Break in Case of Emergency
In just a couple of weeks, I’ll be in Portugal running a full-day Masterclass as part of BREAK IN CASE OF EMERGENCY – a two-week hybrid bootcamp for independent musicians and labels, focused on the exchange of practical skills concerning some of the most pressing aspects of today’s independent music industry.
On 22 May, I’ll be speaking (all day!) about Emerging Technologies in Independent Music, with a particular focus on AI, Blockchain, Web 3.0 and Metaverse technologies. I’ll discuss the ways that independent artists, labels, promoters, venues and other independent music participants can use those technologies effectively, and I’ll also be talking about their wider cultural, economic and socio-political implications.
In other words, we’re not going to simply focus on which buttons to press and what levers to pull in the hopes of making extra cash (though that will come into it, of course), but we’ll also come to an understanding of what it means to use these technologies, how to think about them both as tools and the environments within which independent music takes place – and how not to get overwhelmed by an incredibly steep and exhausting learning curve.
It’s about coming away with a critical toolkit that we can apply in our day-to-day practice that makes the most of the technologies available, while engaging with the deeper issues that these changes also force us to address.
I imagine I’ll also be visiting my favourite shop in town while I’m there
The event is taking place in Aveiro (which, if you’re interested, is a city I made a short documentary about last year). It’ll also be available online with live streaming of all activities, so you can watch from anywhere. I’ll be there in person, along with some of my favourite people from the worlds of music technology and innovation.
In addition to the Masterclass, I’ll be joining an evening panel with Miguel Carvalhais (Crónica) and Terry Tyldesley (Kitmonsters), moderated by Tiago Abelha (Viral Agenda) about Technological Innovation & Disruption in the Music Industry.
Terry’s Masterclass the following morning on Technology, Creativity and Entrepreneurship in Music will also be pretty unmissable.
Other highlights of BREAK include a workshop with Matt Black (Ninja Tune) and Lucas Palmeira (Imaginando) on Creative Sound Processing, a Music Rights masterclass with Nuno Rodrigues (Arda Academy), Designing a Music Marketing Plan with Amber Horsburgh (Deep Cuts) and Independent PR for Independent Music: an International Context by Melissa Taylor (Tailored Communication).
This is all incredibly useful stuff.
You can register for all of this. Grab one of the few remaining tickets to be there in person, catch all the phenomenal live shows and hang out with us in Aveiro… or you can sign up to join us for free online!