Manitoba Music Launches Fall Season of MusicWorks Professional Development Workshops for the Music Industry

Posted on

Miesha & The Spanks
Lazerbeak
Jess McCauley
Alastair Burns
Anna Weisband
Caroline Borolla
Clemence Godard
Dalton Higgins
Drezus
Gil Carroll
Jheanelle Henry
Joanna Pollock
Kiana Rookz
Lisa Patterson
Mark Weld

Series Creates Opportunities for Artists and Music Entrepreneurs to Make Connections and Build Their Industry Toolkits

Building and maintaining a career in the music industry requires a continuous balance of creativity and business expertise. To help support artists and music entrepreneurs gather critical knowledge and make important career connections, Manitoba Music is launching a new season of its long-running professional development workshops, MusicWorks. The fall season covers essential topics for anyone working in music, as well as focused training for the hip hop and country music communities, audio production for women and non-binary people, and health and wellness insights.

“Working in music means translating your creativity into a sustainable business,” says Manitoba Music’s executive director, Sean McManus. “Our goal with MusicWorks is to help our music industry thrive through building skills and networks, and finding inventive new ways to connect, share, and grow their business.”

Kicking off September 5 with a free info session on music funding programs from FACTOR and Manitoba Film & Music, MusicWorks presents experienced music business pros, DIY experts, and tastemakers speaking in-depth on key industry topics.

Manitoba Music continues to expand its flagship MusicWorks segment, the DIY Series, offering developing artists and industry, as well as veterans looking to update their skills, the opportunity to learn the music business from people on the ground doing the work every day. The series focuses on music business fundamentals that everyone needs to understand, including touring, export-readiness, social media, grant writing, and more. The complete series, which will continue into 2019, offers an overarching look at key strategies for developing a solid and cohesive career foundation. Panelists include Heartstop Music’s Alastair Burns, CFox FM’s Britters, Clarion Call Media’s Caroline Borolla, Bird on the Wire’s Clemence Godard, First Date Touring’s Gil Carroll, Audiotree’s Jess McCauley, Sandbox Studios’ Kiana Rookz, Doomtree’s Lazerbeak, Imaginit Music’s Lisa Patterson, songwriter Mark Weld, artist Miesha Louie (Miesha & The Spanks), Straight & Narrow Artist Management's Shaun Gibson, and more.

Manitoba Music will continue its partnership with artist and producer Joanne Pollock for Equalizer, a series of audio production workshops designed to offer a safe and encouraging environment to women and non-binary people who are interested in learning the ins and outs of audio production. Curated by Pollock, the Equalizer workshops build on her existing work to share her expertise to encourage and inspire women and non-binary artists to get into the behind-the-scenes production work, whether it’s for their own music or to develop skills to support the work of other artists. This season will offer hands-on basics of synthesis on October 20 and studio set-up on December 9, both facilitated by Pollock.

As part of this year’s edition of the Manitoba X Minnesota Music Exchange project, MusicWorks will also host the team from Minnesota Public Radio's The Current 89.3 to explore strategies for using The Midwest as a gateway to the rest of the American market on November 6. 


Country music will be in the spotlight on November 10 for the second edition of the Manitoba Country Music Meeting. Presented in partnership with the Manitoba Country Music Association in conjunction with the Manitoba Country Music Awards, this year’s event offers a day of connecting and learning for the country music community, featuring panels and networking opportunities with country music heavy-hitters including THiS Music's Amanda Weisband, RGK Entertainment's Amber Bell, and Sakamoto Agency's Carla Hackman.

Manitoba Music will build on the Decipher series of hip hop-focused training on November 14 with a session on how the DIY artist can rise above the noise and make an impression in this competitive genre, from marketing to engagement to innovation, featuring publicist/PR expert/author/festival programmer/journalist Dalton Higgins, acclaimed artist Drezus, and marketing/brand management expert Jheanelle Henry of Rebel Wailer Inc.

Manitoba Music’s focus on health and wellness continues on November 28 with a session on validation and managing expectations, which can be an essential topic for anyone navigating the sometimes-punishing union of creativity and career.

All workshops take place in the Manitoba Music Industry Resource Centre, 1-376 Donald Street, unless otherwise listed. Space is limited and advance registration is strongly encouraged. For complete workshop descriptions, please visit manitobamusic.com/workshops. Members can register in advance for all DIY Series workshops at a 30% discount until September 30. For more information or to register, please contact 204.942.8650, training@manitobamusic.com.

MusicWorks is made possible by the generous support of the Province of Manitoba through Industry Partnerships of Manitoba Education and Training, FACTOR through the financial support of the Government of Canada and Canada's private radio broadcasters, The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, and The SOCAN Foundation.

Read more news