Spearheaded by Martine Cotton, a long time music industry worker, marketing/social media manager, event producer/manager, and photographer Music Industry Inside Out (MIIO) is a new music industry hub and education resource for those wanting to learn more about the mysterious beast that is the Australian Music Industry.
Launched in October 2014 to be, primarily, a music industry knowledge hub, online community aims to help people build sustainable careers in music, by assisting them in learning the contemporary skills they need to achieve their full potential, at their own time and pace.
Always keen to help others learn more about the ins and out of the industry, we caught up with Martine to chat about MIIO, its aims, achievements and who has the most to gain from being a part of this fantastic online community. For more info or to become a part of Music Industry Inside Out visit www.musicindustryinsideout.com.au.
What is Music Industry Inside Out?
“Music Industry Inside Out (MIIO) is an epic contemporary music industry knowledge hub, a membership based professional development resource. At the time of writing we have videos with 62 leading music industry figures in the can, talking to 24 different course topics, from Exporting Your Music to Understanding Copyright and most things in between.
It’s an education resource, and its primary function is to offer members and readers support and advice in working towards a sustainable career in music. I would compare it more to Lynda.com or Udemy.
We started publishing articles to offer cool content to non-members – we’re pretty generous with what’s on offer outside the membership perks. But content publishing is a secondary priority behind the course videos.”
The Beginning
“I started MusicIIO after the Qld Newman Govt slashed arts funding and my role as Program Manager at QMusic was made redundant. I had spent a couple of years travelling around regional and urban Queensland doing music industry workshops and knew just how hungry people were for decent, real, modern music industry advice and information. I sat on the idea for a few months and after talking to some friends and mentors, decided to have a go at it.
[include_post id=”451818″] In April I was accepted into the NEIS program and I did a six week Cert IV in Small Business where we all produced these whopping business plans. I met some amazing people in that course and we all – still – support each others businesses in all sorts of ways. There is no way that MusicIIO would have happened with the income and mentor support of the NEIS program. Anyway, I officially launched the site on October 7, 2014 and it’s been go-go-go ever since!
I’ve worked in music since I was at uni in the very late 80s, and just like so many others through the nineties and naughties, I have worn a lot of music hats. I’ve managed quite a few incredible bands, I managed and booked The Zoo (Brisbane live music venue) in the second-half of the nineties, had my own booking agency and music services business, been a tour manager, put on and worked at dozens of festivals and events, managed festival stages, managed marketing and social media for a bunch of businesses and built a handful of websites.
In 2002 though, after a particularly stressful couple of national tours I walked away from the business and went to live in Japan as an English teacher and then North Queensland as a wedding photographer. When I returned to Brisbane in 2012 I won the job at QMusic and returned to the immersive world of music and really haven’t looked back since.”
Who MIIO Is For
“Anyone wanting to work – or already working in the music industry – musicians, band managers, label workers, venue operators, booking agents etc. Anyone who wants to continue to learn and listen to some exceptional industry figures sharing their opinions, advice and anecdotal stories. Some of the content is aimed at absolute beginners but a lot of it is enlightening and inspirational to people already mid-way through their careers. I learn new stuff in every interview I do. And I’ve done 62 of them since I started!”
Reason For Membership
“Firstly, I think that having the video content behind a paywall encourages the mentors to speak more freely – many of them would be reluctant to cover the kinds of things we talk about in the sessions in a general public forum.
It offers a genuine sense of community and transparency and that’s really important. Secondly, it costs a lot of money to produce something as epic as this, and I am just one person with a big dream trying to change this little corner of the world. I have a couple of fun part time jobs to pay the rent and keep the site running.”
Proudest Moments
“In terms of pre-MusicIIO, I think my proudest achievement was wrangling Grant McLennan and Ed Kuepper into performing with the legendary Jimmy Little when he played at The Zoo during the Messenger tour. Messenger was a gorgeous country-styled tribute album of covers of iconic songs by Australian songwriters, and included Grant’s Cattle and Cane and Ed’s The Way I Made You Feel. I remember Grant being particularly nervous before going onstage because he was going to have to play Cattle and Cane in 4/4 and he really never ever wrote or played in 4/4.
[include_post id=”450944”] Of course, he and Jimmy nailed it. The show was so freaking special – Jimmy (an elderly man at that stage) was full of old world charm and class, and so respectful to the songwriters of those songs. It was one of those defining moments where you stand at the back of a room full of hollerin’ people and think proudly “Hey, I made that happen”. I took a polaroid of the three of them backstage, it’s pretty special now because we’ve lost two-thirds of the stars from that magical night.
My proudest MusicIIO moment came when I did a call out for interns earlier this year and got deluged with enthusiastic and passionate applications from some of the most kickass young up-and-coming stars in Brisbane. I think that’s when I knew I was doing the right thing with Music Industry Inside Out.”
Plans For The Rest Of 2015
“More courses for the members, with more diverse mentors and topics! I am doing a 6 month Cert IV in Training and Assessment to get the business accredited with a “RTO” (registered training organisation) status and plan to produce short vocational courses. Music Industry Inside Out is also producing the music industry panels at a couple of small music festivals and I hope to get over to Adelaide, Darwin and Perth to shoot videos with some of the leading lights in those cities.”
For more info or to become a part of Music Industry Inside Out visit www.musicindustryinsideout.com.au.
