AIM Music Industry Insights

How do you overcome performance anxiety? We put together a panel of musicians, psychologists and educators to discuss their best advice to overcome an almost universal experience for performing musicians.

Jessie Lloyd is an Aboriginal Australian "Songkeeper," artist and social historian dedicated to honouring the music, sharing the stories and celebrating the culture of Aboriginal Australia and the Torres Strait Islander communities. Through her award-winning Mission Songs Project through to her latest, the Island Songs Project, she has introduced new audiences to Indigenous music and culture in groundbreaking new ways. 

There's an art to becoming a successful performer playing regular gigs and making a sustainable living from playing music. We called upon AIM graduates Emily Hanks and Josephine Ison, both in-demand performers and booking agents, to share some of the "secret sauce" that has established them as musicians gigging regularly on the circuit. 

An accomplished and diverse group of women successfully navigating all areas of the music industry joined forces at AIM for a highly-charged and irreverent exploration of their achievements and the challenges they face in the industry today. Speakers on the panel interview stage included women working in artist management, media, DJing, marketing, A&R, podcasting and making music. They also included musical artist Azure, one of the driving forces behind the "Beneath The Glass Ceiling" Instagram page and movement to expose unethical members of the industry and hold them to account.  Speakers:  Alexia Dobbin - Company Director, Alexia Dobbin Entertainment Poppy Reid - Editor in Chief Brag Media (titles including Rolling Stone Australia and The Music Network) Azure - Musical artist Amy Jarma - Director of A&R for Production Club (Super Bowl, The Chainsmokers, Skrillex, Amazon, Intel, Riot Games, Beeple) Jade Le Flay - DJ & host Kailei Ginman - Marketing Manager AUNZ (Helix Records, Payday Records, Ultra Publishing)

How do you build a successful music career? AIM lecturers (all industry experts and accomplished musicians) from a cross-section of our music departments provide advice garnered from their years of experience on how to create a "portfolio career" – where you leverage your strongest skills and build competence in new areas to make money and sustain a career in music. 

Paul Saintilan is the author of a groundbreaking new book called "Musicians & Addiction: Research & Recovery Stories." We explore the two year journey to put it together, the myths it busts about creativity and substance abuse, his own experiences, the incredible work Support Act is doing to support musicians during the pandemic, and simple ways musicians can use sports science to improve their mental health and resilience.

Poppy Reid is the Managing Editor of Australia's largest independent music media company, The Brag Media. That means she is the chief decision-maker for a whole pile of influential titles including Rolling Stone Australia, Variety Australia, Tone Deaf, The Brag, The Industry Observer and Don't Bore Us. She was shortlisted for B&T's Women in Media Awards in 2017 and a National Live Music Award in 2020.

Regan Lethbridge is best known as the co-manager of Tones & I – whose single Dance Monkey has become one of the biggest songs in the history of the music business. The song went #1 in 30 countries, has been streamed seven billion times, with a further one billion views on Youtube.  Regan also co-manages Tash Sultana, a rising Melbourne-based artist who now commands such a loyal global audience that she can headline US arenas and festivals such as Coachella.

Passionate music devotee John O'Donnell (co-manager Cold Chisel, Managing Director of EMI) shares his journey from writing for Rolling Stone through to signing seminal Australian bands like Silverchair, Cold Chisel and Angus and Julia Stone. He also delves deep into the artist-focused approach he brings to his current role at EMI and his landmark book, "100 Best Australian Albums."