Workshop One has wrapped and this round’s batch of 15 music managers are now busy working on their business strategies and plans.
2015 marked the fourth time CONTROL has been offered, and the first time that music managers from New Zealand were involved. Twelve music managers from around Australia and three from New Zealand worked together over the four days of the first workshop in Terrigal, NSW.
At CONTROL we do our best to challenge the way things are usually done in the music business. We deliberately use advisers and business models from outside the music industry, in addition to those from within it, to stimulate debate and shift perspectives. We also offer several sessions on emotional intelligence. This approach has worked well for us.
Daisy Brown, a workshop participant from Adelaide, credits the program with giving her new found confidence. “I personally found it so beneficial to receive insight from and be challenged by the varied approaches CONTROL offers: business, psychology and music,” she said. “In fact it was the combination of the three that cracked open my thinking, allowed me to dig deep and see clear paths forward while gaining insight into how my brain (and therefore business) operates. It was the key to the light bulb moments I’m continuing to have and has provided me with a strength and confidence I haven’t felt in years.”
Many alumni have called CONTROL life changing. I suspect that’s because they’ve learned how to set boundaries and achieve more life work balance. They’ve also gained a network of peers and business skills they can call on. This year’s music industry advisers, Terry Mc Bride, Paul McKessar and Correne Wilkie, spoke from their personal lived experience.
The lessons they imparted seem to have hit their mark. Cushla Aston, one of this year’s workshop participants from New Zealand commented, “I have a renewed energy for my business and very clear visions about where I am taking my company which was exactly what I was hoping to achieve. Words like ‘be more selfish to be selfless’ and ‘value added proposition’ keep rolling around in my head. I feel particularly grateful to have met you all and bridged what felt was a gap between Australia and New Zealand for me. I no longer feel like that.”
But the last word goes to Matty Woo from Sydney who summed up his experience by saying, “The course was amazing both in structure and content… I do believe it has already been the best piece of personal and business development that I have ever done and I am only just getting started on putting what I have learned into play.“
You will get your chance soon to sample what went on at Terrigal. We will be posting podcasts of some of the more meaty bits from the adviser presentations on the AMIN website in early 2015 so keep your eyes peeled!
