The 2018 Australian Songwriters Conference was a HUGE SUCCESS!

Here is a breakdown of the event

… or you can download a copy of the printed 2018 Event Booklet

Click the photo to view the ASC2018 Photo Gallery

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The Faculty

ALAN ROY SCOTT

Main Seminar Facilitator: Our ‘Mystery Megastar’ in 2010, and Main Seminar Facilitator in 2016, we are extremely pleased to announce that Alan will be returning in 2018 in this leadership role. Alan is an L.A.-based Grammy Award winning songwriter whose songs have been recorded by Celine Dion, Luther Vandross, Notorious B.I.G., Gloria Estefan, Cyndi Lauper, Patti LaBelle, Neville Bros. Roberta Flack, Cher, El DeBarge, Tiffany, Patti Austin, The Spinners, Oak Ridge Boys, Ricky Martin (Menudo), Anne Murray, Johnny Mathis, Pointer Sisters, Sheena Easton, and Ray Charles and many others. Alan will be presenting workshops over the course of the weekend including his ‘Song Surgery’ sessions that were so popular in 2016.

GINA JEFFREYS

Speaker (Country): The Princess of Australian Country Music, Gina’s career had spanned almost 30 years and her hit albums and singles have earned her Gold and Platinum including Golden Guitar awards, MO Awards, an APRA award – the list is almost endless. Gina also runs performance workshops for young, talented performers. We are thrilled that Gina will join us at ASC2018 to talk about writing in the Country genre and share her knowledge and wisdom with us all.

ROD McCORMACK

Speaker (Production/Songwriting): A world-class musician, songwriter and producer, Rod has written over thirty #1 Country hits and he has produced numerous high selling and award-winning albums for artists such as Wendy Matthews, The McClymonts, Lee Kernaghan, Gina Jeffreys, Adam Harvey, Beccy Cole and Paul Kelly. Named CMAA Producer of the year in 2004, 2008 and again in 2010, Rod will be sharing his knowledge about production and songwriting in his talk to attendees this year.

DIANA TOROSSIAN

Speaker/Mentor (Management): Having spent most of her working life in the Australian music and publishing industries and being responsible for signing some of Australia’s top artists and songwriters over the years, Di is our expert in all things Publishing and A&R. As manager for some of Australia’s most talented hit songwriters, Di will speak about artist and writer management and answer questions from attendees.

ANTHONY SNAPE

Speaker/Mentor (Building a Successful Indie Career): If you want to make a living as an indie artist, you won’t want to miss this valuable session! A successful Australian Indie artist living in the USA, Anthony will share his extensive experience of connecting with fans and building a loyal fan base, running successful crowd funding campaigns, and the ins and outs of international touring. Time permitting there will also be a Q&A session.

MATTHEW DONLEVY

Speaker/Mentor (Publishing): Matt Donlevy’s history in the music industry is long and distinguished. He spent 30 years as Managing Director of Peer Music, runs his own successful business, Frankdon Music, and recently was named the head of the new publishing division for Cooking Vinyl Australia. He is also a Director on the Board of AMPAL (Australasian Music Publishers Association). Matt has been involved in our Publisher Pitching Sessions since 2008, so we are thrilled he is sharing his knowledge and insights at ASC2018, and spending the event with us as a Mentor to attendees.

ADRIAN & BARBARA HANNAN

Workshop Presenters/Mentors: A brilliant writing/production team, the Hannan’s own and run successful recording studio and accommodation facility ‘The SongStore’ in Victoria, Australia. They have written/produced for Vanessa Amorosi, Taxiride, Gabriella Cilmi, Delta Goodrem, Lee Harding, Steven Rossitto, Neighbours, TV AFL, The Voice, X Factor, and Idol Artists. The Hannans will be mentoring and running career workshops over the course of the event. You’ll also find Adrian helping in the On-Site Studio assisting attendees with their production questions.

CAROLINE McKNIGHT

Speaker (APRA Services): Caroline will join us again this year to talk to attendees about the services APRA provides to songwriters. APRA is free to join and is Australia’s only royalty collection agency, as well as being considered our peak governing body. Don’t miss this informative session.

COLLEEN ZULIAN

Speaker/Mentor (Management): Melbourne-based Artist Manager, Colleen Zulian, is a highly respected Music Industry professional. She was President of the Australian Songwriters Association for six years, Event Director for the Melbourne International Blues Festival and Australian Music Week, and she has worked extensively in Publishing. Together with Songwriter Manager, Diana Torossian, Colleen will be delivering a talk about the ins and outs of artist and writer management and answering questions from attendees. Colleen was a wonderful Mentor at the 2016 ASC, and we look forward to her sharing her wisdom and knowledge with us again in 2018.

KATRENA FRIEL

Workshop Presenter/Mentor (BSchool For Artists): ASC is proud to present International Speaker, Award Winning Author, Trainer, Coach, and Business Mentor, Katrena Friel. Katrena has had years of experience working with artists, songwriters and musicians. She will be presenting a workshop in 2018, titled ‘Business School For Songwriters’, designed to help songwriters take their business to the next level. Katrena will also offer FREE Business Coaching Sessions to attendees after the workshop!

JACK NIGRO (The Grove Studios)

Onsite Recording Studio: A huge thanks to Jack Nigro for contributing his time, talents and mobile studio for this important feature of the event. He does an amazing job, and together with our other faculty producers, will be on hand each day to assist attendees with demo production info, tips on working effectively with a producer – and you can even lay down some tracks. Jack will also present a 90 minute workshop on home recording and demo production.

CONNIE KIS ANDERSEN

Workshop Presenter/Mentor: Hailing from Western Australia, Connie has become part of the ASC’s ‘Core Faculty, and we are thrilled she is joining us again in 2018. A talented singer/songwriter and workshop presenter she will be presenting a songwriting workshop and mentoring at the event.

DOREEN VAN BREE

Workshop Presenter/Mentor: Vocal Coach and ASC Faculty regular, Doreen Van Bree runs vocal workshops for songwriters over the course of the weekend. These workshops assist songwriters to understand how the vocal ‘instrument’ works; crucial knowledge for writing vocal melodies that allow an artist’s voice to shine.

CHRISTINE M KERR

Workshop Presenter: ASCer, Christine Kerr, is not a hit songwriter – yet! She is, however, a prolific songwriter, having successfully completed many national and international songwriting challenges (50 Songs In 50 Days etc), so she knows how to avoid writer’s block and just keep going! Christine will share her processes with attendees in this one hour workshop. You’ll never suffer writer’s block again!

The Program

THURSDAY 7^th

TIME	ACTIVITY	ROOM
3.00pm – 7.45	Registration	Paradiso Room
8.00– 9.30	Opening Ceremony & Song Contest Awards	Paradiso Room
9.30 – 10.30	Founder’s Soiree – Networking and Jam	Gusto

FRIDAY 8^th

TIME	ACTIVITY	ROOM
7.45 – 9.00	Breakfast	Hafa’s
8.00 – 9.00	Registration/Information Desk open	Paradiso Room
9.00 – 11.00	Alan Roy Scott: Group Co-writing Session	Paradiso Room
11.05 – 12.30	Jack Nigro: Demo Workshop (in the Studio)	Blue Room
12.30 – Late	On-Site Studio courtesy of The Grove Studios	Blue Room
12.30 – 1.30	Lunch Break	Hafa’s
1.30 – 2.30	Caroline McKnight: APRA Services	Paradiso Room
2.30 – 3.30 Song Pitching	Hillsong Music Publishing – Nathan Eshman	Paradiso Room
	DT Talent Management – Diana Torossian	Bi Bi’s Bar

3.45 – 4.45	Anthony Snape: Building a Successful Indie Career	Paradiso Room
3.45 – 4.45 Song Pitching	DT Talent Management – Diana Torossian	Bi Bi’s Bar
3.45 – 4.45 Song Pitching
5.00 – 6.30	Fly On The Wall: Alan Roy Scott, Anthony Snape & Gina Jeffreys	Paradiso Room
6.30 – 8.30	Dinner Break	Gusto
8.30 – 10.30	Attendee Showcase (Open Audience – All welcome)	Paradiso Room

SATURDAY 9^th

TIME	ACTIVITY	ROOM
7.45 – 9.00	Breakfast	Hafa’s
9.00 – 11.00	Alan Roy Scott: Group Co-writing Session	Paradiso Room
10.00 – Late	On-Site Studio courtesy of The Grove Studios	Blue Room
11.15 – 12.15	Gina Jeffreys: Writing in the Country Genre	Paradiso Room
12.30 – 1.30	Lunch Break + Group Photo Shoot (Wear your ASC T-Shirt!)	Hafa’s
1.30 – 2.30	Rod McCormack: Co-Writing/Writing with a Producer	Paradiso Room
2.45 – 3.45	Matt Donlevy: Publishing	Paradiso Room
4.00 – 5.00	Diana Torossian & Colleen Zulian: Artist/Writer Management	Paradiso Room
5.00 – 6.30	Barb & Adrian Hannan: Lessons Learned: How to get to the next level and become a career songwriter	Paradiso Room
6.30 – 8.30	Dinner Break	Gusto
7.30 – 8.30 Song Pitching	Cooking Vinyl Australia / Frankdon Music – Matt Donlevy	Bibi’s Bar
8.30 – 10.30	Attendee Showcase (Open Audience – All welcome)	Paradiso Room

SUNDAY 10^th

TIME	ACTIVITY	ROOM
7.45 – 9.00	Breakfast	Hafa’s
9.00 – 10.00 Workshop	Connie Kis Andersen: Keys to Unlock a Career in Music (Pt 1)	Paradiso Room
10.00 – Late	On-Site Studio courtesy of The Grove Studios	Blue Room
10.15 – 11.15 Workshop	Doreen Van Bree: Vocal Workshop	Paradiso Room
11.30 – 12.30 Workshop	Christine Kerr: Beating Writers Block	Paradiso Room
12.30 – 2.30	Lunch + Attendee Showcase on outdoor market stage	Hafa’s + Outdoor Stage
1.30 – 2.30 Song Pitching	Cooking Vinyl Australia / Frankdon Music – Matt Donlevy	Paradiso Room
2.30 – 3.30 Workshops	Alan Roy Scott: Song Surgery (Group A)	Paradiso Room
2.30 – 3.30 Workshops	Katrena Friel: Business School for Songwriters (Group B)	BiBi’s Bar
3.45 – 4.45 Workshop	Connie Kis Andersen: Keys to Unlock a Career in Music (Pt 2)	Paradiso Room
5.00 – 6.00 Workshops	Alan Roy Scott: Song Surgery (Group B)	Paradiso Room
5.00 – 6.00 Workshops	Katrena Friel: Business School for Songwriters (Group A)	BiBi’s Bar
6.30 – 8.30	Dinner Break	Gusto
8.30 – 10.30	Attendee Showcase (Open Audience – All welcome)	Paradiso Room

MONDAY 11^th

TIME	ACTIVITY	ROOM

7.45 – 9.00	Breakfast	Hafa’s
9.00 – 11.00	Alan Roy Scott: Group Co-writing Session	Paradiso Room
9.00am – 2.00	On-Site Studio courtesy of The Grove Studios	Blue Room
11.00 – 12.00	Lisa Butler: ASC Moving Forward – A Conversation. Plus Final Announcements & Acknowledgements.	Paradiso Room

The Workshops

Co-Writing Workshops

Alan Roy Scott

Over the course of the 4 days of the conference, Alan will lead daily co-writing sessions and activities that teach the critical aspects of “hit” songwriting including song structure, melody craft, chord contrasts, lyrical forms & the importance of titles and rhymes.

Song Surgery

Alan Roy Scott

As well as leading the daily co-writing sessions at ASC2018, Alan will also run his popular “Song Surgery” sessions where detailed “live” evaluations and suggested revisions will be offered on the spot to attendees, aimed at improving your existing songs.

Home Recording and Mixing/Mastering

Jack Nigro

An important part of being a professional songwriter is the demo recording process. This is something that can be an affordable and simple process you can do from your home.

Join audio engineer Jack Nigro in the On-Site Studio as he takes you through some simple techniques and tricks you can use in your home recording set up to get the best sonic results for your demos and home recordings. These tips and tricks can significantly enhance your songs potential when pitching to the industry.

This 1.5 hour workshop is broken into 5 parts:

Setting Up Your Home Studio
Fundamental recording do’s and dont’s
Introduction to audio tools
Creating a simple mix
Mastering and file formats.

Beating Writer’s Block

Christine M Kerr

It’s the fear of every writer, that inexplicable obstruction to our creative flow; writer’s block. In this session, Christine Kerr will share the processes that have helped her to complete several national and international song challenges (50 Songs In 50 Days etc) and more recently, win the Adult Contemporary category of the UK Songwriting Contest.

If you regularly suffer with writer’s block – or you are concerned about it happening to you, this session is a must.

Business School for Songwriters

Katrena Friel

Discover why artists struggle in business.

Find out your personal strengths and challenges on how to take your business to the next level. We want songwriters to learn that business is creative while getting the latest thinking in branding, social media, marketing, business process and systems, event management, strategic partnerships, sales, pricing and mindset. You will work through a real live example for your own business and your unique business opportunities, tactics and behaviours in your specific marketplace. The idea is to give you a great learning experience, so you respect business and steer away from the starving artist mentality of the past.

A FREE Business Coaching Session is offered after the session so you can determine if you are on the right track to commercial success and what areas you need to be focusing on this year.

Vocal Workshop for Performing & Non-Performing Songwriters

Doreen Van Bree

Doreen will conduct Singing Workshops to help you learn more about the vocal ‘instrument’ and how its used, so you can write songs to compliment any voice. Doreen’s workshops are fun, interesting and educational, and all workshop participants will receive a free copy of her booklet “Basic Vocal Exercises For Singers”. Doreen will also be available at various times during the event as a Conference Mentor.

Keys to Unlock a Career in Music

Connie Kis Andersen

A workshop designed for those who dream of a career in music and songwriting but can’t quite shake their everyday reality.

Mindsets, skill sets, knowledge base and networks are just some of the doors we need to unlock before we can step into a career in the music industry. The keys to these doors are all unique to our own situation, but they share a common template, irrespective of our age, gender, ethnicity and ability/disability.

Delivered in two sessions, Connie will enable you by helping you to identify your keys – from covering the technical aspects of songwriting, emotional challenges of the songwriter, along with the business acumen and knowledge needed for a profession in the industry.

Lessons Learned

Adrian & Barbara Hannan

How to get to the next level and become a career songwriter.

Adrian and Barb Hannan have written/produced songs in multiple genres for artists, major record labels, TV, film, books, advertising and major corporate clients.

They will share their journey of how soaring with your strengths, quality, being flexible, moving with the times, discernment diversification and writing in multiple genres and medias has allowed them to have a successful career in the Australian music industry for almost 40 years.