Music: Count Us In 2020

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Music: Count Us In (MCUI) is Australia’s biggest school initiative, with more than 750,000 participating students from over 3,400 schools nationwide. Growing in reach and impact since 2007, the MCUI program exists to support teachers to deliver music in the classroom, addressing a lack of training and experience in this specialist area. Each year students from all over Australia submit their original songs to MCUI’s songwriting competition, with the winners given the opportunity to professionally write and record an original song. This song is then performed hundreds of thousands of Australian school kids on Celebration Day.

2020 is the 9th year the Why Music Matters campaign has collaborated Music Australia to provide a resource for the MCUI program. We worked with a local animator to bring the song to life through an original short animated film. This year we worked with William Gembitsky to create an animated music video for “You Won’t Bring Us Down”.

William is a Sydney-based animator and editor, specialising in character animation and sleek motion graphics, with a penchant for funky sunglasses. You can find more of William’s work on his website.

Music: Count Us In song for 2020
“You Won’t Bring Us Down” lyrics and score were written by Australian students Eve Cooper, Greta Lynch, Trent May and Ava Sharp. The students received guidance from the program’s ambassador and award-winning producer John Foreman OAM, and this year’s music mentor, Australian artist Lior.

 

Music: Count Us In 2019

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Music: Count Us In (MCUI) is Australia’s biggest school initiative, with more than 750,000 participating students from over 3,400 schools nationwide. Growing in reach and impact since 2007, the MCUI program exists to support teachers to deliver music in the classroom, addressing a lack of training and experience in this specialist area. Each year students from all over Australia submit their original songs to MCUI’s songwriting competition, with the winners given the opportunity to professionally write and record an original song. This song is then performed hundreds of thousands of Australian school kids on Celebration Day (7 November 2019).

2019 is the 8th year the Why Music Matters campaign has collaborated Music Australia to provide a resource for the MCUI program. We worked with a local animator to bring the song to life through an original short animated film. This year we worked with William Gembitsky to create “We Are” Music: Count Us In 2019.

William is a Sydney-based animator and illustrator; his practice varies from sleek advertising and endearing cartoons, all the way to the zany and psychedelic. You can find more of William’s work on his website.

Music: Count Us In song for 2019
“We Are”

Lyrics and score are by Australian students Sawab Mlalh, Amber Farnan, Roan Nair and Brady Cavanagh. The students received expert guidance from the program’s ambassador and award-winning producer John Foreman OAM, and this year’s music mentor, Australian singer and songwriter Jack River.

 

Music: Count Us In 2018

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Music: Count Us In is Australia’s biggest school initiative, with more than 500,000 participating students from over 2,100 schools nationwide. Growing in reach and impact since 2007, MCUI exists to support teachers to deliver music in the classroom, addressing a lack of training and experience in this specialist area. Music Matters has collaborated with MCUI for 7 years now, working with local animators to bring to life the song through animation. This year we worked with Jennifer Quach and Nathan Khamdara to animate “One Song” for Music: Count Us In 2018.

Animation by Jennifer Quach and Nathan Khamdara

Music: Count Us In song for 2018
“One Song”

Lyrics and score are by Australian students Sophia Chesworth, Emma Jones, Abby Keenan and Hazel and Roanna Law, with guidance from Music Mentor Justine Clarke and Program Ambassador John Foreman OAM.

Jennifer and Nathan are animators based in Sydney, Australia. You can find more of their work online Jennifer and Nathan’s websites.

Paul 'Pab' Boothroyd and Tim Dalton

Paul ‘Pab’ Boothroyd and Tim Dalton

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In this final episode for People in Music for 2017, we listen in on a masterclass ‘Sound Advice: From The Venue To The Stadium’ hosted by the SAE Institute in Melbourne featuring Paul ‘PAB’ Boothroyd and Tim Dalton.

As well as being a senior lecturer at the SAE Institute, Tim Dalton has had 38 years’ experience working in the music industry in a variety of roles. This has included audio engineer, studio owner, record producer and artist manager. Brad from Energy Groove Radio previously chatted to Tim about the music industry and the Why Music Matters campaign in the episode ‘Tim Dalton: People in Music‘ back in 2015. He is joined by legendary live sound engineer Paul ‘PAB’ Boothroyd.
In his decades long career, Paul has worked with multiple major artists, including Michael Jackson, AC/DC, Paul Simon, Eric Clapton. For the past 20 years, Paul has worked with icon Sir Paul McCartney as his live audio engineer. In November and December 2017, Paul was in Australia as part of McCartney’s live tour.

In this episode, Tim interviews Paul about his experiences as an audio engineer in live performances, the importance of getting the basics right, and the realities of living on tour.

01:35 Paul talks Sir Paul McCartney’s Melbourne show
05:05 Bringing equipment and people on tour
11:56 From analog to digital
18:55 Mixing for different artists and different styles
25:35 How Paul got his start: from engineering to mixing
31:20 Advice for those getting their start in the music industry
39:20 Life on tour

Music: Count Us In 2017

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Music: Count Us In is Australia’s biggest school initiative, with more than 500,000 participating students from over 2,100 schools nationwide. Growing in reach and impact since 2007, MCUI exists to support teachers to deliver music in the classroom, addressing a lack of training and experience in this specialist area. Music Matters has collaborated with MCUI for 6 years now, working with local animators to bring to life the song through animation. This year we worked with 2017 Tropfest finalist Tristan Klein to animate “Shine Together” for Music: Count Us In 2017.

Animation by Tristan Klein

Music: Count Us In song for 2017
“Shine Together”

Writers: Makayla Forbes, Ellena Escott, Sadie Mustoe, Marcus Yeo and Tiffany Yeo with Taylor Henderson (2017 Program Mentor) and John Foreman OAM (Program Ambassador)

Tristan is an animator and digital designer based in Sydney, Australia. You can learn about Tristan’s process and view more of his work on his website Tristan Klein.

Leanne de Souza

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In this episode of People in Music, Brad from Energy Groove Radio interviews respected industry figure Leanne de Souza.

Currently the Executive Director for the Association of Artist Managers (AAM), Leanne has worked for over 15 years as a front-line artist manager in Australia, managing acts such as Thelma Pulm, The Medics, Kate Miller-Heidke, Stringmansassy, Katie Noonan Transport and Miles From Nowhere. Leanne also founded the Rock & Roll Writers Festival, held earlier this year in Brisbane.

Leanne has also penned some articles looking at the music industry’s attitudes towards gender inequality.

01:32 Leanne’s role at the Association of Artist Managers
03:12 What does an artist manager do?
04:42 What crucial skills does a person need to be an artist manager?
05:45 How does a relationship between an artist and a manger begin?
07:07 What sets a great artist manager apart from just a good one?
08:34 Do managers have creative direction over the music?
09:50 The importance of networking
11:30 Leanne’s start in artist management
13:17 Founding the Rock n’ Roll Writer’s Festival
14:38 What Leanne has learned from putting a festival together
16:18 Gender Inequality and the Music Business
18:37 The opportunity of gender equity
20:42 Recent research on gender inequality in Australia’s screen composer industry
23:13 How evident is it that there is a boy’s club in the music industry?
26:22 What role do educational institutions have to play in addressing gender equity in the industry?

Chris Hancock

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In this episode of People in Music, Brad from Energy Groove Radio interviews Chris Hancock.

Chris has worked as a music producer, audio engineer, DJ, radio presenter, electronic music label manager and educator with over 15 years’ experience in the music industry. He has been a founding member of acclaimed hip-hop label Elefant Traks, boutique electronic music label The Frequency Lab, and the 107 Projects in Redfern.

On top of this he is also an accomplished sound engineer, and has worked with many notable engineers and artists throughout his time at Megaphon Studios and Music Feeds.

01:11 Chris’ start in the music industry and the beginnings of Elefant Traks
03:02 The rise of Australia’s hip hop scene
04:22 Advice when setting up your own record label
05:53 How can people find great music in such a diverse market?
07:27 The Frequency Lab
09:34 Lessons learned and managing The Frequency Lab
12:02 107 Projects
14:39 Why is it important for artists to show each other their work?
15:45 Music playing a role in other art mediums
17:40 What Chris has enjoyed about working in a recording studio
21:55 Working with artists in the studio
24:36 What is Chris up to now?
26:00 Advice for working in the music industry

Stephen Ferris

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Brad from Energy Groove chats to Stephen Ferris, who for the past 3 years has been the Music Curator for Vivid Sydney, a festival that combines light, music and ideas. Stephen talks about what goes into organising Vivid Music, from working with venues to deciding on the music acts, as well as some of his favourite events from 2017.

01:16 Organising Vivid Music
04:51 Working with venues
07:11 Vivid’s diverse range of music
10:09 Changing music tastes
11:30 Showcasing local Australian talent
14:20 What qualities have helped Stephen in his music career
17:02 Taking on the role of Music Curator
25:15 Music and its place in our lives
26:33 Stephen’s highlights of Vivid 2017

Samantha Woods & Kylie Westaway

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Brad from Energy Groove chats to Samantha Woods (Sami Sparrow’s Emporium of Colour and Delight), & Kylie Westaway (Whale In A Bath) to gain insight into what it is like to write for children, how the collaborative process between designer/illustrator & writer works, & how music influences the creative process!

01:20 Introduction
02:30 Whale in a Bath
04:45 Sami Sparrow’s Emporium of Colour and Delight
09:00 Illustrating Process
18:15 Sam as an author, illustrator and publisher
22:45 How to get a start in the publishing industry?
25:35 What should authors need to know about copyright when they go into an acquisition meeting?
29:52 How has music influenced your work?
34:40 What are your thoughts on fair use and reduction of copyright years?
39:24 Is the value of art changing?
42:50 What do you think of the Productivity Commission’s understanding of commercial viability?
48:40 What is the incentive for the change in copyright laws?
54:00 Should people be better educated about copyright laws?

Dan Rosen

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Brad from Energy Groove chats to Dan Rosen, CEO of ARIA and PPCA. Dan represents the Australian recording industry and oversees the collection and distribution of music licenses and royalties. He produces the ARIA Music Awards, the ARIA Hall of Fame and oversees Australia’s major weekly music charts. Rosen has been on both sides of the music business; his band ‘Second Dan’ won triple j Unearthed in 2003 and has since independently released two albums and toured throughout the USA and Australia.

00:08 Dan’s Background
03:55 What drove Dan to play music?
05:58 How does law tie into music for Dan?
08:30 What is the purpose of ARIA?
09:40 What is the importance of the ARIA awards?
13:26 What is the selection process for the ARIA awards?
15:15 Does Dan think copyright laws need to be updated?
17:20 What adjustment should be made to the copyright law?
18:40 What are the challenges for those making music in the digital era?
21:05 What do you recommend for artists wanting to find an audience at home and overseas?
22:40 What is Dan’s take on the lock-out laws?
24:07 Is there a difference between the Sydney and Melbourne music scenes?
27:10 What is Dan Rosen listening to at the moment?