificent. The follow up touring was hilarious; I
loved every show we played. We had a song called Petrol
Head, which was a lyrical, soundtrack-searching-for-a-film
type of a piece. Paul would introduce the song every night
by painting word pictures of Bill McDonald (bass player in
the band) in a pair of very tight shorts working a petrol
pump. The story would get longer and more absurd every
night. It was delightful.
Paul was an adoring father and it was lovely to see him
mature into that role. He was an exceptionally generous
man with an acute sense of fairness. He naturally gravitated
to the side of the underdog and could be fierce when he
felt that an injustice was going on that he could somehow
prevent. I loved him for that and for a great deal more; I
will miss him as a brilliant drummer, for making me laugh
so much, for being a wonderful friend and a unique human
being. I thank him for all the memories I have.
Worms (Hester)
Takes a long time to die
Almost all your life
Takes some people 60 years
Some people never learn
But I’m not scared of worms
I take em fishing for they love
to swim and wriggle
I never kill em put my hook
right through the middle
We’ll talk about the times we’ll
spend telling jokes 6 foot under
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