Alice Springs musicians and song writers are now better educated about marketing and legal aspects of their industry after workshops presented by industry advocate Music NT earlier this month.
The workshops held at CDU Alice Springs’s new higher education lecture theatre were attended by around 20 musicians and featured Buzz Bidstrup, founding member of the Australian band The Angels and producer with Jimmy Barnes, and Paul Christie, founding member of Mondo Rock and industry band manager.
The presentation was made over two evenings and covered song writing, production, career planning, self-marketing and the legalities of music writing and production.
Music NT Alice Springs co-ordinator Rory Davis said the two-day event was well attended.
’Alice Springs is full of talented musicians and artists and the turnout for this event demonstrated that,’ he said. ‘The presenters were kept busy with questions from the audience, who clearly took advantage of the event to further their understanding.’
CDU VET music lecturer Cain Gilmour helped to facilitate the event. He said it was popular with musicians across age groups and interests.
‘It was an opportunity to provide industry insight for my VET students and the wider community,’ he said. ‘Feedback from my students and other guests was consistently positive.’
Local musician Barry Skipsey said he valued the presenters’ recall of their experiences.
‘I was surprised how much I gained from the seminar and I realised the insight these industry heavyweights were giving to the young people would benefit them immensely,’ he said.