Abbey Road Studios, the iconic London-based recording facility, has unveiled the dates and speaker lineup for its third Abbey Road Amplify event.
The event, which features workshops and panels, is for young artists, producers, composers and creatives who are looking to enter the music industry. This year’s event will run from November 10 to 11. Last year’s Amplify ran for three days.
Attendance to this year’s Amplify is free, with entry granted through a ballot system. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be live-streamed on the Abbey Road Studios website.
The event is split into themes for each day. Friday, November 10, will highlight music production and scoring for film and games, while Saturday, November 11, will delve into ‘artist essentials’, covering aspects like branding, PR, digital marketing, songwriting, and the business of music.
“Abbey Road Amplify is now an important event in our calendar and part of our ongoing commitment to help inform and inspire the next generation of artists, producers and creatives. It’s hugely rewarding to see the studios packed with young people taking notes, networking and acquiring new tools and knowledge from those who have already made their mark on music,” said Mark Robertson, Head of Brand & Communications, Abbey Road Amplify.
“Abbey Road Amplify is now an important event in our calendar and part of our ongoing commitment to help inform and inspire the next generation of artists, producers and creatives.”
Mark Robertson, Abbey Road
The event will feature various masterclasses, interactive sessions, workshops, A&R demo feedback sessions, and Q&A sessions. These events will be hosted across Studios Two & Three by members of the Abbey Road team, who will be sharing career insights and advice.
Studio Two has witnessed recordings by The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Oasis, Adele and more. Recent sessions include The 1975, George Ezra, Ed Sheeran, Noel Gallagher and Panic! At The Disco.
Studio Three, meanwhile, is also an iconic recording space where Pink Floyd recorded The Dark Side Of The Moon, Amy Winehouse recorded her final tracks and where Brockhampton recorded the Billboard number one album Iridescence. It has also been home to artists including The Beatles, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Florence + The Machine, Liam Gallagher, Celeste, Dua Lipa and The 1975.
Among the key panels scheduled for Abbey Road Amplify 2023 are a Mix Breakdown with producer James Ford (known for his work with Arctic Monkeys, Blur, Foals, Kylie, Gorillaz, Florence + The Machine) and Melodies in The Virtual Realm: Composing for Video Games with Richard Jacques, know for his compositions in Headhunter, Mass Effect, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Jacques will delve into the relationship between interactive storytelling and music, examining how music heightens immersion, shapes soundscapes and collaborations.
The event will also include a panel called Becoming A Composer, hosted by Composer Magazine’s Managing Editor, Loren Sunderland. The session will guide the audience through various pathways into the realm of composing, shedding light on the essential skills needed to secure one’s dream job. The discussion will also feature conversations with composers Amy McKnight, Chris Benstead, John Lunn, and Ruth Barrett.
Another noteworthy session called From Script to Score will explore a composer’s journey through a film’s production, featuring insights from Oscar-winning composer Steven Price, as well as Tom Howe and Michael Price. In addition, Digital Marketing: Building Your Fanbase & Online Presence will equip aspiring artists with insights into digital content creation, audience engagement, and effective marketing strategies. Speakers will include Polydor’s Head of Artist Development, Helen Fleming.
To provide a comprehensive view of the industry landscape, How To Release Music In 2023 will facilitate a discussion on the inner workings and infrastructure of a successful release, tailored for the year 2023. Guests, including EMI’s Senior Vice President of A&R, Rich Castillo, will contribute their expertise to the conversation.
The new additions for the 2023 Abbey Road Amplify include A&R Feedback Sessions, providing artists with “1-2-1“ sessions to receive personalized advice on refining their sound, developing their brand, and capturing industry attention. Also debuting this year is the Mastering the Spotlight workshop, focused on Press & Media for Artists, aimed at equipping artists with skills to generate valuable media coverage.
Additional talks will cover a range of topics including Songwriting 101, An Introduction To Beatmaking, The Road To Becoming A Studio Engineer, and Be Heard, Be Seen: Crafting Your Brand Identity. Moreover, Abbey Road will delve into the entrepreneurial side of the music industry in Making Music Your Business: An introduction to Entrepreneurship, Music Tech, and Start-Ups, led by Anthony Achille, Junior Program Manager at Abbey Road Red, the studios’ music tech incubator.
Achille will share his experience working within the startup sector of the industry. He will be offering guidance on establishing one’s own startup.
The first Abbey Road Amplify event was held in 2021 to celebrate Abbey Road Studios’ 90th anniversary.
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