Brad Holmes
South Africa, Founder of the Bassline Jazz Club, Concert Hall and Fest
The Essentials
Opening a Music Venue
Brad Holmes is a highly experienced, versatile and accomplished producer, promoter and venue owner. With the advent of democracy in South Africa, he played an integral role in developing and sustaining the domestic and African music industry primarily though the founding of the Bassline Jazz Club in 1994. As documented in the book, Last Night At The Bassline by David B. Coplan & Oscar Gutierrez (Jacana Media, 2017), this 200-seater club provided a live performance space for legendary and emerging musicians as well as for South Africans of all backgrounds to come together as compatriots. In 2003 the Bassline moved into the heart of Johannesburg to create the 1000-seater Bassline Concert Hall and also inaugurated a new part of the business focusing on producing and promoting standalone live music events. Brad is perfectly positioned to give you all the insight required to help you make the decision on opening a music venue and or to help you troubleshoot the issues of the industry. Join his session and share with him, his experience of the successes and pitfalls of the live music venue industry.
The Essentials of:
- Proposals
- Business Plan
- Licenses
- Systems
- Content Creation
- Artist relations & contracts
- PR & Marketing
- Street Risks
Cost R500
What you get:
- 1 hour video on demand talk – 12 month viewership
- Downloadable files
Mabusha Dumisa Masekela
New York and South Africa
Stage Management Essentials
MABUSHA MASEKELA has spent his life in music. From the age of 3 months he has travelled and worked extensively across the globe with various famous friends and family members including Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Stewart Levine, Quincy Troupe and Ray Lofaro. Mabusha has experience in film production and a varied experience in the music business that includes deal making, music and video retail management and tour management, as well as concerts, festivals, and live broadcasts. Detail-oriented, he’s adept at organizing and managing various aspects of live events and productions including logistical, administrative and human resoures. He Worked on (to name a few) the South African 2004 presidential inauguration, served as Assistant Director on the film docudrama The Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela; handled stage/production management at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, music supervision on Late Night With Kgomotso and various multi-broadcast events including Dance 4 Life, the Millennium Show on Robben Island, the 2007 and 2008 live Vuka Sizwe television broadcasts, and the 2010 World Cup Kick-Off Concert. Here, Mabusha presents the Essentials in Stage Management.
Topics:
- Pre-Production
- Onsite Production
- Performance
- Load-Out
Cost R500
What you get:
- 1 hour video on demand talk – 12 month viewership
- Downloadable files
John Mac
South Africa
Technical Management Essentials
John Mac is arguably one of the most experienced technical directors on the planet. He is a technical director to the live events Industry with 35 years’ experience in this field. He has worked as a freelance audio engineer and production manager in Europe, North America, Africa and South East Asia from 1985 until 1996, when he joined Gearhouse SA. There he served in many different roles for twenty years working on concerts with global stars such as Johnny Clegg, Skunk Anansie & Stevie Wonder to name a few. He left Gearhouse SA in 2016 to become an independent technical consultant/director and continues in this role today. Mac has broad experience in the fields of live music events, music festivals and television production, with excellent knowledge in the fields of production management/project management/ audio/lighting/audio visual/led screens/power generation & distribution/staging/set design & construction/rigging. John Mac’s session covers the essentials of technical management for Venues and Festivals.
Topics:
- Venue: Technical Installation
- Venue: Technical Operation
- Festival: Technical Planning
- Festival: Technical Installation
- Festival Operation: Executing Seamless Changeovers
Cost R500
What you get:
- 1 hour video on demand talk – 12 month viewership
- Downloadable files
Katherine McVicker
USA, Founder and Director of Music Works International
Anyone Can Book a Gig
Director KATHERINE MCVICKER founded boutique agency Music Works International (MWI) in 2014 after three decades in the music industry as an agent developing the touring careers for dozens of artists such as Michael Brecker, Esperanza Spalding, Wayne Shorter, Dianne Reeves, Brad Mehldau, Lizz Wright, The Bad Plus, Jason Moran, Richard Bona, Joshua Redman, Joe Lovano, Vijay Iyer, and noted world music artists such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, and The Gloaming. In 2000, Katherine launched the European touring career of Norah Jones and spent seven years developing Jones’ profile internationally. Katherine continues to develop MWI with a focus on expanding opportunities for established artists on the roster as well as fostering the live performance careers of the next generation of global touring artists. Katherine is available for artist consultation, interviews, and appearances on the state of the industry, international touring, and artist development.
Info on the full online course
Anyone Can Book a Gig is an online self-paced program that is available for individual study, group workshops, and multi-day bootcamps. The course comes with over 60 Essential Artist Toolkit downloads including contract and rider templates, tour history sheets, worksheets, videos, and more. If you want to work with the team at MWI, we provide one-on-one career development consultation as well as a variety of artist services.
Overview:
- Set Performance Goals and Evaluate Your Performance Career
- How to Store, Present, and Organize Artist Assets
- Research and Development: The Importance of Tour Histories
- Essential Vocabulary You Need to Know for Booking Your Own Shows
- How to Talk to Promoters
- How to Negotiate and Confirm Financial Deals
- Introduction to Performance Contracts and Riders
- Marketing and Promoting Your Shows and Tours
Cost R1000
What you get:
- 75 minute video lesson introduction to all 6 modules of Anyone Can Book a Gig online course. (12 month viewing usage).
- Exclusive discounted access to the full Anyone Can Book a Gig online course portal
Jess White
Australia, Director and Founder at Akum Agency
Artist Management Essentials
Australian-born Jess White is a creative and dynamic artist manager, booking agent, music consultant and event producer, providing a platform for music, the arts and creative expression in South Africa, the region and beyond. In 2014, he founded Akum Agency, an independent artist management, booking agency, music consultancy, event promotion and creative production company. Akum Agency represents a diverse roster of artists from South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Kenya, Sudan, Ghana, Mali, Senegal and Cameroon/New Zealand, nurturing their respective talents and building their profile among national and international audiences. As an arts and music consultant, White has vast experience in event and festival management, music export, event and festival programming, financial management, music video production, marketing, logistics, workshop facilitation, reporting writing and music journalism. Past clients have included: Australasian Worldwide Music Expo, Apple Music, The British Council, Bushfire Festival, Concerts SA, IOMMA, Music In Africa, OSISA, Platoon, Pro Helvetia, Nafasi Art Space, Sakifo Festival, Sauti za Busara Festival, Visa For Music. Jess’s session covers the essentials of managing artists.
Topics:
- EPK TIPS
- Getting Your Music Online and Tips For Your Release Campaign
- How to best work music trade events?
- Social Media Tips
- Funding Tips
Cost R500
What you get:
- 1 hour video on demand talk – 12 month viewership
- Downloadable files
Prof. David Coplan
New York and South Africa
A History of South African Jazz & Showbiz
David Coplan is emeritus professor in anthropology at Wits University and from that cross-cultural perch has been studying and lecturing on African showbusiness for many decades. Prof. Coplan spent time in 35 African countries, but since the 1970s has concentrated on South African showbusiness and professional performance in particular. He is the author of many works, including In Township Tonight! Three Centuries of South African Music and Theatre, (2008), Last Night at the Bassline (2016), and a world authority on South African music and the development of the industry. He has his own consulting group, Ha-Raleqele Cultural Consultants. His contribution to the Bassline Music Biz Essentials focuses on the against-all-odds history of the South African music industry and the lessons it holds for performance professionals now and in the promising future.
Volume 1:
- 20th Century: Mzansi comes to Joburg
- Appropriations of American and British trends
- Creating an SA jazz against the odds
- Birth of the SA recording industry
- Musical baaskap: the dependency complex
Cost R750
What you get:
- 75 minute video on demand talk – 12 month viewership
