The Official Music Month Summit has announced the addition of Speed Networking Sessions, giving attendees the opportunity to meet some of the Summit speakers face to face.

There will be two one hour Speed Networking sessions held during the day with each Speed Networking appointment 8 mins each. These spots will get booked up, so be in quick to ensure you don’t miss out. 
 
Held at the Herald Theatre in the Aotea Centre in Auckland, the Summit features a stellar line up of music industry professionals and speakers, who will challenge and create thought provoking  conversation around some of the industry issues that have been highlighted in the past twelve months. 

The day comprises of four sessions, with four speakers for each topic and an open Q&A after each session. The subjects and speakers are:

WOMEN IN MUSIC

With the worldwide explosion of #MeToo and the gender pay gap revelations, gender inequality has been a hot topic this year across all industries.  Four women from different areas within Music Industry will talk about their experiences. 

Kim Boshier – Managing Director Sony Music

Kim Boshier has been MD of Sony Music NZ for 8 years and is the first woman to run a major label in New Zealand or Australia.   She is focused on discovering new local talent and leading the company into a new period of growth for the recorded music industry.

Petrina Togi-Sa'ena – Event Producer
In this years Queen's list of New Year Honours, Petrina was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for her outstanding service to Pacific Culture in the Music Industry. Petrina is a Trustee of the Pacific Music Awards Trust and the Event Producer for the Pacific Music Awards, which celebrates the best of Pacific music. 

Victoria Kelly – Director of Member Services APRA AMCOS
Victoria is not only the Director of Member Services at APRA AMCOS but is also an award winning composer and musician, having worked with a range of projects and artists including film scores, classical compositions and Neil Finn’s recent album.

JessB – Artist
JessB is a passionate and energetic artist who is quickly stamping her mark as the newest queen of rap and hiphop in New Zealand. 

WELLBEING 

Health and wellbeing are fundamental to music-making at all levels, but also across all areas of the industry – management, production, crew.  Four speakers from different corners of the Music Industry share their stories. 

Gavin Downie – Production and Stage
Starting as a Guitar tech and then working in Stage management and Production management, Gavin spent the past two decades touring New Zealand and the globe with everyone from Dave Dobbyn to The Cranberries.

Tom Larkin – Artist/Manager/Producer
Tom Larkin has been a career musician for the past 29 years, as the founding member of the NZ rock band Shihad.  Having based himself in Melbourne since 2003, Tom is also the founder of the newly minted SIGNAL Artist Development Accelerator and also works as a Music Manager at VVV MGMT.

Teresa Patterson – Management
Having worked in the Music Industry for nearly 25 years, Teresa has worked with a wide array of artists from Scribe to I Am Giant, Six60 to Elemeno P and more recently Julia Deans.  She is also the Chairperson of the NZ Music Managers Forum, and is on the board of the NZ Music Foundation. 

Peter Dickens – NZ Music Foundation
The NZ Music Foundation launched the Wellbeing Service nearly 2 years ago which has a 24/7 on line, on phone or in person service for anyone involved in the music industry. 

DIVERSITY IN MUSIC

Is there racial and LGBTQ discrimination within the music industry? Four artists share their experiences and point of view drawing from their individual journeys.

Alien Weaponry - Artist
Thrash metal band Alien Weaponry are “one of the most exciting young metal bands in the world right now” according to Revolver Magazine in the USA. Fans, bloggers, the music industry and the media worldwide have raved about Alien Weaponry’s unique blend of thrash metal and their native language, Te Reo Māori.

Ria Hall  - Artist
Ria Hall is a blazing female force on the NZ music scene. Winning multiple awards and critical acclaim, her sound fuses furious hip-hop beats and richly layered vocals in English and Te Reo Māori, creating an epic soundscape that embraces and challenges multiple genres.

Randa - Artist
Mainard Larkin is a rapper, performer and oddball based in Auckland, New Zealand. After graduating high school and realising they had no friends, Larkin began writing bedroom projects under the name Randa. Whether rhyming about favourite home cooked dishes, Neopets or navigating life as a non-binary trans person, they’ve been winning over hearts ever since the drop of debut EP, ‘Summer Camp’.

Tommy Nee - Artist
Tommy Nee is a popular Niuean singer/songwriter influenced by all types of music from Motown to Pop, Disco to Funk, from the Roots Rock Reggae of the East Coast, to the Neo-Soul feel of the inner city Auckland. While not on the music scene, Nee has a strong political world view of global prosperity. He believes no matter what colour, gender, size or shape you are, that everyone is equal. 

REGIONAL ISOLATION
 
Even though NZ is a small country, it is amazing how being a few miles away from the main hubs can create a feeling of disconnection from the industry. Four influential execs discuss their challenges and achievements in creating active and viable regional hubs.

Lynne Christie – Wanaka
Hailing from Wanaka, Lynne has been the driving force behind the not-for-profit Lake Wanaka Sounz which has staged 11 festivals (Rippon and Tuki) and has also started YAMI (Youth & Adults in the Music Industry) Summit, for future artists, producers, managers, engineers and promoters
 
Scott Muir – Dunedin
Based in Dunedin, Scott has worked in a variety of roles across the music industry including label management, artist management, label A&R, event & touring management, and online retail.

Andre Manella (Sonic Delusion) – New Plymouth
Andre Manella is a New Plymouth-based Swiss-Kiwi musician. As Sonic Delusion he has played over 600 gigs in New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland and Germany and several international festivals under his belt
 
Kevin Murphy – Napier
Kevin Murphy has been involved in the event scene in Hawkes Bay for over 20 years. He is the Founder and Trustee of The Backline Charitable Trust and is the Napier City Council Event Manager.

For more information and full bio details on the Summit http://www.mmf.co.nz/2018-summit
 
This year there is a $10 (plus booking fees) charge to attend the Summit with 100% of the ticket income donated to the NZ Music Foundation.- a charity dedicated to changing lives through music.   
 
Tickets are from Ticketmaster
 
If the ticket price will be a barrier to you attending, please contact Lorraine Owen at the NZ MMF – lorraine.owen@mmf.co.nz.
 
The 2018 Official NZ Music Month Summit ‘CONFRONTING ISSUES IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY’

Saturday May 26
The Herald Theatre – Aotea Square, Auckland
10am to 4pm
Tickets from:   Ticketmaster

 Full information. http://www.mmf.co.nz/2018-summit