FastForward Sydney announces first wave of speakers, early-bird rates

UPDATE: March 18, 2020. The Australian leg of FastForward 2020 is cancelled due to global concerns around COVID-19.

FastForward Sydney today unveils its first wave of speakers and panels.

Cricket Australia Head of Match Day Operations Antonia Beggs joins Andrew Stone, Head of Chugg Music; and veteran manager Catherine Haridy, Executive Director of the Association of Artist Managers for the third edition of FFWD Sydney.

Also announced to the line-up is Poppy Reid, Managing Editor of Rolling Stone Australia and The Brag Media, parent of The Industry Observer; Shelley Bishop, Managing Director, Studios 301; David Weiszfeld, found and CEO of France-based Soundcharts; Vanessa Picken, Founder, Comes With Fries / Head of Digital, USA/Asia/ANZ, PIAS; and Chris Carey, Founder, FastForward / Head of International Marketing, TicketSwap (NL).

The two-day powwow is taking shape, with several discussion topics set for the agenda including The Future of the Media; Demystifying Digital; Battle of the Distributors; Finding Your Audience and What Next for A&R.

The programme will once again feature the FastFifteen format of rapid-fire presentations, which will drill into such themes as mental health for managers; making the most with data; thriving as an introvert; what to learn from the rise of Tones And I; and a session titled ‘Don’t call me Boomer,’ which will explore how to handle inter-generational challenges in the workplace.

Beggs, Head of Match Operations & Events at Cricket Australia, is on board to share insights into how to build and sustain massive audiences and APRA AMCOS will once more sponsor the popular Thursday night post-conference drinks.

FastForward Sydney takes place at Studios 301 on 30 April – 1 May, with $100 (plus booking fee) early-bird delegate passes available for two weeks from today (March 30).

“I love this time of year,” comments Carey in a statement. “There are so many cool things that people have been working on these past few months, it’s a challenge to squash it into 2 days. We have plenty more speakers to announce and some big keynotes still to come, so watch this space.”

For speaking and sponsorship opportunities contact Carey at chris@fastforward.xyz. Visit sydney.fastforward.xyz for more.

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