AAM unveils GROW mentor program

As Melbourne slowly emerges from a bleak lockdown, the Association of Artist Managers (AAM) launches GROW, a virtual pilot program in support of womxn artist managers.

The new three-month mentor program will nurture artist managers across the key planks of their careers, and comes with backing from the Victorian Government Music Recovery fund, through Creative Victoria.

According to a statement issued Thursday (29th October), the GROW platform is tailored to build business acumen, confidence and capacity, and participants receive a bursary ($3,000) to support their work.

The initiative was shaped from a recent study into AAM’s membership which found that gender equity in artist management is still a long way off.

The 2020 AAM members survey revealed retention and longevity for female managers wanes after age 35, and several respectable research studies have found womxn musicians enjoy only a fraction of the radio airplay of their male counterparts.

Also, Music Victoria discovered a raft of barriers for women across the music industry, from a lack of paid work opportunities, the casualisation of the work-force and the confidence gap.

Co-Pilot

In addition, the AAM today unveils a special four-month Victorian Co-Pilot program, open to all levels of artist management.

The Victorian Edition is meant to “ensure a robust and healthy Victorian Artist management community in the future, managers need to be supported to re-model, re-build and re-tool to have a sustainable and successful future,” reads a statement.

Co-Pilot is the annual national mentor program that’s a core professional development activity of the trade body.

Like GROW, all Co-Pilot participants will receive bursaries — $2,000 paid on completion — to continue managers work beyond the program, and participants across both projects will have access to the AAM’s brain trust.

“The Victorian music industry is arguably the state hardest hit by the pandemic, with stage 4 lockdown in place for most of the year,” reads a statement.

“Both GROW and Co-Pilot (Victorian Edition) deliver tailored professional development for those who need it most.”

The AAM has rolled out a string professional development and support programs during the health crisis.

Back in June, at the very peak of the pandemic, the peak body and Support Act joined forces on Gimme Shelter, an intervention mental health program tailored for the Australian music industry.

For more on GROW click here. And for Co-Pilot click here.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.