Alan McGee Describes BIGSOUND As ‘Second Rat...

Teenage Mothers Singer Jailed Following 'Hug...

These thread title truncations are getting better and better. GOOD EDITORIAL STRATEGY JOSEJONESYE

Our Australian dollar trumps your pounds McGee.

i was not inspired by his keynote speech last year!

Trying to find Alan McGee's twitter feed and all I turn up is this guy who looks like Harry Potter.

Used to find him entertaining, but McGee's attention-seeking bleating is becoming as tedious as I imagine an industry conference would be.

well there's no need to insult the whole country.

i bet he has a tiny peen.

Judging by his twitter feed from about six months ago, I get the impression he's had a bit of a rough time of it of late, I feel for him, it has the potential to be a shallow, bitchy and ungrateful industry.

Have they invited Everett True to speak?

He should have kicked Ben Lee in the head! Stupid millionaire hippie asshat.

His DJ set at BigSound was second rate.

Music is the real winner.

Alan McGee: 'I'm More Vulnerable Now'

just ignore him, most people do

can we crowdsource a ticket for alan to come back and sit in the audience of ben lee's keynote?

Calling BigSound second rate is a compliment - I wouldn't even give it a ranking.

He's right. I'd pay money not to see or hear Ben lee

Has anyone here even been to Bigsound? I'm not sure how the conferences go, but the live portion of the events is really great. Sure, it's not SXSW so in that sense it IS second rate, but it's great for my shitty little town to have some sense of culture for a few days of the year. Definitely unsure of Ben Lee as a speaker cuz I'm not really sure what he has to say about anything, but ehh.

i have been to 3 of them to date. Improving each year. The nightly showcases are good. The speakers are insiring at times & panel sessions are valuable (perhaps more so to young green bands) and networking opportunities important also - it is what you make of it but a good way to spend 3 days immersed in music talk (and live bands) i say.

Has anyone here even been to Bigsound?

I came from NZ to check it out in 2009, It was pretty poor, in Australia it ranks far below Sound Summit imo. The best bands I saw in Brisbane during BigSound weekend were not playing as part of the event, but just doing their own shows. Popped into a few panels and it was the same stuff that you hear every year on every panel at every other industry get together. Granted, the NZ attempts at these industry showcases are even worse, so, haha, I'm not tryna say we do it better over here. But i was in shock at the lack of industry attending the vastly superior Sound Summit compared to the BS that is BS.

Fair enough - Big Sound is a different side o' things - I guess it's more commercially oriented or something whereas SS seems a lil more independent-ey. Eh, I've never been to it but it sounds like a cool lil' thing. Different strokes and stuff. Anyway, from my Big Sound times, last year was the best and it really came into its own or whatever the figure of speech is. There was a real sense of community and like something was happenin' which was quite exciting. What is McGees beef with Big Sound though? It seems his beef lies more with the Chugg-ster.

Big Sound has come a long way since even 09. was great last year on the gigs front.

Big 'Al' knows all about second rate. This is the man, after all, responsible for the careers of Oasis, The Legend! and Baby Amphetamine.

Oh wait ...

Have they invited Everett True to speak?

(chokes into coffee)

I don't actually exist up here in Brisbane, Chris.

there's nothing wrong with baby amphetamine

Interesting...I was passing through Brisbane on my way home after a tour during BS weekend last year and took a gander at the bill, looked pretty much same old same old..but ya know, the whole idea of these showcases is just a chance to leach money from those who have least of it and offer little in return.. they're the same the world over... exploiting artists yada yada.

But hey, if you're getting something from it, shit, power to ya. You're perfectly right, BS is totally commercially driven and that is the focus, but it seems that the patrons of the event are at a point well below which the panelists are accomodating for. I've been a panelist at many a conference and usually the first question I'll pose the floor is finding out who is in a band, who is solo, who is signed/independent etc, who has management/who is a manager... to get an idea of whom I'm taking to, and it's always people at the very early stages of their career (anyone else should have a manager or record label who already knows this crap) - but the panelists tend to be at high levels in the industry and totally out of touch with ''the common man''.

Ie: Some kid in Brisbane wants to start a record label - does it make more sense for them to hear from some other kid in melbourne who has been runing a kinda succesful label for the past couple of years, or some 50 year old bloke from the US running one of the biggest labels in the world?
Some solo artist from briz wants to find out about how to play shows in the US. Does it make sense she hear from the biggest booking agent in the US who deals with massive acts, or hear from someone with a similar profile to her who has done it..

(very) generally speaking, the people who attend these events want to hear actual advice and practical steps on what that panel is about - there is only so much ''inspiration'' one can handle before you just want to get on about getting on.

I feel personally after attending/paneling at quite a few of these style things, the SS approach where you hear from your peers is much more inspiring and useful than hearing some bullshit anecdotal crap from some aging industry heavyweight who has little understanding of where you're coming from.

Even at BS 2009, I wasn't a panelist - but to have a laugh I checked out the ''How to Break New Zealand'' (or some other equally terribly named panel) and sat in the audience. I watched as all these young non-profile acts quizzed some industry cats who focus on larger acts about how to play in NZ. A couple of times the panelists even directed questions to me (in the audience) as they knew me and knew that I'd prob be able to answer their questions better.

some valid points there alowhum! bout the sessions! but i don't think that the bands are being exploited as such -the ones that showcase get some good profile & exposure - many bands miss out. Just like any process, it can get political about who gets the nod & who does not.

there's nothing wrong with baby amphetamine

I'm talking about the band, not the drug

the approach where you hear from your peers is much more inspiring and useful than hearing some bullshit anecdotal crap from some aging industry heavyweight who has little understanding of where you're coming from.

moooooooo!!!!!

but i don't think that the bands are being exploited as such -the ones that showcase get some good profile & exposure

curious. i've never really bought into that exposure/profile stuff, but hey, this is all coming from a guy accross the tasman - i have no real way of knowing what BS does for a band over there, you'd know way more than me - I assume some of your artists have done wel out of it - I'm just speaking very generally about these (pay to apply) style events - but hey, cool to see that people are fairly positive about it. If it works, that's rad. I was just so overwhelmed by the number of middleaged dudes wearing laminates, sunglasses, sporting record carry bags with no records that it grossed me out.

The difference between the NZ and OZ music industry is highlighted by events like that. (ie: the lack of an industry in NZ)

I was planning on arriving in Aussie for a month the week following BS this year...haha, i'm not quite convinced otherwise yet, but maybe I might check out the 2012 edition..

I don't think Popboom has had anyone score a showcase yet! he he!
maybe this is the year?

there is a good sense of community at bigsound -almost all keynote speakers & panel members seem approachable after sessions/at lunch/at the venues. I am glad the conference exists.

the carry bags are pretty empty generally. They charge insertion fees to get items in so that is the hurdle to most people getting involved.I'm a middle aged dude now! sigh!

I've been to the last two Bigsounds and have found them really good. McGee's being a rude, attention-seeking prick.

I'm a middle aged dude now! sigh!

same, i hate myself. ;)

Hello again Mr alowhum - good insight, thanks for that! I see where you're coming from, but I feel like Bigsound has really taken off in the last two years so you just missed out on the good ones.

I agree with you regarding the whole 'guy in fledgling band wants to tour the US' thing. At the same time I feel like a lot of people who attend these sort of conferences are in it for the more mainstream sorta 'I'm gonna get into da music biz and manage a cute young indie band and get on JJJ' sorta thing. The 'underground music community' already know that they can meet with their peers or get in touch with them and organise those sort of things because it exists on a more grassroots level or whatev.

Anyway I'm shit at writing stuff and I'm sure I have a great discussion in my head but it doens't come out well.

Either way, this sums things up nicely:

McGee's being a rude, attention-seeking prick.

Pretty much.

McGee has clarified his comments. See above.

lol @ thakkrei

some valid points there alowhum! bout the sessions! but i don't think that the bands are being exploited as such -the ones that showcase get some good profile & exposure - many bands miss out. Just like any process, it can get political about who gets the nod & who does not.

Year after year it's QMusic awarding showcases to its own bands (and mates). The whole thing is such a fucking scam I'm always amazed by how they keep getting away with it. Even announcing the first ten acts when you'll still accepting applications (and the application fees). How can you get away with that? Last year saying they were going to do a punk and hardcore showcase, taking all the money from those that applied in good faith and then not doing a showcase. It's rotten to the core.

McGee's alright. He's got attitude and he's signed more good bands than nearly anybody.

Seriously, Ben Lee?! Where's my BB gun....

The keynote address should be a debate between Ben Butler and Pav (in the vein of Richard Dawkins vs George Pell)

yeah - for starters, I totally agree with what ALowHum said about music conferences, and the reality that they're attended by students, beginners and bar band musicians, who get to absorb jargon and (often totally obvious) info from people that are brand managers, or industry insiders that work for mainstream, big business bands etc. One similar conference I attended called Warrant of Fitness in Christchurch featured a bulbous greying American man with a ponytail that was a marketing executive for Bon Jovi, Dean Martin and Playboy. Um - needless to say he talked only about marketing 'product' and using established methods and a large budget, i.e. - info that was ill fitted to the people attending the con.

Lastly - Alan McGee might just be suffering from bitter/useless old bastard syndrome. The reality is that McGee (who's been associated with some wonderful bands over the years) ran music promotion and management at a massive loss for many years, and was saved in large by the band Oasis in 1994. McGee is also a pathological drug abuser, he's allowed no contact with his family and seems to have a long list of public arguments and falling-outs with musicians, politicians, record labels and so on. Basically, yeah he was a hipster or something in 1987, but I couldn't give a f*ck less about what Alan McGee thinks these days.

:-( so sad.