Catapult Your Career
Eric Alper
Even with an effective plan , it ’ s impossible to go to everything or meet everyone so try to be flexible . This could mean attending a country-focused panel when you ’ re a hip-hop artist .
Discover how Taylor Swift or Our Lady Peace found success from the people that broke them . “ Even if you don ’ t like those bands , think , ‘ How did they get there ? What did they do to stay around ?’ I love getting into the details of , ‘ How did that deal happen ? How did that sponsorship happen ?’” Alper offers .
Keynote speeches are a great way to gain insight into influential people and achievements . “ Often we have festival headliners give intimate artist talks ,” says Tao Fei of Pop Montreal . “ John Cale was really well attended ,” she says of last year ’ s edition of Pop . And hey , President Barack Obama was even the keynote at SXSW in 2016 .
You could also end up at a panel you know nothing about that has a huge impact on your career . “ One area I ’ m excited about is the interactive aspect , especially composing for video games ,” says Deschambault . “ That ’ s a big market a lot of artists haven ’ t explored and I believe they should know how to produce and engineer their own stuff ... and make revenue from it .”
According to Fei , part of the joy of Pop Montreal ’ s Pop Symposium is that “ you can spend the whole afternoon bouncing between rooms ; you can get to everything .” Try double-teaming with another band member and update each other over a beer later that day about what you learned and any follow-up actions you should take immediately .
Showcase festivals and conferences can be exhausting both mentally and physically and often start early in the morning . If you want to get the most out of the conference experience , “ Set an alarm , pour some coffee down your throat , and try to be at the panels that matter most to you ,” says Dave Cool , director of artist and industry outreach at Bandzoogle .
MODERATORS WANT TO HELP YOU LEARN
Alper loves coming up with what he thinks the people in the audience want to know and always makes an effort to find out the audience ’ s background . “ I never forget what it ’ s like to be completely independent and not have a team around you ,” he says .
It ’ s not all about people talking at you ; speakers are just as eager to answer questions and offer targeted help to those in the audience .
“ I really noticed in the last five years that industry [ members ] are just as engaged as the artists ,” says Deschambault on people ’ s generosity with their time . “ They ’ re not rushing off immediately after ; these people are approachable and want to be the ones to discover the next big act and want to see you succeed .”
INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITIES On the industry side , people are always sniffing around , explains Alper . "[ Attending conferences ] is a really good way to figure out who ’ s available for deals , who might be leaving their record label , who ’ s recording , who still has a band …” The industry is is there to learn and discover new acts , and even if it ’ s not this year , the more you return to conferences , the stronger the relationships that develop and the more open people are to following your progress .
Opportunities abound . “ All of the festival programmers from Western Canada are there [ at BreakOut West ],” says Deschambault . “ That ’ s 20 potential big summer festival shows – roots , folk , country , it doesn ’ t matter . They all know each other . They travel in packs .” So if you impress one programmer , chances are they ’ ll talk to each other .
Just by speaking with someone beside you at a panel , you can be invited to an exclusive afterparty or networking event . But be respon-
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