Industry news & advice blog

Scotland’s Wide Days music conference and showcase event is pleased to announce the first seminars for this year’s daytime programme, which takes place on April 11-12 at Edinburgh’s Teviot House.
 

Topics include A&R, getting gigs abroad, audience development and a look at technological innovations which are likely to be used in the imminent future. Moreover, Wide Days also looks set to become the first event in Europe to feature panels focusing on areas of mutual interest to both the tourism and music sectors. These include the benefits of programming bands at sporting events, working with musicians to promote destinations and a look at several hotels which have boosted business through music.
 

“Wide Days has established a reputation for bringing together music industry veterans with those doing amazing things at grassroots level,” explains co-founder Olaf Furniss. “We now plan to build on this to become first forum for the music and tourism industries to build closer partnerships. The aim is to bring about collaborations for the mutual benefit of artists, promoters, visitor attractions, travel companies and hospitality businesses.”
 

Panel participants will be announced next week, along with several workshops and the first showcases. Previous guests have included the organisers of key festivals such as Rockness, T In The Park, Edinburgh Hogmanay and Wickerman, as well as the managers of acts such as Stevie Wonder, Texas, Primal Scream and The View.
 

Among the showcased artists are PAWS, who went on to sign to leading independent label Fatcat, as well as the singer songwriters Rachel Sermanni and Withered Hand.
 

A special early bird rate of £29 is available for the conference until March 12, representing a third off the full price of £45.  

 

For Wide Days updates and information visit the website below.

 

Wide Days was launched in April 2010 by Scotland’s leading music business seminar and social night, Born To Be Wide. It aims to bring together industry veterans and those at grassroots level, and provide a manageable number of showcases with a focus on quality over quantity. The event receives support from the Musicians Union.

Contact: [email protected] or [email protected], 07974 572072 or 07784 320546

 

The Musicians’ Union is a globally-respected organisation which represents over 30,000 musicians working in all sectors of the music business. As well as negotiating on behalf of musicians with all the major employers in the industry, the MU offers a range of services tailored for the self-employed by providing assistance for professional and student musicians of all ages.

Contact: Jen Hunter, [email protected], 0141 341 2963