News October 27, 2015

Q&A: Camp curator Robert Conley on 50 Songs in 5 Days

Former Editor

The 50 Songs in 5 Days songwriting camp is now in its third year, and with support from the local music industry at large as well as an alumni of over 100 songwriters, the efforts helmed at Sydney’s 301 Studios have opened doors for many local artists with some tracks even finding a place in the high reaches of the ARIA Chart.

In the past it has hosted acts like #1 ARIA Album artist Taylor Henderson, Samantha Jade, Josh Pyke and Lisa Mitchell – who will see one of her co-writes featured as the soundbed for an upcoming independent film – and sparked label and publishing deals for artists like Jarryd James and 5 Seconds of Summer and producers like Joel Little (who won a Grammy for Lorde’s track Royals).

TMN chats to camp curator Robert Conley of Specific Music about notable song releases, the international writers headed for Sydney and how the camp’s producers are chosen.

Are there any official releases that can we thank the camp for?
Yes, we have had quite a few and there are still songs on hold for albums that are yet to come out. Off the top of my head, some of the releases we’ve had here and in New Zealand include Benny Tipene – Lonely,Celia Pavey – Bodies,Taylor Henderson – Burnt Letters and Sail Away, Jai Waetford – Get To Know You,Georgie Kay – Then You Came,The McClymonts – they had a couple of songs from the camp on their album and Evan Jones Jr – Cut It.

There are also a couple of songs on hold for an independent feature film from some of the writers including Lisa Mitchell.We also love having unknown talent take part in the camp and always include a number of‘up and comer’ artists and writers as part of the mix.For example, last year Jarryd James took part and collaborated with producer Pip Norman, and they continued to work together post the camp.Because of the songs that Jarryd recorded, Maree Hamblion from Sony ATV (who curates the talent invitation list on the camp with Leonie and I) signed him to a publishing deal. He then performed Resolution at the APRA’s. He nailed it and walked away with loads of record company interest and international management, so the experience at 50 Songs had a very tangible knock on effect for him. In2012 we had the ‘undiscovered’ Joel Little (Lorde co-writer) and the 5 Seconds of Summer boys involved.So, it is great to have these people taking part in something and then going on to do such huge things.

A lot of the acts attending this year have previously written with topline writers rather than local artists, while crossing genre and comfort boundaries is a good thing, because of this, what are the initial results like?
I have to say, the results have been fantastic.Our main goal for 50 Songs In 5 Daysis to have everyone involved leave their egos at the door and just be as creative as possible with all sorts of cross genre songwriting. We want it to be an opportunity for all involved to network, make friends, and connect with people that you normally wouldn’t get a chance to connect with for collaborations in the future.It has been very successful in that respect, as a lot of the participants do continue to collaborate and hang out long after the week is over. We have threeparties during the week that throw everyone together, give them food (and booze) and it gives everyone an opportunity to let their hair down and be creative in a very low key way. As far as the music goes, most of the writers leave on such a high and are very excited about the new music that they have been involved in. Crossing genres and mixing people who never work together is one of the keys to the success of this week.

What’s the process for choosing the Camp’s producers?
All of the Producers involved are hand chosen by us based on word of mouth and experience. We don’t really take any risks when choosing the Producers as it is such a huge responsibility to deliver their produced demos at the end of every day, 5 days in a row. We need to KNOW 100% that the Producers on board can handle it!

Many of the past and present attendees are Sony Music Australia acts, you’ve even got songwriting/production duo DNA Songs among the mix again this year, do you have a partnership with the major?
We do not have a partnership with Sony Music, however they have always been very enthusiastic and proactive about getting their artists and producers involved! We have a very‘agnostic’approach to the 50 Songs week.We reach out to as many labels, publishing companies, managers, and artists as we can, as we feel this is the best way to get everyone involved.

How did you choose the international songwriters (Adam Argyle, David Ryan Harris, Andy Stochansky, Benbrick)?
Each year Specific Music brings out one international writer to take part in the camp. This year we chose Adam Argyle, initially based on the recommendation of Di Torossian (who also curates the talent on the camp with us).We had the opportunity to experience Adam’s talent first hand when he wrote the songUnderwaterwith our artist, Penelope Austin. Once we heard this, it was a no brainer – we wanted him!

APRA AMCOS are our partners and have always been so proactive and supportive of 50 Songs In 5 Days. As part of the APRA AMCOS SongHubs programme, they also bring out two international writers each year. This year they invited David Ryan Harris (USA) and Paul Carter (Benbrick – UK). Both are great talents.

Andy Stochansky is being brought out by Mushroom Music Publishing. They are the first publishers to jump onboard and fly in one of their own internationals to take part in the camp. Bill Page, Creative Manager at Mushroom, has said to us that he had seen the growth of 50 Songs In 5 Days and the successes that have come from the event, and heard the positive feedback fromtheir local writers who had attended in previous years, so they decided to assist Andy Stochansky (a Canadian writer based in LA, who is a direct signing to Mushroom Music) to get to Sydney to participate.

We hope to see more of the Australian publishers doing this in the future, as it will just help to make the camp a more exciting 5 days.

How do you navigate the ownership of any co-written tracks?
This is easy!All of the sessions during the week are four-way co-writes, and the song is owned by the four people in the room.

The 50 songs in 5 days songwriting camp takes place at 301 Studios from December 8.
Above image:Specific Music writer and producer, Roberto De Sa

Artists confirmed:
Abby Dobson
Amber Lawrence
Anja Nissen
Art vs Science
Bonnie Anderson
Celia Pavey
Dami Im
Diana Rouvas
Elen Levon
Hayden Calnin
The McClymonts
Jai Waetford
Jake Stone
Jenny Queen
Jessica Mauboy
Kav Temperley
Luke Million
Lila Gold
Little Sea
Lizzie Marvelly
Martha Marlow
Molly McClymont
Rai Thistlethwayte
Nathaniel
Odette
Reigan Derry
Penelope Austin
Jarryd James (ie. Klapper)
Shannon Noll
Taylor Henderson
Tom Jordan
Thelma Plum
Dan Rankine (Trials)
Adam Eckersley
Tina Arena