Career Development Workshop: Career Management

Close Encounter: Career Development Workshop – Career Management from Melbourne Int Jazz Fes on Vimeo.

Facilitated by Owen McKern (Program Manager, PBS 106.7FM) the panel will feature Travis Woods (Horns of Leroy), Marcus Strickland (Christian McBride New Jawn, Marcus Strickland Twi-Life) and Catherine Haridy (Catherine Haridy Management, Eskimo Joe)

This session explored ways in which performers need to manage their careers at various stages in their development. The panel will explore questions such as: What’s important to know when starting out? What are basic business skills all artists should be aware of? How to get your assets organised in a way that is both professional and appealing? How do you choose between working with a manager/agent, or self-representing? How do you set career goals and work out a plan to get there? What’s a realistic career trajectory these days? What’s the current/future impact of social media and streaming on an artist’s career?

FACILITATOR:

Owen McKern has been involved in Melbourne’s music scene for over 20 years. After initially dabbling in band and artist management Owen found his niche in radio broadcasting. Between 1998 and 2012 Owen programmed and presented the show ‘Delivery’ every Sunday afternoon on 3RRR FM. Dedicated to instrumental Australian music ‘Delivery’ covered everything from post-rock, jazz, avant-garde, electronic and experimental sound art. Professionally Owen was the Program Manager at 3MBS FM (2007 – 2011) and has been the Program Manager at specialist music station PBS FM since 2012. He currently sits on the boards of contemporary arts organizations JOLT Arts Inc and Speak Percussion.

PANELLISTS:

Travis Wood is a trumpet and bandleader of local punked-out seven-piece brass band, The Horns of Leroy. Inspired by the flavours of New Orleans to Fitzroy, Wood and the ensemble take brass band music to a whole new level. From humble beginnings, the band has evolved from playing the streets of Melbourne to some of the biggest festivals and stages across the country. Taking sounds from a number of musical influences, there is a lot to like about this band. Wood will bring a fresh local perspective to the panel on making a life in music.

Jazz saxophonist Marcus Strickland is a charter member of the 21st-century jazz vanguard. Similar to the torrent of artists that appeared on the jazz landscape in the early ’80s to pull jazz out of the grasp of the Fusion Era, Strickland, his identical twin brother E.J. Strickland (drummer), and artists such as Jeremy Pelt and Robert Glasper breathed new life into jazz early in the new millennium. Strickland was voted “Rising Star, Soprano Saxophone” in Downbeat Magazine’s 2008 Critic’s Poll. Throughout his career, Strickland has worked with a variety of artists, including Mos Def, Nicholas Payton, Christian McBride, the Charles Tolliver Big Band, and Tom Harrell, among others.