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SPECIAL GUESTS Music Business Masterclasses
All round top-bloke, chatterbox and guitar-hero Ace, from Skunk Anansie, dropped into ACM this week for a whole host of masterclasses covering performance, production and the music industry. Ace even took the time to cover some tutorials with students and impart his vast knowledge about the music business.
Ace talked at length to performance students about his experiences being in a band, sell-out tours, the ins and outs of songwriting and even asked some students up on stage to work on some riffs and talk through band dynamics.
There followed a great session in teaching control where a mix of music production and guitar students went through the processes of production from recording guitars - layering and how to get a great sound - to choosing the right equipment and even budget guidelines.
Finally Ace guested in the Degree Business Psychology lecture that went deep into the processes of being an artist, discussing such topics as - what the 'creative process' is for an artist and how to reconcile creativity/art with business/industry among others.
Ace said, “Calling into ACM is always a rewarding and fulfilling experience. The students are receptive, intelligent and dedicated to their art. Classes are fun as well as educational, and the pupils welcoming atmosphere make any visit a pleasure.”
Guitar School Manager Matt Haslett added, "It's fantastic for the students when someone of Ace's calibre and experience is willing to come in and share his insight and knowledge with the next generation of players and artists. It's these extra opportunities which create such a positive atmosphere and ultimately make ACM such a unique environment."
Thanks Ace. You were, er, Ace!
Lindsay Armaou-Brennan and Keavy Lynch of super pop band B*Witched popped into the Academy to offer up advice to students on their future careers within an industry that is notoriously easy to get lost in.
Pictured here with ACM's Chris Parles, the duo talked about the pitfalls they faced in one of the UK's biggest names in the 1990's and how they overcame them. A great lecture, delivered by some of Ireland's brightest stars.
The Academy of Contemporary Music was honoured by the presence of legendary music producer and pop impresario Pete Waterman.
Music Marketing Guru Mike McNally, Senior VP of Marketing at Nettwerk, formerly Head of A&R and Promotions at EMI, came in to entertain students with his many industry stories and discussed the DIY route to marketing artists.
Mike joined the launch team of the first national commercial radio station - Virgin Radio - owned by Richard Branson. 3 years later he had a complete career change and headed off to help setup the new Catalogue label for EMI. After A&R and marketing hit albums from artists as diverse as Hot Chocolate, Dean Martin and Blondie he moved on to the pop (or 'dark' as some called it) side and was responsible for a number of alleged crimes against music including hit singles from The Cuban Boys, The Cartoons, DJ Otzi and Rik Waller.
He remains proud of all of them to this day. As his own video commissioner he also achieved a personal best of 5 videos in the VH1 Worst Videos of All Time series. Discarding this veneer of commercial success he launched his own imprint, EMI Liberty, working with singer songwriters and international development artists.
In 2005 he joined the influential and innovative music company Nettwerk where he ran the UK label operation and worked closely with domestic and international artist management. He is a member of the Association of Independent Music (AIM) Marketing Committee and also a member of the International Advisory Board for the US Country Music Association (CMA).
Big Management's Gary Salzman flew in from the States to give a masterful music business lecture. A nurturing force behind the dance music industry's biggest names including Todd Terry, Jason Nevins and Speakerbox, Gary spoke at length on the trials and tribulations of committing to a life-long career in the music industry.
Legendary manager Simon Napier-Bell gave a mesmerising business lecture to a jam-packed lecture theatre. Students were transfixed as Simon took them on a whirlwind journey through his career pointing out the highs and lows of his time spent in the music industry. The manager of artists such as Marc Bolan, The Yardbirds, Japan, Wham! and Rupert Everett, to name a small few, was thrilled to have such a captivated audience.
Industry veteran and Hal Leonard Director of European Sales and Marketing Mark Mumford joined the list of special guests visiting ACM by conducting a business lecture on the best way for students to market themselves to the music industry.
Super producer Trevor Horn took time out of his busy schedule to speak to budding musicians about the trials and tribulations of today’s music business.
Students were presented with a rare opportunity to speak to the esteemed producer about the process of record making and how to work with artists. As well as producing such hits as “Owner of a Lonely Heart” by legendary rock band Yes and “Relax” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Horn co-wrote hits such as Seal's “Kiss from a Rose” which earned not only number one status in the US, but won a Grammy Award, and Grace Jones classic “Slave to the Rhythm".
The charismatic hit maker spoke of his own experiences in an ever-evolving music industry, and took questions from an appreciative audience of musicians, songwriters and music producers on all manner of issues. We hope to welcome him back to ACM very soon.
Wheatus front man, Singer/songwriter Brendan B. Brown took time out of his busy schedule to speak to musicians about the trials and tribulations of today’s music industry.
Students at ACM were presented with an opportunity – to speak to the New York born musician about what really happens in today’s music industry. In the two hour ‘Music Culture’ lecture, the students asked Brendan about all manner of issues, from how to publish their music to how to look out for industry pitfalls.
Brendan, who rose to fame with hits such as ‘Teenage Dirtbag' and a cover of Erasure’s 'A Little Respect' said of ACM; “This place is awesome! The facilities are fantastic and the students that come here are very lucky.” He also added; “There are some talented musicians here, I would love to take these guys back to the US to produce for them at my studio”.
After finishing his lecture, Brendan gave a quick interview to University of Surrey radio station GU2 before playing a sold out concert at Guildford’s premier creative arts venue, The Boileroom.
Tim Ferrone, product manager at Safe Management kindly came in to give business students a taste of managing artists and dealing with record companies on a daily basis.
Tim manages Bens Brother, currently receiving national airplay and many other signed artists. Tim has several years experience working for EMI and Universals' commercial and catalogue marketing department before leaving to join this successful independent artist management company.
Universal's Classics and Jazz A&R and Marketing executive Tom Lewis came down to the business school to give a Marketing & Media masterclass.
Tom discussed how to market an artist the major label way, the challenges and opportunities affecting breaking new artists. he has hads major success with Madelaine Peyroux, Ryan Dan, Catherine Jenkins and the hugely successful Gregorian chant Top 10 album.
Vice President of Peer Music Publishing, Nigel Elderton gave music business students a glimpse into what it's like being at the forefront of today's music industry. A trustee of The Performing Right Society Foundation (PRSF) (the UK's largest independent funder for new music) Nigel garnered respect from students who listened intently to his lecture and then asked some well thought out and in-depth questions that Nigel was more than happy to answer.
Scott came into the ACM to give the business students a talk on digital music distribution and his thoughts on the future of music consumption and new business models.
Scott Cohen is one of the leading experts in digital distribution and new media. Scott co-founded The Orchard in 1997 with legendary Producer/ Songwriter and co-founder of Sire Records, Richard Gottehrer. The Orchard is a leading digital distributor of music with offices in 28 countries,representing over 2,500 labels from more than 75 countries covering every genre of music with a catalogue of more than 1 million songs and 3,000 hours + of video programming through hundreds of digital stores (including iTunes, eMusic, Google, Netflix) and mobile carriers such as Verizon, Vodafone, Bell Canada, Moderati and 3.
Scott began his career in the music business in the late 80's as an artist manager of both independent and Major Label artists. In addition to his responsibilities at The Orchard, Scott also manages Danish act The Raveonettes and is Visiting Professor at the London Metropolitan University.
Sir Harry kindly visited the business students to give a guest lecture on music publishing and how to make money from songs so songwriters can live whilst writing hits!
Sir Harry (Cowell) entered the music business in 1980. He toured with The Stranglers and The Vapours before being offered a job to hit the road as a Drum Tech for music legends Genesis. Through tour management and his own studio he worked with acts such as The Police, The Passions, TRB, AC-DC, Ozzy Osbourne, The Manic Street Preachers, T’Pau, Geoff Downes, My Bloody Valentine, Captain Sensible and The Damned.
In 2001 Sir Harry joined Rive Droite Music as Director of A&R and within 3 months had taken over and become Managing Director of Production and Music Publishing. Rive Droite was responsible for writing and producing hits for Kylie Minogue ‘On a Night Like This’, Enrique Iglesias ‘Hero’, Cher ‘Believe’ as well as chart success with Steps, Celine Dion, Ricky Martin, Lionel Richie, Andrea Bocelli, Tina Turner and Rod Stewart. Sir Harry departed Rive Droite Music in 2006 to found his new company Private and Confidential Music where he oversees the selection and writing of songs/productions and management of artists.
SPECIAL GUESTS Music Business Masterclasses
Music Business Masterclasses
Ace (Skunk Anansie), Trevor Horn, B*Witched, Brendan B. Brown, Pete Waterman, Tom Lewis, Mike McNally, Tim Ferrone, Gary Salzman, Nigel Elderton, Simon Napier Bell, Scott Cohen, Mark Mumford, Sir Harry
Smoking Aces
All round top-bloke, chatterbox and guitar-hero Ace, from Skunk Anansie, dropped into ACM this week for a whole host of masterclasses covering performance, production and the music industry. Ace even took the time to cover some tutorials with students and impart his vast knowledge about the music business.
Ace talked at length to performance students about his experiences being in a band, sell-out tours, the ins and outs of songwriting and even asked some students up on stage to work on some riffs and talk through band dynamics.
There followed a great session in teaching control where a mix of music production and guitar students went through the processes of production from recording guitars - layering and how to get a great sound - to choosing the right equipment and even budget guidelines.
Finally Ace guested in the Degree Business Psychology lecture that went deep into the processes of being an artist, discussing such topics as - what the 'creative process' is for an artist and how to reconcile creativity/art with business/industry among others.
Ace said, “Calling into ACM is always a rewarding and fulfilling experience. The students are receptive, intelligent and dedicated to their art. Classes are fun as well as educational, and the pupils welcoming atmosphere make any visit a pleasure.”
Guitar School Manager Matt Haslett added, "It's fantastic for the students when someone of Ace's calibre and experience is willing to come in and share his insight and knowledge with the next generation of players and artists. It's these extra opportunities which create such a positive atmosphere and ultimately make ACM such a unique environment."
Thanks Ace. You were, er, Ace!
B*Witched
Lindsay Armaou-Brennan and Keavy Lynch of super pop band B*Witched popped into the Academy to offer up advice to students on their future careers within an industry that is notoriously easy to get lost in.
Pictured here with ACM's Chris Parles, the duo talked about the pitfalls they faced in one of the UK's biggest names in the 1990's and how they overcame them. A great lecture, delivered by some of Ireland's brightest stars.
Pete Waterman
The Academy of Contemporary Music was honoured by the presence of legendary music producer and pop impresario Pete Waterman.
Pete, who manufactured hits for some of the music industry's biggest names in the '80s, including Kylie Minogue, Dead or Alive, Stefan Dennis and Rick Astley, made the trip to Guildford to talk to ACM students and offer his knowledge and experience.
The 150 strong audience wasted little time in asking one of the world's most successful men in music the secrets of his 40+ year career. Pete even took time to listen to some student demos too!
Mike McNally
Music Marketing Guru Mike McNally, Senior VP of Marketing at Nettwerk, formerly Head of A&R and Promotions at EMI, came in to entertain students with his many industry stories and discussed the DIY route to marketing artists. Mike joined the launch team of the first national commercial radio station - Virgin Radio - owned by Richard Branson. 3 years later he had a complete career change and headed off to help setup the new Catalogue label for EMI. After A&R and marketing hit albums from artists as diverse as Hot Chocolate, Dean Martin and Blondie he moved on to the pop (or 'dark' as some called it) side and was responsible for a number of alleged crimes against music including hit singles from The Cuban Boys, The Cartoons, DJ Otzi and Rik Waller.
He remains proud of all of them to this day. As his own video commissioner he also achieved a personal best of 5 videos in the VH1 Worst Videos of All Time series. Discarding this veneer of commercial success he launched his own imprint, EMI Liberty, working with singer songwriters and international development artists.
In 2005 he joined the influential and innovative music company Nettwerk where he ran the UK label operation and worked closely with domestic and international artist management. He is a member of the Association of Independent Music (AIM) Marketing Committee and also a member of the International Advisory Board for the US Country Music Association (CMA).
Gary Salzman
Big Management's Gary Salzman flew in from the States to give a masterful music business lecture. A nurturing force behind the dance music industry's biggest names including Todd Terry, Jason Nevins and Speakerbox, Gary spoke at length on the trials and tribulations of committing to a life-long career in the music industry.
Simon Napier-Bell
Legendary manager Simon Napier-Bell gave a mesmerising business lecture to a jam-packed lecture theatre. Students were transfixed as Simon took them on a whirlwind journey through his career pointing out the highs and lows of his time spent in the music industry. The manager of artists such as Marc Bolan, The Yardbirds, Japan, Wham! and Rupert Everett, to name a small few, was thrilled to have such a captivated audience.
Mark Mumford
Industry veteran and Hal Leonard Director of European Sales and Marketing Mark Mumford joined the list of special guests visiting ACM by conducting a business lecture on the best way for students to market themselves to the music industry.
Trevor Horn
Super producer Trevor Horn took time out of his busy schedule to speak to budding musicians about the trials and tribulations of today’s music business. Students were presented with a rare opportunity to speak to the esteemed producer about the process of record making and how to work with artists. As well as producing such hits as “Owner of a Lonely Heart” by legendary rock band Yes and “Relax” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Horn co-wrote hits such as Seal's “Kiss from a Rose” which earned not only number one status in the US, but won a Grammy Award, and Grace Jones classic “Slave to the Rhythm".
The charismatic hit maker spoke of his own experiences in an ever-evolving music industry, and took questions from an appreciative audience of musicians, songwriters and music producers on all manner of issues. We hope to welcome him back to ACM very soon.
Brendan B. Brown
Wheatus front man, Singer/songwriter Brendan B. Brown took time out of his busy schedule to speak to musicians about the trials and tribulations of today’s music industry.Students at ACM were presented with an opportunity – to speak to the New York born musician about what really happens in today’s music industry. In the two hour ‘Music Culture’ lecture, the students asked Brendan about all manner of issues, from how to publish their music to how to look out for industry pitfalls.
Brendan, who rose to fame with hits such as ‘Teenage Dirtbag' and a cover of Erasure’s 'A Little Respect' said of ACM; “This place is awesome! The facilities are fantastic and the students that come here are very lucky.” He also added; “There are some talented musicians here, I would love to take these guys back to the US to produce for them at my studio”.
After finishing his lecture, Brendan gave a quick interview to University of Surrey radio station GU2 before playing a sold out concert at Guildford’s premier creative arts venue, The Boileroom.
Tim Ferrone
Tim Ferrone, product manager at Safe Management kindly came in to give business students a taste of managing artists and dealing with record companies on a daily basis. Tim manages Bens Brother, currently receiving national airplay and many other signed artists. Tim has several years experience working for EMI and Universals' commercial and catalogue marketing department before leaving to join this successful independent artist management company.
Tom Lewis
Universal's Classics and Jazz A&R and Marketing executive Tom Lewis came down to the business school to give a Marketing & Media masterclass.Tom discussed how to market an artist the major label way, the challenges and opportunities affecting breaking new artists. he has hads major success with Madelaine Peyroux, Ryan Dan, Catherine Jenkins and the hugely successful Gregorian chant Top 10 album.
Nigel Elderton
Vice President of Peer Music Publishing, Nigel Elderton gave music business students a glimpse into what it's like being at the forefront of today's music industry. A trustee of The Performing Right Society Foundation (PRSF) (the UK's largest independent funder for new music) Nigel garnered respect from students who listened intently to his lecture and then asked some well thought out and in-depth questions that Nigel was more than happy to answer.
Scott Cohen
Scott came into the ACM to give the business students a talk on digital music distribution and his thoughts on the future of music consumption and new business models. Scott Cohen is one of the leading experts in digital distribution and new media. Scott co-founded The Orchard in 1997 with legendary Producer/ Songwriter and co-founder of Sire Records, Richard Gottehrer. The Orchard is a leading digital distributor of music with offices in 28 countries,representing over 2,500 labels from more than 75 countries covering every genre of music with a catalogue of more than 1 million songs and 3,000 hours + of video programming through hundreds of digital stores (including iTunes, eMusic, Google, Netflix) and mobile carriers such as Verizon, Vodafone, Bell Canada, Moderati and 3.
Scott began his career in the music business in the late 80's as an artist manager of both independent and Major Label artists. In addition to his responsibilities at The Orchard, Scott also manages Danish act The Raveonettes and is Visiting Professor at the London Metropolitan University.
Sir Harry
Sir Harry kindly visited the business students to give a guest lecture on music publishing and how to make money from songs so songwriters can live whilst writing hits! Sir Harry (Cowell) entered the music business in 1980. He toured with The Stranglers and The Vapours before being offered a job to hit the road as a Drum Tech for music legends Genesis. Through tour management and his own studio he worked with acts such as The Police, The Passions, TRB, AC-DC, Ozzy Osbourne, The Manic Street Preachers, T’Pau, Geoff Downes, My Bloody Valentine, Captain Sensible and The Damned.
In 2001 Sir Harry joined Rive Droite Music as Director of A&R and within 3 months had taken over and become Managing Director of Production and Music Publishing. Rive Droite was responsible for writing and producing hits for Kylie Minogue ‘On a Night Like This’, Enrique Iglesias ‘Hero’, Cher ‘Believe’ as well as chart success with Steps, Celine Dion, Ricky Martin, Lionel Richie, Andrea Bocelli, Tina Turner and Rod Stewart. Sir Harry departed Rive Droite Music in 2006 to found his new company Private and Confidential Music where he oversees the selection and writing of songs/productions and management of artists.
