The event will still go down in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, a place that has become the event’s spiritual home. The program will accommodate the necessary social distancing and safety protocols and will offer the likes of artists, managers, bookers, agents, publishers, publicists, producers, the list goes on, the opportunity to engage in conferences, workshops, facilitated conversations, live festival showcases, secret shows and official parties.
BIGSOUND’s live showcase program will envelope ten of the Valley’s beloved live music venues. The conference itself will stand as the first major meeting for industry professionals since COVID-19 knocked everything over in March.
“BIGSOUND has been the leader of conversation and discovery in the Australian music industry for over 18 years and this year we will be forging ahead with a recovery-focused festival,” says Angela Samut, CEO of QMusic – the organisers of the event.
“With the culture of our industry under threat from COVID-19, our industrial culture under scrutiny as we face head-on the structural inequities for women, LGBTIQ+ and First Nations people, and our culture as a nation under the spotlight as global trends put even more pressure on local artists and local stories, never has it been more essential for BIGSOUND to proceed and succeed.”
In 2020, Janne Scott will jump on board as Creative Director, having been the head of the Visual Arts Program at BIGSOUND in the past. Artist live showcase applications are open as of now and the regular artist application fees will be waived in a big show of support from BIGSOUND.
BIGSOUND goes down across two nights from Wednesday October 21 to Thursday October 22. Artist applications are now open here. This story was originally published in Beat Magazine.
