Are You Ready?
How to decide whether now is the right time to export your music.
Performing outside of Australia is a dream for so many artists. While it can seem like the right thing to be doing, if you export at the wrong time, it may end up costing you or your act thousands of dollars and lost future business opportunities. That’s why it’s important to be as prepared as you can be.
Here are a couple of key questions we believe you should be asking before you commit to investing in any overseas activity
- Why are you/your artist choosing to export at this time?
- What are you hoping to achieve? What are your specific goals?
- Where are you performing?
- Do you already have interest in that territory, and how does it realistically compare to other artists in that market?
- Is a showcasing event the best way to present yourself?
- If so, have you picked the most appropriate showcasing/conference event and can you articulate why?
- Do you have a strategy beyond the chosen event; what other events and activities form part of your short, medium and long-term export strategies?
- Do you have a solid fanbase in Australia and have you toured in your own backyard first?
Research
You or your artist may have a couple of hundred listeners in another country according to the streaming data, or a few comments on a social post, but does that mean there’s a legitimate, ticket-buying fanbase in that territory?
That’s what it’s important to do your research! Have a look at your own data but also use services like Chartmetric or Viberate to see how you or your artist compares to other acts in that market. Are you getting a couple of comments on social media, or are you getting emails and DMs from international industry showing interest?
Showcase festivals can be a valuable mechanism to connect with international industry, but there are also hundreds of different events. Spend time researching the showcase festival you are interested in. Ask other managers or artists who have attended them previously for any tips or reasons for choosing a certain market.
Whenever possible, if you have the means, we advise that you go before you show. Send a manager, or a representative of a group/artist, to an event the year before you plan to showcase. Get a head start on understanding how an event operates, keeping in mind that no two showcasing events are the same. Research and be thoroughly informed on the key people you are wanting to or planning on meeting with.
View our RESOURCES section to see what additional documentation, such as a visa or carnet, may be required.
Seek Advice
Talking to other artists or managers who have exported to a particular country, or participated in a showcase festival you’re looking at attending, is an extremely important part of the research process. Someone else’s experience may save you a lot of wasted time and money, and help you more accurately identify the right export opportunities.
If you’re an artist manager, we recommend connecting with the Association Of Artist Managers (AAM) and, if you’re not already, becoming a member.
Each state and territory has its own music organisation which run education programs and networking events that can help with planning your career.
Budget, Budget, Budget
Cost out the entire initiative first, with and without any funding assistance. If you can’t do the trip without grants or funding, is now really the right time to export?
It’s incredibly important to budget not just for your first trip, but for your return one as well. If you achieve everything you want that first time – you secure an agent, there’s a label deal on the table, you’re offered festival plays – and you can’t afford to return to market, then you run the risk of losing those amazing opportunities.
You’ll need to eat and drink while you’re away too, so per diems need to be a line in your budget.
Excess baggage, carnets, visas and insurances are all additional expenses which you may need to factor into your budget.
And don’t forget to budget in the right currency!
Use Local Before Going Global
Effective networking is a learnt skill, and an extremely important one if you’re attending an international showcase festival, particularly if you’re an artist manager or self-managed artist.
You may need to take yourself out of your comfort zone and practice first. There are multiple domestic events you can use to hone your abilities, like AIR Indie-Con, BIGSOUND, SXSW Sydney and WAMCon. We would highly recommend participating in some of these events before investing in international activity.
Some of these domestic events will also bring in international delegates, offering you a great opportunity to begin building your networks before leaving the country.
Make Use Of Online
Most showcase festivals will have online networking portals so you can set up meetings in advance, promote your activity or just find out who is heading along.
Online Audit
Before attending any event, make sure your online presence is up to date and easily available. Are all your contacts up to date across all platforms, including management, agent, label, publisher and press? Is your bio and press shots current across all your socials and website? You need to be easy to find and contact!