Nick O’Byrne discusses AIR departure

Last week Nick O’Byrne announced he would step down as General Manager of the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR) on June 30. Following his exit his focus has turned solely on his current roles as Executive Programmer for BIGSOUND and as manager for artists Courtney Barnett, Milwaukee Banks and Sterling Silver.

CFO Maria Amato will take over responsibility of AIR’s Commercial and Sponsorship Relations roles while Membership and Communications Manager Joanna Cameron will continue overseeing day-to-day business. From July 1, AIR’s former CEO Stu Watters will step in as spokesperson on advocacy issues facing the independent sector. O’Byrne will still remain engaged with AIR to consult on the 2014 Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards.

In the wake of his announcement Byrne has talked to TMN about the legacy he’ll leave behind after seven years with AIR, why he stepped down, what challenges currently face the independent sector and how BIGSOUND can help.

What current models or processes at AIR do you view as part of your legacy?
Anything that happened in the last five years is the result of a supportive board, an amazing CFO (Maria Amato), an incredibly hard working business partner (Joanna Cameron) and a great Partnerships and Sponsorships team (Mix It Up).

We’ve been able to renew sponsorship deals several times over to a point where AIR is the only non-profit music organisation not reliant on government funding, huge membership levies or royalty collections for its income. We’ve grown the presence of AIR’s Independent Music Awards, we continue a collective bargaining and royalty collections program, we interact regularly and co-operatively with tech companies and industry bodies around the world and we’ve re-established an export strategy for AIR and its labels.

What are you hoping to achieve as Executive Programmer for BIGSOUND that you couldn’t while simultaneously working with AIR?
Work/life balance.

You currently manage Courtney Barnett, Milwaukee Banks and Sterling Silver; did the increased activity of those artists factor in to your decision to step down?
Of course. Any artist dedicating their life to music deserves management that takes the responsibility of guiding this seriously. I love my small roster and I care about their respective careers a lot.

What have you got coming up for each artist?
Courtney [Barnett] is likely to release her debut full-length album sometime in the next six to nine months and will remain touring internationally for much of the year. Milwaukee Banks have just released a debut EP [Rose Water] and Sterling Silver continues to write prodigiously – we should see releases from him by the end of the year too.

What do you hope to achieve in the indie sector outside of your position at AIR?
Right now I just want to make sure that the festival line-up and conference at BIGSOUND is a true representation of the fact that we live in the most exciting music scene in the world. I want the event to continue growing its international reputation as a kick arse place to find amazing talent and a brilliant export launch-pad for Australian artists.

What challenges are facing independent sector that you feel you weren’t able to address in your time at AIR?
The following list of gripes are issues that affect the independent sector worldwide, not just AIR, but here we go; The attitude of powerful companies dealing with small businesses in the music industry often verges on anti-competitive. Dealing with the ACCC has been frustrating in that they refused to recognise the potential for mis-use of market power by the majors. Watching Google (and others) systematically devalue copyright while disingenuously taking the populist argument that people deserve access to all content for free is also incredibly frustrating. Aside from that, small businesses in the music industry need better business literacy.