Neill Finn kicks off BIGSOUND with nostalgic keynote

BIGSOUND officially kicked off this morning with record attendance at the Judith Wright Centre in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.

Michael Crutcher, President at QMusic kicked off proceeding and in his introductory address revealed QMusic’s Executive Officer Denise Foley is stepping down at the end of the year.

Organisers announced last week all 1200 conference tickets had sold out to catch over 150 speakers participate in nearly 40 sessions. That was very clear today in the packed Performance Space for Neil Finn’s Q&A-style keynote with interviewer Fee B-Squared (Triple R FM).

Addressing 350 attendees, the Crowded House/Split Enz/Pajama Party member discussed his childhood, including songs he used to sing like the track Terry, which he remembers singing at the age of four; his early short-lived band After Hours, his joining of Tim’s band Split Enz, where he referred to the initial six months as an internship, and how watching live music makes him a better person.

“Music is like an alchemy in a room, it allows for good conversation,” said Finn. “[…] As time goes on it remains in my mind as almost the single way of bringing people together.”

Following Finn was Spotify’s Director of Economics Will Page, who unveiled the streaming service’s consumer data and analytics on how streaming services have impacted illegal downloading, how streaming models sent Australian music viral internationally, and what access to these analytics could mean for Australia’s live industry.

In the research Page had compiled over the last three months, and finished just four days ago, he found the number of pirates in Australia is declining.

“There’s still a shitload of music piracy here in Australia but it’s interesting to see how high the other two [film and TV] are.”

In the afternoon artist manager Dan Biddle, artists Ruby Roots, Luke O’Shea and Shane Nicholson and UMA’s co-Managing Director Michael Taylor will head up a panel to discuss country music’s battle for popularity; Liv Buli, data journalist with music analytics company Next Big Sound and Forbes Magazine will hold a mini-keynote; triple j’s Zan Rowe, Mushroom’s Linda Bosidis, The Vine’s Tim Byron, Sam Cromack of Ball Park Music and APRA AMCOS’ Isabel Pappani are on a panel to discuss the perfect song; and Bird’s Robe Records Mike Solo will facilitate a panel with one modus operandi, to convince you metal has the best fans.

Today and tomorrow 140 bands are set to perform 14 venues over the next two nights, an increase from 120 acts in 2013. Seasoned acts like the church, Ash Grunwald and Jeremy Neale will perform as well as emerging acts like DMA’s, Kingswood, Panama, George Maple and Thelma Plum, who have partnered with Grill’d, JBL, Rdio, Sailor Jerry and Levi’s for the outdoor BIGSOUND village bar.