Powerhouse music executive Beth Appleton has unparalleled success as a leader and global music strategist. Named in the Top 100 Billboard Most Powerful Music Executives 2016 and recipient of Music Ally’s Outstanding Achievement Award, she is a 2023 nominee for the Australian Women in Music Leadership Award. 

Appleton’s previous roles include General Manager Australasia at Warner Music Australia (2018-2021), Senior Vice President of Global Marketing at Warner Music Group in the UK (2014-2018); Director of Digital at Universal Music Group UK (2007-2010); and Head of Digital and Business Development at V2 Music in the UK (2003-2007). She’s worked with artists such as Kylie, Ed Sheeran, Michael Buble, Major Lazer and many more. Recently she was the CEO of Jaxta, Australian based music database company. In this conversation, we chat about the Fix the Mix report, Beth gives her advice on negotiating effective business deals plus we hear about her time as Director of Digital for Universal Music. 

LINKS:
AWMA Nominees 2023

https://womeninmusicawards.com.au/2023-recipients-finalists/

Fix the mix report: https://www.wearemovingtheneedle.org/fix-the-mix 

Article: These Three Spotify Editors are becoming Music Industry’s Most Powerful Players 

https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/these-three-spotify-editors-are-becoming-music-s-most-influential-players-20230726-p5drbp 

Kylie aphrodite - Goddess Edition 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEBjPj5XaUc 

Jess Keeley has been working in the music industry for the past 20 years. After gaining experience in publicity and record label marketing Jess made the decision in 2010 to relocate to London, taking a position as International Marketing Manager with Warner Music.

After working on campaigns through Europe and the US her close relationships with artists lead to the natural progression of artist management. Leaving Warner in 2011 to manage her first client, Lykke Li, Jess partnered with Scott Rodger (Quest/Maverick) and has been managing the international careers of award winning songwriters and musicians ever since. Jess has been instrumental in the management of developing artists, established names and absolute icons including Shania Twain, MARINA and Arcade Fire.

Her international industry experience in London and LA has given Jess an extensive knowledge of launching a global career. She has returned to Sydney to launch her management company Music She Wrote, a company focused on building sustainable international careers for Australian talent – with a roster including Jaguar Jonze, Isabella Manfredi and Clea. She is also currently acting General Manager of label Dew Process.

In this conversation we chat to Jess about risk taking, the importance of branding and social media, how she approaches strategic planning and goal setting with her artists much more.

We speak to artist manager Jess Keely about strategic goal setting, motherhood and management, social media and much more.

Raising their voices report: https://musicindustryreview.com.au/

A national review of sexual harm, sexual harassment and systemic discrimination in the contemporary Australian music industry and recommendations for reform.

Jess Keely article: 

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/i-was-recently-fired-by-a-client-while-on-maternity-leave-its-happened-to-me-exactly-twice/

Mojo Ruiz de Luzuriaga, known professionally as Mo'Ju, is an ARIA nominated Australian musician and songwriter. Across four solo albums their thought-provoking lyrics have explored their Fillipino and Wurrenjeri heritage,  the glorification of wealth and fame, spirituality, political change, and the human condition. 

Show notes:

Official site: 

https://mojumusic.com/tour

Change Has to Come film Clip: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeJ28r2C-Ic 

Minimum Fees for artists: https://musiciansaustralia.org/campaign-for-250/#:~:text=Our%20fee%20reflects%20a%20minimum,an%20additional%20'Artist%20Fee'.

Amara Primero is an award winning screen composer and the CEO and Founder of Primerchord Production Music.

Originally from Perth, Amara studied classical music at the western Australian academy of performing arts before moving to Sydney and working in the contemporary scene as a session musicia and educator. Breaking into the world of screen composition she has worked for major networks such as Channel 7, SBS, Channel 10, ABC, streaming giants such as Prime and for Reese Witherspoon's company Hello Sunshine. Establishing her own company Primerchord Music Production based in Sydney and LA, Amara now leads a team of over 20 composers, creating library music, film scores and music for productions across the world. Winner of Best Original Music at the 2019 Los Angeles Cinematography Awards, she recently became an ambassador for APRA AMCOS.

https://www.primerchordmusic.com

Song: Stitch It Up by Amara Primero

Nat Barstch is ARIA Melbourne based pianist and composer. Internationally renowned, Nat’s compositions explore the spaces between neoclassical, chamber music and jazz. She has released records on both ABC Jazz and ABC Classic labels, and is one of a small handful of artists to be ARIA nominated in both jazz and classical categories.

Nat has become most well known for her lullabies, which, during early motherhood, saw her create a new suite of work designed to soothe babies to sleep, but also be meaningfully enjoyable for adults. The resulting album, Forever, and No Time At All was released in 2018 on ABC Classic. 

As a chamber music composer, Nat has been commissioned to write pieces for Inventi Ensemble, Plexus Collective, Solstice Trio, The Muses Trio, Matt Withers & Sally Whitwell. She is currently studying a Masters of Composition at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. 

Nat has been awarded the 2021 Merlyn Myer Commission, the 2020 Catherine Mary Sullivan scholarship, 2020 Classical:NEXT Artistic Associate fellowship, 2019 Johnny Dennis Music Award, and the Melbourne Prize for Music Development Award to name a few. 

As a mental health advocate, Nat has undertaken research exploring the two-way link between mental health and creativity which has been presented at a variety of conferences. 

https://www.natbartsch.com/

Eliza Hull is an award-winning musician, speaker, writer and disability advocate.

Eliza’s music has been described as  ‘stirring, captivating and heartfelt.’ She is currently working on her fifth studio record, due for release in 2023. 

Her songs are featured in Australian TV shows such as  ‘And Then Something Changed,’ and ‘The Heights’ and American TV shows ‘Awkward, ‘Teen Wolf’ and ‘Saving Hope.’ 

As a speaker she has presented panels on accessibility at SXSW in Austin, Texas and music conference Changes. She performed at ABILITY Fest and produced the Iso aid ‘Accessible All Areas’  Festival featuring disabled musicians from all around the world. 

As an audio producer Eliza developed the ‘We’ve Got This’ series about parenting with disability for Radio National and ABC LIFE which was developed into a book “We’ve Got This - Stories by Disabled Parents”. She recently released her first children’s book “come over to my house” Co-written by bestselling author Sally Rippin

She was awarded the Music Victoria ‘Amplify’ award, the APRA mentorship for women in music, the National Leadership Award from the Australia Council and Arts Access Australia and the Diversity in Music Award from the Women in Music Awards. 

In this conversation I ask Eliza about representation and her advocacy work, her new album project, showcasing at South by Southwest, moving into the literature space and much more.

More info:

https://www.elizahull.com

Jacinta Parsons is a broadcaster, writer, speaker and author based in Melbourne. Jacinta currently hosts Afternoons on ABC 774, delivering a mix of art, culture and ideas. Prior to afternoons Jacinta presented Melbourne 774 Breakfast and the Friday Revue and also worked behind the scenes as Music Director for Double j and the ABC Local radio network. She has released two books, her memoir Unseen: The secret life of chronic illness and her new book ‘A Question Of Age’. Jacinta is an ambassador for the Crohn’s and Colitis Association of Australia and is also a board director of Melbourne disability theatre company, Rollercoaster.

In this conversation I ask Jacinta about ageism in the music industry, her career in broadcasting, her writing process, and the time that Kylie Minogue called her on live radio, and much much more.

https://jacintaparsons.com/

Monica Lim is a Melbourne-based pianist, composer, sound designer, entrepreneur and board director.

Born in Malaysia and then migrating to Australia in her teens, Monica Lim has produced work for theatre, contemporary dance, installations and film, as well as solo and ensemble instrumental pieces.  ​Her work has been presented at AsiaTOPA, Melbourne Fringe and Arts Centre Melbourne as well as international symposiums such as the International symposium of Electronic art and The International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. Monica is currently undertaking postgraduate research at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne in gesture-led composition and new technologies. She is also part of the research team at VCA Dance's TrakLAB and the University of Melbourne's Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics.

​Monica is co-founder of Project Eleven, a philanthropic initiative which supports the contemporary arts and serves on the boards of the Melbourne Recital Centre, Substation and Liquid Architecture as well as the Member's Council for Musica Viva.

https://www.monicalim.online/

Jagad: https://www.monicalim.online/jagad

Mental dance article: https://www.monicalim.online/_files/ugd/204248_9cf5fd2645cf4c068dbdbfeed587df43.pdf

Project 11: https://www.project11.online/about-us

Melbourne Recital Centre Board https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/about/ourcompany/board/

www.controlpodcast.com

This episode features award winning Yorta Yorta soprano, artistic director, broadcaster, composer and educator Deborah Cheetham.

For more than 25 years Deborah Cheetham has been a leader and pioneer in the Australian arts sector, creating change in the music industry landscape and advocating for First Nations representation.

A graduate of the NSW Conservatorium of Music with an international career as a soprano vocalist, she established her own organization Short Black Opera in 2009, a national not-for-profit opera company devoted to the development of Indigenous singers. The following year she produced the premiere of her first opera Pecan Summer. This landmark work was Australia’s first Indigenous opera and has been a vehicle for the development of a new generation of Indigenous opera singers. In 2019 Deborah Cheetham established the One Day in January project designed to develop and nurture Indigenous orchestral musicians.

As a composer she has been commissioned to write for major Australian ensembles including the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Australia String Quartet, West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Flinders Quartet.

Appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia, for “distinguished service to the performing arts” she was also inducted to the Honour Roll of Women in Victoria and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of South Australia. She has also received the Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award for service to music in Australia, the Merlyn Myer Prize for Composition, was inducted to the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll and more recently was presented with the Lifetime achievement award at the Women in Music Awards. .

In 2020 she was Composer-in-residence for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and commenced her appointment at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University as Professor of Music practice.

In this conversation we ask Deborah about establishing her own organization, her journey from classica flautist to lead vocalist, the one day in january project and her composition series ‘woven song’ which will be performed on November 2nd at Melbourne Recital Centre.

https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/

https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/events/2022/woven-song/

https://www.shortblackopera.org.au/

In this episode we speak to composer and virtuoso Guzheng musician, Mindy Meng Wang.

At age seven Mindy began her classical training on the traditional Chinese musical instrument Guzheng. She studied western composition and musicology at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK touring throughout Europe and performing in venues such as the Barbican and the V&A. Her music transcends genres and her work is part of a significant movement of Chinese musicians redefining and reinvigorating musical traditions. A born collaborator she has worked with artists such as Gorillaz, Regurgitator, Paul Grabowsky, the Australian Art Orchestra, Claire Edwards and many more. 

In this conversation we ask Mindy about the history of the Guzheng; her time in the UK and why she moved to Australia. We also talk about motherhood and music and her latest solo album “Phoenix Rising”.

On October 8 Mindy appears at Melbourne Recital Centre celebrating her new collaborative album "Nervous Energy" with Tim Shiel.

https://www.melbournerecital.com.au

https://mindymengwang.bandcamp.com