Independent Music Exchange, where Melbourne’s indie fans can share space
In a boon for a lonely profession, dozens of Melbourne’s indie record label owners will set up shop together at a new event named Independent Music Exchange.
Among all possible roles a person can create for themselves in the music industry, few are as solitary as the lot of the independent record label owner.
In the digital era, where listeners can order artists’ vinyl, merchandise and other physical products directly from their favourite labels online and receive it in the mail, there’s often few reasons for fans and label operators to share the same space.
This weekend in Melbourne, then, is a chance for dozens of the city’s indie labels and thousands of their followers to be in the same place at the same time, at the inaugural Independent Music Exchange.
More than 50 business owners will set up their stalls, from homespun hobby projects to globally known labels with local offices, such as Domino, Remote Control and KGLW, the latter created by the popular Melbourne band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, whose music attracts 1.5m monthly Spotify listeners.
“Running a label can be pretty lonely, and it’s been quite encouraging seeing the response from the labels; it didn’t really involve much arm-twisting,” said Michael Kucyk, who runs the label Efficient Space.
The attraction works both ways, too: with a laugh, he said, “And we can finally meet all these people that are our lifeblood; that actually make the labels possible.”
Co-founded by Kucyk and fellow do-it-yourself indie veterans Maryos Syawish (of Butter Sessions/Research Records) and Corey Kikos (Butter Sessions), the exchange will fill a gap in the music business ecosystem.
“I feel like [music industry conferences] Bigsound and SXSW speak to a very particular segment of the industry, and overlook a lot,” said Kucyk. “I’ve definitely been motivated to be as engaging and representative as we possibly can.”
Hosted at the Masaya Reception in Thornbury, the large venue is a blank canvas that will allow the 56 booked stallholders to set out their wares on trestle tables and vertical shelving units.
Rather than quarrelling over the soundtrack for two days surrounded by hardcore music fans, the organisers have enlisted local independent online radio station Skylab to conduct a live broadcast, where they’ll be playing a wide range of artists and interviewing some of the label owners.
As well as plenty of products bearing the name of popular local and national artists, Kucyk’s hot tip includes British label Domino shipping in stock from overseas especially for the event, and some stalls will even be selling new release vinyl a week or two ahead of schedule.
Held from 10am to 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday as part of community festival The Eighty-Six – named after the local tram line number – the event is free and all-ages.
According to Kucyk, stickybeaks are most welcome.
“Whether people they are well-acquainted with all the labels, or if they’re just coming out of curiosity, hopefully they discover something by taking a chance and coming down,” he said.
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