Today's a great day. It's the day we learned more about the Scottish Alternative Music Awards return for 2018 and move on ceremonial venue to the beauty that is St Lukes. Now, in it's 9th year, the SAMA's team have an incredible track record of running extremely successful, fun evenings celebrating the top acts in Scottish music. We can't wait for another one.

SAVE THE DATE ; THURSDAY 25th OCTOBER

The seven SAMAs are ; Best Rock, Best Live Act, Best Newcomer, Best Hip Hop, Best Electronic, Best Acoustic & Best Metal. Previous winners have included Be Charlotte, Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5, Lewis Capaldi, Gerry Cinnamon, The Van T's and many many other great bands!

With the unquestionable abundance of talent emerging from Scotland's underground music scene, we can't wait to see who's shortlisted for this year's awards and more importantly to celebrate alongside them at St Lukes on Thursday 25th October.

Grab your tickets below.

http://bit.ly/2mt2qZQ

The inaugural Resonate music industry conference will be back in 2018. That's after a glowing first year at Glasgow's Barra's Art & Design

Resonate revellers bask in the honourable presence of opening keynote speaker and BPI Chairman Ged Doherty - photo cred Kayleigh McLaughlan

Resonate delegates, partners, sponsors, traders, panellists and other participants descended to Glasgow on a grey November day only to have it truly lightened by incredible panels, workshops & masterclasses all within the majestic tropical surroundings of Glasgow's Barra's Art & Design Centre. 

23rd Precinct Music in partnership with Notting Hill Music, BPI, BMI, Cultural Enterprise Office, Gorbals Sound, Tenement TV, Ticket Tailor, Tileyard Studios, SMIA, UNESCO - Glasgow City of Music and official charity partner Help Musicians UK, pulled out all the stops to make this a sure to be Scottish calendar event. 

Scintillating panels; In Conversation with Ged Doherty, Celebrate Women In Music, Joining The Dots, What You Syncing, Are You Even Listening and Developing The Infrastructure of Scotland's Music Industry were complimented by a series of workshop offerings. They included BPI's Chris Tams (BPI - Music Export Growth Scheme), AIM's Paul Pacifico (Get Paid To Do What You Love), Tileyard Education's Harry Leckstein, James Reynolds and Tom Rogers (Digital Entrepreneurship) and Shoogle Studio's Simon Stokes providing a whole host of amazing Ableton workshops and demos. 

BAaD proved the perfect venue as it's separate partitions set ideal foundations for the Help Musicians UK drop in and similarly the Meet The Funders & Meet The Rights Organisations drop ins. They also proved their perfectness by providing an outer worldly buffet for Resonate go-ers curtesy of A'challtainn restaurant. A hearty, healthy sitting of music by Mark McGowan and Emma Gillespie accompanied the meal at lunchtime. 

The devastatingly gorgeous courtyard not only saw Resonate host panels but also pitched up top traders from all aspects of the industry. A huge thanks to these wonderful organisations who had their presence at Resonate; Academy for Music & Sound, The Music Business School, Musicians Union, ProBTech Management, Gorbals Sound, Ticket Tailor, SMIA, Electric Honey (Glasgow Kelvin College), Help Musicians UK, Cultural Enterprise Office, Incorporated Society of Musicians and XPO North.

“If you’ll have me back, I’d love to be involved - Pete Kelly (BT Sport)”

“Great panels and so well organised. Gorbals Sound will gladly be an event partner for next years event. - Paul Quinn (Gorbals Sound)”

“Well done on a fantastic event! Looking forward to next year already - Jena Thomson (Academy of Music & Sound)”

“In all the hundreds of panels that I’ve participated in and chaired, I don’t think I’ve ever had so many compliments afterwards! - Dougal Perman (SMIA)”

Not content with a day full of informative, educational and inspiring activities, Resonate ploughed on to bring a cascade of bright and talented musical talent as part of the evening entertainment - Resonate Live. Tip top performances put a cherry on top of the cake. Flew The Arrow hypnotised crowds with his unspeakable vocal and writing talent. He was followed by a energy ladden performance from Dopesickfly frontman Ant Thomaz where he whipped the crowd up with his liveliness. 23rd Precinct's boys The Nickajack Men were next and they brought the house down. Great tunes, great voice, great attittude, great band. The night was brought to a close with hot band for 2018 Declan Welsh and The Decadent West. A splendid way to end #Resonate2017.

But it ain't over until the fat lady sings and in traditional Glasgow style, the customary afters hit the basement of The Brunswick Hotel. The additional cherry on top of that other cherry on that cake. Big shout out to the wonderful Daniel Campbell and pals for keeping us going all night with 100% belters.

Until 2018...

#Resonate2018

Glasgow UNESCO City Of Music Announced as Official Partner of Resonate 

Glasgow was awarded the designation of UNESCO City of Music in 2008.

The title is widely seen as a prestigious and internationally-respected brand which recognizes and celebrates Glasgow’s rich musical heritage and exceptional music scene

We caught up with David Laing - Head of Arts, Music & Cultural Venues at Glasgow Life ahead of Resonate 2017.

Glasgow became a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2008, for those who don't know, tell us a bit about that and what it meant for the city

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that are placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.

Our bid to become a City of Music in 2008 was supported by the UK Prime Minister, Scotland’s First Minister, the Lord Provost of Glasgow and figures from the music world such as Franz Ferdinand, Tommy Smith, Nicola Benedetti and many other leading creative figures.

It entitles the city to use the designation locally, nationally and internationally, to benefit all involved in music of any genre and at any level in the city - from professionals and academic institutions, the commercial music industry, the amateur and community sectors, and audiences from seasoned gig-goers to the very young experiencing music for the first time.

The designation is managed on behalf of Glasgow City Council by Glasgow Life - we also manage Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, the Old Fruitmarket, Tramway, City Halls, Celtic Connections festival, and the Kelvingrove Bandstand.

The objectives of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network are: sharing knowledge and best practices; pilot projects, partnerships and initiatives associating the public and private sectors; professional and artistic exchange; studies, research and evaluations; and communication and awareness raising activities.

[note I have quoted the UCCN objective instead of the UNESCO objectives because the UNESCO Creative Cities Network is related to, but not the same as, UNESCO itself]

Can you inform us of some recent projects you've supported which are founded on this basis

I can give you a brief flavour of just a few areas we work in.

Through the Creative Cities Network we’ve sent Glasgow bands over to play at festivals in Japan, Germany, France and Poland, to our fellow Cities of Music. 

We’ve also worked with People Make Glasgow to place new bands like Teen Canteen and Elephant Sessions on the soundtrack to cinema and social media films promoting the city as a tourist destination and these had led to international exposure.

In recognition of the musical talent in Glasgow, we’ve instituted UNESCO City of Music Awards at the Jazz Festival, the Scottish International Piano Competition, and the upcoming Nordoff Robbins Scottish Music Awards.

We produce Glasgow’s leg of International Jazz Day and we created a new stage at the Merchant City Festival to promote Glasgow bands.

We work to ensure Glasgow’s young people are exposed to music through concerts, workshops and creative events for children and their families which brings together some of Scotland’s top music providers including Scottish Opera, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Celtic Connections.

Since 2016, Glasgow UNESCO City of Music has worked on consultation, research and engagement with Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, Scottish Enterprise and other stakeholders to contribute to strategies to grow the value and quality of music tourism in the city.

We also work on policy, research, and sharing of data with our fellow Creative Cities around the world, on everything from noise regulations, licensing and planning, to studies on the creative economy – anything that can help support the music sector and promote music within Glasgow, and around the world.

We're over the moon to have UNESCO as one of our #Resonate2017 partners. How important is it for you to be seen to support a whole range of creative programs?

It’s vital that all parts of the music sector feel supported and included in the City of Music project. Along with the examples of policy, community music work and youth music education, it’s important we work with the music business as well. The Resonate event is a great addition to the city and we’re delighted to support it.

UNESCO are sponsoring Resonate's 'Developing The Infrastructure of Scotland's Music Industry' panel which features Dougal Perman (SMIA), Rachael Brown (Cultural Enterprise Office), Neil Semple (Department of International Trade), Geoff Ellis (DF Concerts) and Alan Morrison (Creative Scotland). What would you like to hear discussed at this panel?

Two recurring issues we consider are the challenges small venues face within the context of urban development, like licensing and planning; and the development of new talent and how musicians can make a living and find a way to market and sell their music. Smaller live venues are the grass roots of the whole scene, and new talent coming through is the lifeblood of the industry. We are always thinking about how we can help support these areas. It would be great to hear what this excellent panel of experts have to say on these issues.

What are your top tracks being played in the office right now?

Sacred Paws ‘Everyday’, Anna Meredith’s ‘Something Helpful’ and an old Handsome Boy Modelling School track ‘The Truth’ are what I’m listening to as I type this!

Vinesh Patel
Coalition Talent

Agent of the Year Nominee 2017

Vinesh started his career whilst studying Law & Philosophy at Keele University, during which time he became heavily involved within the running of events at the 2200 capacity Students' Union and eventually became solely responsible for the booking of all talent/entertainment. During this period, Keele was named in the Top 5 campuses for nightlife by "Which?" Online/Magazine after hosting the likes of Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Tinie Tempah and Gym Class Heroes. Vinesh went on to join Coalition Talent in 2013, initially developing the touring platform Coffee House Sessions which has toured the likes of Hudson Taylor, Tom Walker, The Shires and Izzy Bizu but to name a few and eventually transitioned into an Agent at the company building and developing his own roster comprising of Live and DJ artistes. His current list of clients includes Pixie Lott, The Hoosiers, The Showhawk Duo, Sondr, Karen Harding, Union J, Jack & Joel and The Midnight Beast whilst he also works on the DJ careers of Radio 1's Huw Stephens, Nick Grimshaw and Cel Spellman as well as Charli XCX, Brad Simpson (The Vamps) and social influencer Jack Maynard. Vinesh was shortlisted for "Agent of The Year" at the Live UK Music Awards 2017, finishing in the Top 3. 

Rachael Brown works incredibly hard for Cultural Enterprise to support creative entrepreneurs and social enterprises to help those develop their businesses and has recently been shortlisted in the Rising Star Category in the Entrepreneur of the year awards.

These awards celebrate entrepreneurship in Scotland in 2017. Fields include; Technology, Life Sciences, Hospitality, Airports as well as private and public sectors and organisations large and small. 

Rachael has been quoted to say that this award, 'Just shows Social impact & Creativity is a reciepe for growth and doing it differently.' 

The cultural enterprise office has also recently just moved to the Barrowlands and is a welcome edition to the BAad Family. 

What does a day in the life of a Cultural Enterprise Worker consist of? 

There is no typical day at CEO we are here to support the Creative Industries to succed so that can mean directly talking with creatives and people who run creative businesses, it can also mean talking to investors, policy makers and international companies. CEO is the only office of its type in Europe, so we get all kinds of requests. We deal with all creative industry forms and we support business model of choice, so that means we have to be flexible and resourceful.

How did you first get into this career line? 

I have always worked in the creative industries and social enterprise space. I am truly believe in the transformational nature of the arts. I have done lots of jobs and worked in lots of varied environments that have led me to CEO.

How do you feel to be nominated for this award? I wasn’t aware that I was nominated so I was genuinely taken aback. Having a light shone on the creative industries sector through this nomination is amazing, I am really excited about that.

We can't wait to welcome Rachael onto our 'Developing The Infrastructure of Scotland's Music Industry' this Thursday. 

With under a week to go until #Resonate2017, we caught up with What You Syncing panelist Alex Lodge to get an insight into how he became a music supervisor! What a top guy.

• How did you come to be a music supervisor at Thirty Two Music?

I started supervision life at Felt Music, where I stayed for 7 happy years. When the time came for me to move on and continue my journey, myself and Toby Slade-Baker decided to create something new and exciting, and from a vacant studio room (Studio 32) at Air Post on Old Street roundabout, Thirty Two Music was born. 

• What makes you passionate about sync?

Many things make me passionate about the job I do. I’m not just passionate about ‘sync’. Yes, I’m enthusiastic about being able to use my musical knowledge and harness all the years spent obsessively listening to weird tunes, but I’m equally enthusiastic about the production process involved working with our brand and agency clients and the knowledge it takes to supervise a production to completion. 

• You've recently supervised 'Global Goals', can you tell us a bit about that?

We’ve been working with Project Everyone for some time now helping them license music for their productions, whether it be a film that is shown at a UN summit or incredible online campaigns such as the most recent one for International Day Of The Girl. We believe strongly in the work that the Global Goals is doing and welcome the opportunity to use our skills to do our bit to make the world a better place. We do all out work for Project Everyone and the Global Goals pro bono. 

• What's one thing people should know about Thirty Two Music?

It depends who you are! I guess the thing everyone should know, potential clients and potential collaborators alike, is that we’re highly experienced, very approachable and we won’t bullshit you. We believe in fairness and transparency. We’re here to help you and to perform our work in the most effective and creative manner possible. Also, we’re really, really good at table tennis. 

• How do you rate the importance of sharing knowledge and mentoring young creatives?

I rate it very highly indeed. I have always and will always continue to give my time freely to help people that I believe would benefit from my involvement, in whatever capacity that may be. I believe strongly that now I’m through the door it’s my responsibility to hold it open for as many people as possible. I don’t have as much time as I’d like to dedicate to mentoring and helping young people, but I do what I can, when I can, and I’m happy to do it. 

• Who were your musical heroes growing up?

There are definitely a few potentially embarrassing answers to this question, and it depends on which stage of ‘growing up’ you focus on (Simpsons Sing The Blues), but I guess my first real moments of connection to music that put me on the road to where I am today were with Michael Jackson and Guns N’ Roses. It all started with them. I also had a long and intense love affair with the Manic Street Preachers, but the less said about that the better.... 

• Can you tell us about a project you've particularly enjoyed working on?

I particularly enjoyed working on the TV broadcasts of the summer festival season with Blink TV in the summers of 2014/15/16. We were clearing the rights for the live sets to be broadcast in highlights shows, which involved going to the festivals and sitting with the bands after their sets, showing them their footage and agreeing on tracks to be featured on the broadcasts. I got to ride around backstage in a golf cart too which was probably the best bit. 

• Is there one artist who's career has been burst into success through a sync by Thirty Two?

We chose Nils Frahm – For for a big BMW commercial, which was the first time his music had been synced on a piece of advertising. I’m not sure I’d be able to summon the hubris to suggest that we had a claim in the success of his career though… There have been artists that we’ve helped on their way financially with a timely sync here and there, but I like to think that the success is down to their talent and hard work rather than anything that I’ve done. 

• Are there any emerging artists you’re bussing about right now?

I’m buzzing about an artist I manage called Rick Pike. He’s not really emerging as he’s has a long and successful career with his band PVT, but his new solo project is dropping in the next couple of months (a collaboration with Stella from Warpaint) and it’s an absolute beast. Watch this space.

We had a chat with a singer-songwriter and frontman of Dopesickfly, Ant Thomaz, who’s performing his new solo material at the Resonate Live evening show!

We asked Ant about his new solo project co-written with the 80s pop legend Bobby Bluebell and Chris Gordon. Here’s what he told us:

What first encouraged you to take up this project?

I love writing and singing and I am always searching for new people to collaborate with. Bob Bluebell and I chatted at a publishing event and we hit it off, he seemed keen to work with me so I said ok, Lets do it!

So he sent a track the next day that him and Chris (Gordon) had worked on and I returned the track the following day with my part.

Both Chris and Bob enjoyed the track and the speed that I worked at so they invited me to the studio... We realised we were all looking to get into another project so we decided to try another track and it just unfolded from there.  

What is it like to write with others? 

It's inspiring, especially watching the pieces come together with different minds.

Can you describe your project in three words? 

No, then it gets stuck in that rutt! 

What is your new material about? 

Love, relatable love, how we are all the same.

How do you find inspiration?

By being a great listener.

Is there anything you avoid when writing? 

Arguments.

Are any of the tracks influenced by the 80s sound from Bobby Bluebell? 

I would say Bob brings his quirky influences, which at this point stems from years of listening and writing music. So listen in and you will hear it!

Do you prefer to make solo material or band material?

I love both equally, two different lanes!

Tony Cooke is an incredible radio plugger and one of the hard workers behind Scream Promotions. Currently Tony is working hard to promote Adam Holmes and The Embers with their new upcoming album Midnight Milk signed to Gogar Records. 

What makes the album stand out is that it was all recorded in his bedroom. This ten song album is influenced by the likes of Paul Simon, Bob Marley and Feist. Genres include Folk, Gospel, Hip-Hop with Ska and Reggae influences.

Make sure you listen to Midnight Milk which is available now and catch them at either Bush Hall in London on the 21st of November or the 25th of November at the Pleasance Theatre in Edinburgh. 

Not only has their single, 'No Man is an Island' recently been played on BBC Radio 2 with Claire Balding, BBC Scotland and BBC Radio Ulster it has also been placed on the BBC Folk Playlist. Make sure you don't miss this sound thats making waves. 

Question Time. 

1) What are you currently working on?

Adam Holmes & The Embers, Skinny Lister, King King, Fantastic Negrito set up for 2018, Joanne Shaw Taylor and Marika Hackman.

2) Are there any specific bands or acts that you are backing to be big in 2018?

Fantastic Negrito & Curse Of Lono.

3) What is a day in the life of a plugger like? 

lways busy but varied, one day maybe a 4am start with an act on a Breakfast TV or Radio show whilst another maybe just a productive day ( with lots of coffee ) simply chasing people up from our office.

4) Who were your favourite act that you have plugged? 

Fave act I've worked with were The Ramones back in 1992

5) How do you find acts to plug what is the process?

We are very lucky here at Scream, we get calls daily from small indies through to various majors who are all developing new acts and re-establishing heritage artists with their new album releases. 

We work with people we like and acts that we think we can make a difference with.

Pete Kelly has a had an action packed week winning multiple awards at the latest Music Week Sync Awards 2017 held in London hosted by BBC Radio 6 DJ Shaun Keaveny. The awards were attended by publishers and record labels sync teams galore with the night including a total of 24 categories. 

Pete Kelly's well deserved awards include: Music Supervisor -TV, Broadcaster Music Department- BT Sport and Best Sync- TV Show (Sport). 

We are very proud to advertise that Pete Kelly will be featured on our, 'What You Syncing' panel from 2:30- 3:30pm on the 16th of November. 

What does a supervisors day usually consist of?

We show a wide variety of sports at BT Sport and with that comes a large amount of music use. Whether for rights or creative reasons, producers must run the final music choice via the music team before heading into their edit. This oversight of all music use enables us to create a strong musical identity for the channel. So a normal day will usually include numerous searches for both promos and in-programme spots across various sports (footy, rugby, Moto GP, cricket and so on).

As well as the day-to-day supervision, there’s a lot of bespoke work. I’m often working with composers or commissioning artists to write music for our productions. We’ve had British Sea Power compose a suite of music for our Champions League coverage, Throwing Snow do the same for our Europa League coverage and Everything Everything writing an original song (‘I Believe It Now’) for our Premier League theme tune. For this season’s Premier League theme tune we commissioned Vessels & Lowly to create a new version of ‘I Believe It Now’. I also look after any audio branding and idents you hear on the channel.

I will often be pitching ideas for working with artists. There have been some successful projects in recent months with Loyle Carner leading our Champions League Final coverage, Big Narstie promoting UFC 205, Avelino kicking off the Europa League Final and Peter Broderick in the European Rugby Final.

What are you currently listening to?

This great little link (http://107.170.81.187:8080/public/top) gives you a look at your Spotify data. It’s telling me my most listened to artists at the moment are Kevin Morby, Makola, Kamasi Washington, Angel Olsen, Rival Consoles and Kadhja Bonet.

3) Is there a particular type of music you favour or is it all dependent on the brief?  

For me the aim is to create something original, steering away from using anything that’s been used before, in a film or on an advert for example. We want to create new associations between great music and BT Sport. Sporting drama for me doesn’t really mean building percussion and strings. We can achieve equally effective and emotive music pieces through using exciting new music, whether that’s indie, electronic, hip hop, pop or anything else.

When you were younger is this what you thought you would be doing? 

Music has always been the key thing in my life. I’ve played piano since I was 5 and went on to do a music degree. I had no idea there was such a thing as a music supervisor for a sports channel but I’m very glad to have found myself here. When I was at university, I got the idea of doing my dissertation on how music affects the perception of visuals. As well as being a topic I found interesting, I used it as a way to interview and meet as many people within this industry as possible.

What do you feel the benefits are of taking part in Music conferences? 

The music industry can feel quite opaque at times so to be able to bring a whole load of experts together to gain an insight into each of the different sectors is a very helpful thing.

Top three tracks in your opinion.

Well, this is one of those questions no one can ever really answer so I’m going to let that website do the talking for me again. It’s telling me my most listened to songs since I started using Spotify are Copenhagen by Scott Walker, 3 Chords by Rival Consoles and Beautiful Strangers by Kevin Morby.

There's still time to apply for the Help Musicians UK X Resonate bursary scheme. 

Help Musicians UK is the leading UK charity for professional musicians of all genres, from starting out through to retirement. They help at times of crisis, but also at times of opportunity, giving people the extra support they need at a crucial stage that could make or break their career. This time, Help Musicians are offering to a bursary with covers 2/3 the cost of a Resonate day pass. 

This bursary is not only open to artists but to all creatives across the sector. So whether you are a gig enthusiast, photographer, blogger, producer, lyricist, engineers, entrepreneur or event organiser this bursary is for you. Resonate and Help Musicians UK seek to encourage those working across the whole music industry to take up this amazing opportunity. 

Apply for the bursary to reduce costs of a Resonate day pass by following the link below and sending in an application. This is a conference you don't want to miss out on. The deadline for the bursary application has now the 3rd of November 2017. 

https://www.helpmusicians.org.uk/news/latest-news/hmuk-offers-bursary-for-resonate-glasgow

We caught up with Chae and asked him a couple of questions about his work, TTV, Scottish Music Industry, his current top tunes, Resonate and his involvement as one of the panelists.

What is your role at TTV and what does that involve?

As the founder of Tenement TV I am at the forefront of the music scene in Scotland and immerse myself in it! My role is pretty eclectic, but mainly it’s keeping a finger to the pulse of the music industry and bringing a forward thinking approach to the business. As Director of our music festival Tenement Trail, that’s also a really big part of my time and I work with my team to book the line-up and deal with the organization of the event as a whole.

What made you get involved in music and TTV?

I started off at Glasgow Kelvin College where I studied music performance. From there I started a band and got in and about the scene, repping shows for local promoters around the city. Tenement TV was born out of an idea 6 years ago and things have just massively grown and progressed from there.

What are your most memorable TTV Sessions?

Bastille, Cage The Elephant, Hozier, Catfish & The Bottlemen  and The Temperance Movement are all massive favourites. For example, Cage the Elephant are one of my favourite bands and to have them come up to my flat at 2 am after supporting Foals and play that session is as good as it gets!

What do TTV look for in an artist / band to give them a TTV Session?

Originality. Hard working. Exciting. Something fresh and new and something people will be excited about. A band with attitude, cutting their own path is a TTV band!

What are your thoughts on the Scottish Music Industry right now?

Amazing! One of the best cities in the he world for discovering music is our home, Glasgow. The amount of brilliant gigs on, every single night is incredible and the live venues in Glasgow are some of the best in the world. Scotland needed a platform like TTV and we’re really proud of the work we do in the industry. 

Are you looking forward to Resonate?

Yes really looking forward to Resonate and speaking alongside people such as Geoff Ellis. It’s an event that is supporting the scene in Scotland, it’s great to see it happen in the East End. BAaD is a great space and I am looking forward to meeting so many other like-minded people.

What can we expect from your views on the ‘Are You Even Listening’ Panel?

Honesty and positive feedback. At Tenement TV, we’re all about supporting new music so hopefully this panel will provide another platform for me to support new music.

From your own experience, do you have any advice for start-up music businesses?

Step outside your comfort zone. Explore options and then go for it! Impossible is nothing at TTV and we always think outside the box.

What top tunes have you been listening to recently?

The Big Moon / Neon Waltz / Catholic Action / The Ninth Wave / Cheap Teeth