Music industry legends Tony Crean, Anya Strafford and Mike
Smith gathered in JM315 on Wednesday, March 11 for the first SMILEfest
conference of 2015, entitled ‘Digital Witness: The Future of Music?’.
One of the most common similarities between the three guests
was that they have all changed job roles throughout their career, which
indicates that to get into the music industry you need a wide variety of
talents and skills.
Despite the conference being about the future of music, the
main focus was on vinyl records, which could indicate that vinyl is increasing
in popularity.
All three of the panelists shared a love for vinyl records:
Mike Smith believes that vinyl is a ‘wonderful and romantic experience to
share’, Anya believes that vinyl ‘helps to tell the story of an album more than
a CD could’ and Tony believes that there is definitely an ‘emotional
engagement’ involved with vinyl.
As vinyl is becoming increasingly more popular, the three guests
all agreed that there needs to be more vinyl pressing plants in the UK. There
are only two pressing plants in the UK and even major labels can struggle with
an eighteen-week wait for releases.
When asked whether vinyl is more of a gimmick than a
revival, Mike Smith said that he can easily get songs on Spotify, but he can
remember where he was and when he bought every vinyl that he owns, proving that
there is more of a connection with vinyl records.
The hour long session was concluded with the musical guests
all agreeing that the best way to manage artists is to take time to build up
good acts, and that bands need to have connectivity with social media and their
fans.
Record Store Day is fast-approaching, with many bands
releasing exclusive vinyl copies of their records on Saturday, April 18.
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