Discover Top Posts Tagged with #industry profile

UM Industry Profile : : Wizkid News

As an artist, one of the biggest teams rooting for your success is your fan base. They are the ones who will purchase your releases from digital stores such as iTunes, stream your music on various digital platforms and buy tickets to your shows. They are the backbone to your success and without them you wouldn’t be where you are today. Wizkid News is a platform created to support Nigerian Artist, Wizkid. From posting about Wizkid’s releases and those of associated acts, they’ve been able to keep fans informed about all things Wizkid. They have launched several campaigns in support of Wizkid’s music endeavours and more! Since their launch in 2014, they have acquired a following over 2 million followers across their social media sites. This is something very rare that we have not witnessed with fan channels dedicated to other artists. Amandah Opoku sat down with the founder of Wizkid News to talk about why they started the platform, their recent website launch and more! Check out our interview below!

#Industry Profile #Interviews #Amandah Opoku #Wizkid News #Wizkid

UM Industry Profile : : Sky White (Founder of Wendigo Tea Company)

Sky White, soft spoken keyboardist of Foxy Shazam, found his obsession with tea behind the wheel of Foxy's tour rig. With a distaste for coffee, he began taking interest in the ability to brew fine, high grade tea on the go and with two shakes of a lambs tail (and an incredible amount of work), Wendigo Tea Company was formed. UMusicians caught up with Sky White to talk about his latest endeavor!

UMusicians: Hello! Thank you for speaking with us! Would you mind telling us your name and a little bit about Wendigo Tea Company? SW: Hey. I'm Sky White and Wendigo Tea Co. is a cryptid/beast themed tea business that I own and operate nearly identically as a band. We focus on only extremely high grade teas.

UMusicians: How did Wendigo come about? Was it an overnight idea or was the creation a long time coming? SW: The idea took years to come into focus. Then when Foxy Shazam decided to back off then I finally had time to put in the leg work to get it up and running. UMusicians: When Wendigo first started out, was it difficult? What challenges did you face? SW: Owning a small business is always difficult. It is exceptionally hard for me because Wendigo Tea Co. is growing pretty darn fast and keeps throwing me into new parts of the food industry that I know nothing about. Money management is always extra hard when a business is growing faster than expected. UMusicians: If you had the opportunity to start over, would you do anything differently? SW: Not really. I really like that the 1st bunch of orders that I sent out looked pretty stupid and over time developed into these cool as hell beasts. My customers appreciate the ability to watch my company grow and get better and nearly all them are still constantly ordering from Wendigo now. UMusicians: What makes Wendigo different from other tea companies? SW: Other tea companies are boring and sell garbage low grade tea because most American's don't know any better. Wendigo Tea Co. thinks that is bullshit and you deserve better. UMusicians: In any way, had performing in a Foxy Shazam helped prepare you for running your own company? SW: I found most of my catalog of teas by traveling around the world with Foxy. 200-300 shows a year for ten years means a lot of times I could wander away from the venue and find the greatest tea that the city had to offer. I had to have tasted 2000+ different teas while traveling. I unknowingly was doing research for Wendigo all along. Foxy Shazam was always very conscious about being as wildly different from other bands as possible. We always stood out. And we always put in the time to make sure every show was fluid yet horrifying. Standing out in the tea industry is a little easier because the competition is all doing the exact same thing. UMusicians: Any advice to someone who wants to start their own company? SW: Just start it and make mistakes. Learn as much as you can along the way. Ask for advice from people that may know more than you. Only take the advice that matches your personal core beliefs. I would assume a large number of your readers are musicians given your title. Bands are small businesses too. If you can't manage to work together in order to regularly put out quality content then your business will fail. If you are relying on someone outside of the band to make it happen for you then you are not doing everything you can to succeed. Delegate responsibilities to members based on their skills and interest. Everyone should not be worrying about every single problem that comes up. Nobody will ever care about the success of the band as much as you so work as hard/smart as you can. Or email me at [email protected] if you have any specific question. UMusicians: I noted many of teas have interesting designs, who does the artwork? SW: Mat Franklin did merch and teched for Foxy for years. He helped with many of our designs and toured with us playing with Cadaver Dogs. I had seen a lot of his freelance design work and also saw his personal style tended to involve monsters and beasts and also did haunted house design. So when I needed an artist for Wendigo it was like a 3 second long conversation. Me: So I'm starting a cryptid themed tea company... so you're my artist...? Mat: Oh yeah... I'm obviously your artist. UMusicians: Tell us a little bit about the product, do you grow your own tea leaves? Or do you have a supplier? SW: I work with a lot of different growers, blenders, and exporters around the world. I wish I could grow locally here but I focus on traditional teas which involve the Camellia sinensis plant. It is the base of all black tea, green tea, oolong tea, white tea.... pretty much all tea except herbal tea. It does not grow well anywhere within the US. I would love for someone to prove me wrong with this. There are a handful of places that try but are nowhere near as good at it than the places I'm getting it from. UMusicians: Do you foresee expanding into more types of tea in the future? If so, will you continue with the supernatural theme you have going on? SW: Yeah I plan to add a few more but never want to be one of those companies with 100+ different teas. Everything will have at least some element of the supernatural branding involved. UMusicians: Do you have a personal favorite tea? SW: Wendigo Green Tea is my personal favorite. It is not for beginners though. It is a super fresh yet potent rare organic Japenese Sencha from Uji. It tastes like you are licking a big green part of the planet in spring. I have to mention Siren though. Siren Herbal Throat Health Tea is one of my newest additions. It was created for vocalists and people that depend on their voice for a living. Siren is my only herbal tea that I developed with an herbal expert specifically to help combat the lifestyle of constant performing and traveling. I honestly never planned on having an herbal tea in my catalog but knew that people needed this one. There are tons of throat sprays and teas out there. It has a lot of the same ingredients as those except just much higher grade versions of the herbs and tastes a hell of a lot better, as long as you are okay with spicy ginger. We are getting great feedback so far from famous vocalists, voice over actors, world record holding vocal coaches, performers, and other people that just want something to help soothe their worn out throat. I'm pretty proud of this one. UMusicians: Are you working on any upcoming projects? SW: Well I'm always working on new stuff. Wendigo always has irons in the fire, but the public will only hear of the best ones when they are ready. I have a few music projects in the works and have been playing some heavy delta blues in dark corners of the city for fun.

#Industry Profile #Interviews #Sky White #Foxy Shazam #Wendigo Tea Company #Xochitil Hansen

Reflect On Cyber Stableness Jobs Headed for Know Concerning The Cyber Security Industry Profile

Students seeking to make certificates or IT professionals looking further career enhancement in developing areas prescriptive evaluate about the pursuing training course in the cyber protection field. Themselves is preponderate to the point for not only in the industry developing, but the work is essential in transit to client confidentiality, overall profitability and company data security, creating educated professionals a product in job market in today's time around the world. There are limitless cyber certitude jobs at liberty in determinate coupling of the world. Other self can hold the endurance definitive information related to cyber interlock for determining whether it is ideal for you, mentioned under the sun:<\p>

Doings Conning tower<\p>

A sell on consignment viewpoint distantly related to government controlled quantity projects for IT professionals and experts who specialize in the industry of cyber unshakableness for remaining tough in the destination. Granted experts herewith appropriate work experience may have a competitive boundary in this developing sector than others. District companies gettable at overseas and otherworld, along let alone the nonprofits and private organizations, the ensemble accounts an enhancement in appeal for information assertion analysts in favor of assisting in a wide lists speaking of concerning requirements of the information security industry.<\p>

Inflooding addition to the article, for experts looking a career direction and growth that could providential so as to them the advantage concerning travels, lust on route to the methodology of a great career approach the cyber rebuttal industry, there are just right different cyber security jobs available as the best opportunities for applying their professionalism in overseas industries.<\p>

Job history<\p>

Prior to deciding for makeup a career in the cyber security industry, you be necessary to gorge the whole range the job responsibilities and descriptions essential for this industry in order to the like of unscarred that whether you are capable of performing all the like of duties. Supremacy apropos of the information assurance forecasters work conventional hours amongst overtime hours on an addition basis based on alternating projects. Enhancing the striptease of grab openings permit cause escarpment from home on the internet, however in-office anticipations are idiocratic. Career versatility does enable the makeshift in contemplation of work vestibule conditions where travel is hoped-for but most of the jobs need exact likeness to pro away of state pilgrim.<\p>

There are so many job descriptions and directions that have to breathe performed by virtual safety analysts. Job descriptions need to be premised before entering into this industry and credit for cyber security jobs. Some job descriptions are such as training other employees, monitoring data flow, enhancing aspiration enate the dope methods and reporting and documenting discrepancies in data transmission that may chalk up legal interest are highest degree amidst the general tasks of everyday pertinent to the arrogance analyst. A tell of virtual protection experts be in action an in consulting industries or with huge agencies that assist businesses adapt veracious safety techniques fess point ways for addressing painstaking corporate susceptibilities during climbing and depth risk assessment procedure.<\p>

If self want over against make career in this candidates, there is a take doing of attaining right type of education and nurture course leading to greater scope and flounder. Competition is cacuminal for the top most cyber prospects jobs, but experts who attempt the energy and pregnant moment into protecting right credentials and work meet up with may observe an humongous cycle or outcomes on their ventures for many years on approach.<\p>

Artifice Box:-<\p>

#defense industry #cyber defense #industry profile #enhancing security #security industry profile #cyber security #enhancing security related #security analyst #information security industry #security industry #cyber security jobs #job descriptions #cyber safety #cyber defense industry #security jobs #cyber security industry #security related communication #security jobs available #limitless cyber security

UM Industry Profile : : John Delaney (Warner Music Canada Social Media and Content Coordinator, & Marketing)

During Canadian Music Week, industry professionals took to panels to discuss various aspects of the music industry during a 3 Day Summit. Amandah Opoku and Maryam Said, sat down with John Delaney, Warner Music Canada’s Social Media and Content Manager, and Marketing to discuss social media use, the future of social media and advice for aspiring music industry professionals Amandah Opoku: Hey John, it’s great to be interviewing you today! How have you been? How's Canadian Music Week been so far? John Delaney: Good, talked on a panel today and tomorrow’s going to be a little more hectic, as I’m heading out to different conferences AO: Did you learn anything? JD: Yes, there were great people talking. Most of today, it was all Social stuff, which I spend a lot of my time doing. Tomorrow, I’m looking forward to! There are a lot of really cool people and a lot of friends speaking so I’m looking forward to that!

Maryam Said: We’re day 7 into Canadian Music Week right now, have you been able to check out any other artist? JD: So far, it’s pretty early into the festival. Bands I saw who are represented by Warner Music, are Ron Sexsmith who played Massey Hall, Eleven Past One who played The Revival. I also saw RYan Shaughnessy who came 5th on Britain's got talent, he’s really talented singer-songwriter. And I’m excited for Scott Helman’s headlining the MOD Club. MS: Prior to working at Warner, you’ve worked with a number artists in relation to photographer, in addition to acting as a tour manager for bands such as Crystalyne and The Juliets (formerly Cardinals). What drew you to wanting to work at Warner? JD: I loved working with Crystalyne and The Juliets, and I still have a huge part in my heart for them. I’ve had a lot of great opportunities over the world and worked with big label acts while I was working with the independent acts. Now working with some of the bigger label bands, I got to know a lot of people at the major record label including Warner. The position came about I guess almost a year ago, when they decided needed some to focus on social and digital marketing and they all knew me and knew my background and knew i lived in the world. One of their publicists told me about the position when I was working with one of their artists, Victoria Duffield, so I applied for the position, I interviewed, I realized it was the right position for me, they realized I was the right person for the job. It’s been great ever since, it’s nearing a year I’ve been with Warner. Great company, great roster -some of my favorite bands are on the roster which is phenomenal to work with, and I’m getting to do some great stuff with artists and the genre I love AO: You’re currently the Social Media and Content Manager, and Marketing at Warner Music Canada, what does your job entail? JD: I’m a digital market coordinator, with a focus on social and content marketing. I help develop social strategies for all our artists, primarily domestically and also help with efforts with our international artists. In addition to that, I’m a marketing manager for various of our dance acts in the EDM world. MS: As we mentioned before you’re the Social Media and Content Coordinator at Warner Music Canada. The great thing about social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube to name a few is that these platforms all have different tools which an artist can use in unison with another. Is there a right or wrong way to use these platforms? JD: There’s definitely is. It’s all about pushing out high quality content and figuring out which social networks are great for the artist that I guess their demographic aligns with said social networking demographic. There’s some social networks that skewer to a younger demographic, some that go to an older one, some that skew towards North America, while others are larger in Asia. It’s all about finding where your artist demographic lies and matching them up with a social demographic AO: Have you noticed any social media fails? JD: Yes, there’s been a couple disasters I’ve seen one. Most recently, this is a funny one to talk about because it’s all over everywhere, is TIDAL the new streaming site backed by Jay Z. They have some of the biggest players in the game which is fantastic and everyone’s eyes is on them, the only downside is you have all these multimillionaire artists who have seen large amounts of success and you have them pleading for money which probably wasn’t the best way of doing it. They almost, been better to get a bunch of bands you’ve never heard of or a bunch of bands who are on the independent side who are really hurting based on everyone pirating music. It wasn’t executed as well as it could have been or should have been bad, which is too bad. But it happens. AO: Do you think the music industry needs another streaming site, like TIDAL or can we fix what we already have? JD: That’s a hard question actually. We have some great streaming sites like Spotify and Rdio, and having diversity is a big part of it because without diversity it becomes a monopoly, which a monopoly is not really good for anyone. Prices will skyrocket, they’ll want more of the share and artists won’t be seeing as much. They have a lot more control of everything. So definitely, the diversity is nice, there’s Spotify, Rdio, Deezer, Google Play streams as well and now there’s TIDAL. It’s getting quite diverse as a consumer it’s a bit overwhelming, but as a consumer you need to pick one that suits you best. They’re all very similar products, you just need to weigh the pros and cons, and they’re all around similar price points which is nice AO: Going back to social media, we tend to look at social media as transparent. We view it in terms of a transparent relationship between the musician and the fan. MS: So that artists are able to directly interact with fans, and as a fan you want information. Do you think fans are entitled to information? JD: I think they are. They’re spending all this money on the artist, and the artist should be engaging with them. In general, whether their buying CDs, tickets to their show, buying merch and as a result the artist should be engaging with their fans. Whether that be a one on one or sometimes thats a little bit much when you get more and more fans. But definitely social media has been a great way for artists to do that, that didn’t really exist 5, 10 years ago to the level it has now. AO: With Snapchat emerging, another up and coming app and being another form of communication between artists and listeners. Do you think artists can utilize this form of social media? JD: I encourage, especially with artists, Snapchat is a younger demographic and i encourage artists with that demographic to use the app. It’s a great way to connect with fans and there are a bit dangerous sides of it, but if artists use it responsibly than it’s a great way to engage with fans. It’s just another network which a lot of people are on and to give them updates. A lot of our artists are on it, and we encourage them to add their fans that way they can keep up to date with what they are. And it’s a little bit more personal with an instagram or a Twitter, where they’re give more behind the scenes, and a little more raw. Twitter and Instagram are a little more polished with filters or higher quality photos, or professional photographs compared to Snapchat which is more raw and what they’re doing. That’s what’s really cool about that all MS: Personally, what’s your favorite app or social media site? JD: That’s a tough one. As a consumer, I love Instagram. I come from a photography background, so it’s nice to use that. I’m strict with using Instagram for mobile photos, I’m not going to post any of my high quality photos on Instagram just because i find it is a mobile app and it’s fun to interact that way. There’s a billion different ways you can use Instagram and it’s a good way to share with fans. A picture says a thousand words and you can only fit 140 characters in Twitter, so it’s a nice happy medium AO: What’s one piece of advice you think is essential for artists when it comes to social media use? JD: I think content is King. It sounds cliche, but the nice thing about social media is, it’s accessible to everyone. You’re not having to spend a lot of money to use it, if any money which is awesome for independent and developing acts. That being said, everyone’s using it and there’s a lot of white noise out there and it’s tough to cut above that noise. The way you have to do that is with high quality content, whether it just be a high quality photo or high quality videos, engaging sorts of content, you’re going to bring your content that will cut through 90% of the noise and standout opposed to the rest of your competition MS: What’s your thought on streaming music and that being the way music is consumed? JD: I’m a big fan of streaming music, I stream majority of my music now. I haven’t bought a CD in years, it sounds bad but I’m a paying subscriber. Streaming is a very good happy medium, $10 a month which is generally that current for a Pro account isn’t much to ask for. That’s an album a month, and you’re getting access to listen to whoever, whenever. I really think it’s the future and I hope everyone gets behind it and gets an account and starts using it. It’s just a happy medium between getting music for free whether it be torrenting or peer to peer and having to pay $15 for album a day. I think $10 a month isn’t too much to ask for and it’s accessible for everyone AO: You have a panel on the future of social and digital music. In your opinion where do you see the future heading to? JD: If I knew...It’s hard to predict the future, but there are ways you can prepare for it. There are new social networks coming out every day and the best thing an artist can do is create an account and learn that social network. Worst comes to worse, it doesn’t take off and you’ve wasted an 1 ½ of your time but it isn’t too much to ask for. But if that does take off, then you’re ahead of the curve. It’s tough to say where the future is heading, but that’s one way to handle it.

AO: During CMW, you were also involved in a mentors cafe which involved networking. In your opinion what is the best way for aspiring musicians and those seeking positions in the music industry to network? JD: Networking’s all about getting out there. That being said, it’s important to get out there as much as possible, and shake as many hands as you can. Canadian Music Week is a GREAT opportunity for this. It’s also important to lose any ego that one may have. It happens so often where individuals with large ego’s turn off others who can significantly impact their career, simply due to coming off the wrong way. First impressions are huge. AO: Bringing the focus back to social media platforms and it's use, how can artists and individuals who aspire to work in the music industry one day, use these platforms to connect with individuals currently working in the music industry? JD: Social media’s great for connecting with individuals who you sometimes don’t have an opportunity to meet with in real life, or following up with peers from the night before. That being said, there’s a thin line between networking and harassing/spamming on social media. Always respect people’s privacy, and think about the best way to approach one before doing so. Haven’t met someone before and want to reach out? It’s best to start with email, or if need be, Twitter. Done business with them, and want to stay connected? LinkedIn’s great for that. Facebook is more case by case, where people socially network at different levels on it… and many prefer just to have close friends and family on it. Definitely be cautious when networking online. MS: The music industry is constantly change and with that comes a lot of scrutiny and backlash for some of it’s practices. If you could change anything about the music industry, what would you change? JD: I don’t like that it crashed at one point. I just hope everyone realizes, that it’s a lot of work that goes in music and there’s a lot of people that go behind making music and allowing people to hear it. It is expensive to create music whether it be instruments or getting into a half decent studio. Getting into a studio isn’t cheap. Getting a near guitar isn’t cheap. Touring across the country isn’t cheap. So I hope everyone can understand that when listening. I know people are willing to pay $5 for a coffee, but not a $1 for a song and that just blows my mind and just doesn’t make any sense to me. Because I’ll listen to a song, 300, 400 times and I know songs have a sentimental value that a lot of things and coffee AO: It's a one time thing JD: Exactly! A 10 minute fix. It’s just hilarious people have no problem paying $5 for a coffee but for a song it’s just a bit much. As I said, coffee is a happy medium. I definitely think this is where streaming comes into play so it’s not too much for anyone

AO: When doing any type of interviews, our readers are always interested in what an artist, or someone in the industry like yourself is currently listening to. So what’s currently on your playlist? JD: I’m a big dance playlist guy and as a result I’m currently trying to find new dancer artists. There’s an artist named Sam Feldt, he’s from the Netherlands and he makes this really cool tropical sounding “I wish I was in Barbados” type music. There’s Kygo, Oliver Heldens is another one had success with his hit “Gecko” and it’s growing up from there. As far as Canadian Music, I think it’s fair to touch on there. Obviously I’m a big ambassador of Scott Helman, he’s soo talented, young and eager, I think everyone should check him out. I think my final plug for an artist, is there’s this band named The Treble who I’ve worked with lots before. The reason I’ve worked with them is because I love their music and they’re still developing and I think they have an album coming out sometime this year. I think they're definitely one of the most underrated artists that hasn’t crossed everyone’s radar yet. I hope that comes into play, because they’re amazing and I deserve everyone deserves to here AO: Industry Profiles serve as a way to give insight into how various individuals got into their current profession within the music industry. With those who may have similar ambitions to work for a music festival one day or another aspect of the music industry, what would your advice to them be? JD: Don’t sleep, lol. Keep grinding. Working my way through the industry, there were things that didn’t work out and I was like I’m going to fly back to British Columbia, go to school there and work in a bank or something. I never ended up giving up which worked out really well or else i wouldn’t be here today. it sounds super cliche, but never give up. And if you’re not willing to work, work hard for what you want to achieve and the dreams you want to chase then somebody else well. AO: Thank you for sitting down with us John, before we end this interview is there anything you’d like to say? JD: If you want to stay up to date, follow me on Twitter @TheJohnAllan. Having social media be my life, I tend to keep everybody updated on my life. I love to post a lot of behind the scenes pictures and stuff on my Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat which are the exact same handle. Connect with both John Delaney and Warner Music Canada on the following websites: John Delaney https://twitter.com/TheJohnAllan https://instagram.com/thejohnallan/ https://www.facebook.com/TheJohnAllan Warner Music Canada http://www.warnermusic.ca/ https://www.facebook.com/warnermusiccanada https://twitter.com/WarnerCanada

#Industry Profile #Amandah Opoku #Maryam Said #John Delaney #Warner Music Canada #Canadian Music Week #Canadian Music Week 2015 #CMW15 #CMW2015 #CMW #umCMW15

UM Industry Profile : : Justin Kwan (CMW Festival Manager) Pt. 2

Canadian Music Week is an annual multi-festival which takes place for 10 days throughout downtown Toronto. The festival includes a number of talent, not on local but extending to other countries around the world. Amandah Opoku sat down with Festival Manager, Justin Kwan to talk about Canadian Music Week, thoughts about the changing music industry and advice to those looking to work into the music industry. This is the second part of our interview, If you missed part 1 make sure to check it out HERE.

Amandah Opoku: From your perspective, what do you think makes Canadian Music Week unique amongst its contemporaries? Justin Kwan: I think, in Toronto we sometime see a festival every week, as North America’s third largest market there’s no reason why Toronto shouldn’t [have a festival]. The Toronto music scene itself is a weird ecosystem of big and small, and everything feeds off of each other. There are bands playing 200 capacity clubs and the next six months they’re playing thousand capacity club in a year or doing international tours, that's just the type of market that we have. So, keeping the balance of small international, local it all meshes together. And companies such as Live Nation and AG, feed off of what we’re doing from a local level; they do things for a long term international plan. With that being said, something like CMW is able to capture both things, where we can bring things from an international level but also expecting and showcasing things from a ground level.

AO: Being able to bring artists that are not only Canadian, but from other parts of the world will give us Torontonians the chance to explore and enjoy new music JK: It’s true and the funny thing is, there are very few opportunities if you’re not somebody who’s always reading up on blogs or keeping on track of certain niche demographics when it comes to music. We do provide that type of attention and media spotlight for other bands that the industry or the casual music fan would not have come across. And it’s not only a CMW thing, but a Toronto thing. The city itself, no matter, what people feel are the advantages and disadvantages of being Toronto. In any situation that are pros and cons, but being in Toronto as a city and as a media center we are able to champion bands. We see it all the time. The 4, 5 bands, that are championed by Toronto media, they’re going on and doing better things. We build the stepping stones to build those things. Festivals like CMW, NXNE and Wavelength, it goes a long way into insuring that the talent pool are always being recognized and replenished AO: Industry Profiles serve as a way to give insight into how various individuals got into their current profession within the music industry. With those who may have similar ambitions to work for a music festival one day or another aspect of the music industry, what would your advice to them be? JK: For me I was one of those people where the irony in terms of what I did was when I stopped planning you know I actually tried to get out of the music industry. You know you go to school, get a real job, quote on quote real job, and it was just kind of ironic how you know, the things you really love even though you oppress it and try to move on but they come back... time always tells the truth. For me, regardless of you want to volunteer or regardless if you went to school for music, whether you’re an individual who’s working a job in another industry and music has always been something on your mind you know my one piece of advice is make sure you love it. Don’t go into it because it’s something you think about all the time. I always say there are two types of people who work in the music industry; there’s people who generally love music, for me, I would still care about music, I would care about its past, I would care about where it’s going even if I wasn’t working in the industry.

#Industry Profile #Amandah Opoku #Justin Kwan #Festival Manager #Canadian Music Week #Canadian Music Week 2015 #CMW #CMW15 #umCMW #umCMW15

UM Industry Profile : : Justin Kwan (CMW Festival Manager) Pt. 1

Canadian Music Week is an annual multi-festival which takes place for 10 days throughout downtown Toronto. The festival includes a number of talent, not on local but extending to other countries around the world. During Canadian Music Week, Amandah Opoku had the chance to sit down with Festival Manager, Justin Kwan to talk about Canadian Music Week for our two part interview.

Amandah Opoku: Hello, Justin thanks for sitting down with me today! Before we kick off this interview, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your current guilty pleasure song Justin Kwan: Well I am the festival manager at Canadian Music Week, I previously worked at Ink Entertainment and Anchor Shop, I specialize in talent buying, that’s pretty much my industry background but that role itself is a little more expanded when it comes to being the festival manager for a festival/Canadian Music Week. I have a business background, I went to school for business at U of T. I also have an advertising background before I went to music. Current guilty pleasure song - Probably “Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding”, it’s just a really *something” pop song. I don’t think I would be waving a flag or announcing that to the world but when it comes on the radio I’m not exactly in a rush to switch the station.

#Industry Profile #Amandah Opoku #Justin Kwan #Festival Manager #Canadian Music Week #Canadian Music Week 2015 #CMW #CMW15 #umCMW #umCMW15

UM Industry Profile : : Angela Mastrogiacomo (Muddy Paw PR/Infectious Magazine)

Angela Mastrogiacomo has always had a love for music. Dating back to her creation of music blog Infectious Magazine which was created in 2009, providing readers with a variety of features which are not just limited to news and interviews. Angela has taken her love for being able to create pieces about music and applied that to her public relations company, Muddy Paw PR where she works with aspiring artists. Amandah Opoku sat down with Angela to talk about her inspirations to start working in music, Infectious Magazine, Muddy Paw PR and more!

Amandah Opoku: Hi Angela thank you for sitting down with us. Before we kick off our interview, please introduce yourself and your favourite song at the moment Angela Mastrogiacomo: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me. My name is Angela, I own music public relations company, Muddy Paw PR, as well as music blog Infectious Magazine.

Starting off the interview with the tough questions, I see! I tend to get stuck on certain bands, not song, but I have been listening to Andrew McMahon’s “Maps for the Getaway” a lot. AO: You’re the founder of music site Infectious Magazine, which you launched 2009. What inspired you to start writing about music? AM: I’ve always loved creative writing, and Infectious has been a wonderful outlet for that. The creation of Infectious was actually quite serendipitous. I was heading out to my favorite band, Anberlin’s show, and I just happened to get there early and catch the opening act, a small unsigned band out of Providence called The Coming Weak. As soon as I saw their performance, I was struck. I couldn’t believe their energy level, their audience interaction, not to mention how catchy and infectious their sound was. I knew right then that I had to interview them. I had to tell anyone who would listen about their music. Then I thought, why stop there? Why not highlight talented up and coming bands from across the globe? And thus, Infectious was born.

AO: When you first created Infectious Magazine, what did you envision for the site? AM: I honestly never envisioned that it would grow to the level it is today, but I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve created. When I first started Infectious, I just viewed it as a place to showcase young, up and coming bands, and have a chance to expose them to a small audience. However, as I began getting press releases, making connections within the industry, and eventually getting requests from bands/publicists, rather than me always reaching out, I began to realize that this was something that could really flourish. One of the scariest things I decided to do with Infectious, was to take on interns. Putting that faith into people you don’t know is terrifying, but I knew it was necessary to grow. Now, we manage a team of about 15 amazing interns, and they are the lifeblood of the site. But at one point not so long ago, that idea was terrifying to me. I’m really proud of how Infectious has grown, and the team we have. AO: As Infectious Magazine, has grown over the years with a variety of feature additions, where do you see the site headed to in the future? AM: My vision for Infectious is to continue to grow, offering unique features and a unique perspective on the topics and bands that our audience so desperately wants to be involved with. We’ve always pride ourselves on unique interview questions and quirky, out of the box features, and I’d like to see that continue to grow, as Infectious makes its way towards becoming not only one of the most sought out blogs in the industry, but one of the most factual and trustworthy. AO: Aside from journalism, you launched an entertainment public relations and digital marketing boutique called Muddy Paw PR. What inspired you to start such an endeavour? AM: I did! I knew that I wanted to continue to help bands grow their careers, and I realized that having been on the receiving end of press releases so long, and having built up so many connections within the industry, that I could take what I’d learned, and what I did and didn’t like about those approaches, and apply that to my own company. It’s honestly been such a blast ever since launching almost two years ago. I feel so lucky every day to be doing what I love. AO: What inspired the name, Muddy Paw PR? AM: That would be my border collie mix, Sawyer. He’s my best friend, and a force to be reckoned with. I really wanted to incorporate his presence into the name somehow, and one day after playing outside, Sawyer tracked a ton of mud into the kitchen, and it suddenly dawned on me. Muddy Paw was a way for me to incorporate my pup into what I do, and give him a legacy. AO: As you become more engaged with various artists and bands through Muddy Paw PR, what do you love about it? AM: There’s so much to love about what I do, but one of the most rewarding things is seeing a band get excited about the coverage I get them. Seeing them truly happy, excited, and grateful, is the most humbling feeling. AO: For a band/artist looking to work with you through Muddy Paw PR, what do you look for? What should they expect? AM: The first thing I look for is a connection with the artist and their music. I have to love the music I’m promoting. The second is a solid web presence. This doesn’t mean you have to have a high follower count, but rather, that you be active on your social media, and have a consistent interaction with your audience. I like to work with bands who are invested in their audience, and still have that raw passion and desire that they started out with. As for what to expect, I always tell people that the goal of PR is to plant a seed, and let it grow. To give influential people an artist’s name, and make that name recognizable. So, even if they don’t show interest in that artist today or a month from now, when they hear that name again in 3 months, 6 months, a year, they’ll recognize it, it will mean something, and that is success. Of course I also want tangible measures and to secure placements such as interviews, exclusives, blogs, etc. But those are short-term goals. My long-term goal is to make influential industry professionals aware that the artist exists, and is on the rise. So PR campaigns don’t always lead to Facebook likes or increase in album sales, because that’s not the goal of PR. They’re separate things. AO: Since starting Muddy Paw PR and also continuing with writing at Infectious Magazine, as you’re looking into the music industry through two different spectrums. How has your outlook on how the music industry functions changed? AM: That’s a great question, and balancing the two has definitely given me a new perspective. For one thing, it helps me realize Infectious’ strengths and weaknesses, by interacting with other blogs from the viewpoint of a publicist. On the flips side, being a blogger for so long, I have a definite appreciation for bloggers, and the hard work they pour into their work (oftentimes for free), which I think, gives me a sense of empathy when promoting artists for Muddy Paw. AO: There are many individuals that aspire to work in the music industry in the future, whether that be behind the scenes or on the front lines. What would your advice to them be? AM: The best advice I can give is to network. Network, network, network. Do not ever underestimate the power of connections. This is an incredibly small industry, and everyone knows everyone. Don’t burn bridges, and connect with everyone you can. I promise you, above any skill set you have, the people you know, and your reputation within the industry will be your most powerful asset. AO: If you could also change one aspect of the music industry, what would you change and why? AM: This is actually a really tough question for me, but I think I’d like to see more respect. A lot of artists, and industry professionals have a bit of an ego issue, and it can be an incredibly cutthroat industry. I’d like to see everyone treat everyone else with a bit more respect and courtesy. Journalists/photographers, be nice to the publicists you’re requesting from, and understand they have a job to do, and if they have to deny a request, it probably isn’t personal. Publicists, label owners, etc, remember the little guys even after you’ve soared to the top. We’re all in this because we love what we do. AO: Thank you for sitting down with us Angela, before we end this interview is there anything you’d like to say? AM: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me! We’re currently taking on new clients at Muddy Paw, and always looking for new acts to feature over on Infectious. Please feel free to check out Muddy Paw at www.MuddyPawPR.com on Facebook at /MuddyPawPR and on Twitter/Instagram at @MuddyPawPR (or @MuddySawyer on Instagram to follow Sawyer’s adventures!) Infectious can be found everywhere at @InfectiousMag. And for any aspiring industry professionals, please feel free to find me @Angela_Mastro on Instagram and Twitter. I’d love to talk to you!

#Industry Profile #Amandah Opoku #Angela Mastrogiacomo #Infectious Magazine #Muddy Paw PR

UM Industry Profile : : Mike Ziemer (South By So What?!)

South By So What?! is a three day festival, which was established in 2008 as an opportunity for Dallas residents to catch 50+ of the bands headed to SXSW for one low ticket price. The festival showcases 100+ bands of a variety of genres within a day time period. Amandah Opoku and Colleen Brent sat down with South By So What?! founder, Mike Ziemer to talk about what inspired the festival's creation, the move to a three day festival and much more. Colleen Brent: Hi Mike, it’s great to be interviewing you. Before you kick off this interview please introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself. MZ: HI! I’m Mike Ziemer and I love music. I have been working in the music industry for over 10 years now. I manage bands, put on concerts, put together music festivals, and run a record label. I will be 30 this August! Amandah Opoku: You own a variety of companies including Third String productions and Evolve Management in addition to putting on South By So What?! What inspired you to start working in the music industry? MZ: When I was in high school, I was interviewing bands and stuff for a website called Utterpunk.com and because of the connections I was making, a local band asked me to manage them and it all kinda spiraled from there!

Amandah Opoku: When you started South By So What?!, what was the goal? MZ: Honestly, there was no goal. In March 2005, we called it our 1 year anniversary show, March 2006 our 2 year anniversary, March 2007 our 3 year anniversary, and then a friend suggested calling it South By So What?! As the festival grew, we’ve made it our goal to mix in new bands that are up and coming with notable headliners. Colleen Brent: A few years back you said that SBSW had a younger audience that led kids in to going to shows at House Of Blues and such, do you still view that to be SBSW’s role as it has grown? MZ: SBSW has definitely grown to large amounts to the point where we do bigger numbers than a lot of Live Nation events and festivals. Obviously they have some HUGE things, but our festival is definitely a competitor now. I think what I meant in that previous interview is that we are a lot of peoples’ first concert and that leads them into going to club shows and other concerts. That’s definitely still very true for our festival and festivals such as Warped tour. Amandah Opoku: SBSW has over 100 bands playing the festival over the 3-day period. What goes into selecting and contacting what bands play the festival? MZ: As far as most bands go, the agents submit their bands to us and we pick and choose what makes sense. We also have a band submissions for local, regional, smaller, and unsigned bands that we pick like 3-5 bands from every time. We pick headliners and then build from there. Amandah Opoku: What is the most difficult thing about organizing SBSW? What's the most rewarding thing? MZ: The most difficult is trying to work all the schedules of bands into a 3 day festival and get it all routed properly. A lot of bands confirm early on and then drop off because of studio plans or other tours or things that conflict and it’s a big bummer. The most rewarding is hearing all the stories of people that meet at the festival, the experiences people have, and just seeing kids be hyped for months on the festival! We’ve really built something here. Colleen Brent: This year is the 11th year anniversary of Third String Productions – where you introduced a three-day festival last year. What influenced you to add an additional two days? MZ: There were just WAY too many bands that kept getting submitted and we kinda figured we were at the point where we go big or go home with it. We were doing 6000+ people at a single day event and moving to 3 days, we had about 17,000 over 3 days. It was amazing. Colleen Brent: March is a really busy time in Texas for music festivals – what makes SBSW?! stand out? With South by Southwest being so close both in distance and name, how did you come about naming your festival? MZ: The other festivals going on don’t really compete with us. UME is all electronic, Never Say Never is 11 hours away, and SXSW is very much an indie / hip hop / hipster type thing and VERY 21+ based. We draw 21+ but are very all ages based so it’s much easier for people all around the world to make it. Amandah Opoku: In past interviews you’ve stated that you looked up to Kevin Lyman. How has he inspired you? How do you hope to inspire others? MZ: Kevin is THE MAN. He has done so much for the music scene. Between Warped Tour, his other festivals, the record label he used to run, and giving back he has become an icon in our world. He’s a genius and a great dude. I’ve confided in him for advice and guidance before and I have looked up to him for years. His success alone and drive to continue doing Warped Tour is inspiration enough. Where he inspires me 100% on a business level, I hope to inspire people on a human level. I want to be a positive influence to the younger generation and be a person they can contact about real life shit they go through. I will open up my Tumblr or Twitter or Facebook to questions all the time and help people with tough situations. I just want to be a very tangible and easy to reach person for all these people who support what I do and who rely on people like me to help them out. Amandah Opoku: Many kids are looking to work in the music industry. Are there any opportunities available to them through SBSW? MZ: We actually have a very small team. It’s crazy how little of a team we have for how much we do. However, people reach out to me all the time and I feel it out and if we vibe well I’m always open to help, interns, assistants, volunteers, etc. Amandah Opoku: Who are you most looking forward to seeing at this years festival? MZ: Circa Survive and Mayday Parade for sure. Also the Cartel “Chroma” set and The Ataris “Blue Skies, Broken Hearts…” set. Amandah Opoku: The music industry has undergone a variety of scrutiny for its practices. If you could change anything about the music industry what would you change? MZ: I would find a way for bands and labels to co-exist in a way that isn’t just labels loaning bands money. I want to see a proper version of a 360 deal that doesn’t just cut into the artists but also really helps them. I am doing it on a small scale by managing and releasing music for bands I work with. I dunno, it’s hard to really explain, I just want to see everyone be on the same level. We all got into this because of our love of music and some people forget that. Colleen Brent: In the next 5 years, how do you envision SBSW growing? What kind of impact and influence do you want the festival to have? MZ: In the next 5 years we plan to continue to grow and be in multiple markets as well. I am very excited for the announcements we will be making later in the year for 2016. It’s going to be exciting. I want our festival to become very different from others but I can’t go into specifics because it’s not being done and I don’t want the idea stolen before I can do it haha. Amandah Opoku: To wrap this up we would like to thank you very much for doing this interview with us, is there anything you would like to say to our readers? Any words of wisdom? MZ: As cliche as it sounds, just follow your heart and never give up. There’s been a lot of times that I’ve “failed” and gotten back up and kept going. You have to really want to work in music to do it because it’s a lot of work and it’s fun as well, but you really have to sacrifice a lot for it.