This year 100% virtual and 100% free, the event delivered 55 conference sessions, online showcases and shone a light on the best new artists in Australia today with The BIGSOUND50.
The online conference sessions saw even more delegate registrations than ever before, with delegates joining from over 30 different countries.
BIGSOUND 2020 delivered:
Over 6100 delegates
Over 150,000 page views across the BIGSOUND website
Over 30,000 session streams
143 speakers
55 conference sessions
5 showcases - Wedance from Seoul, Indigenous North from Turtle Island (Canada), JMC Emerging Artist Showcase, plus two Dreaming Loud showcases presented with Spotify.
4 channels of content across two days and nights
Engaging and collaborative discussion across every stream
The event delivered something for all levels of the music industry and beyond, from poignant discussion on the rightful place of First Nations music in 2020, the state of radio and streaming, touring during and after COVID through to Nat’s What I Reckon’s important takedown of supermarket-bought beef sausages.
From Tom Morello’s controversial call to arms on climate action (“Being on the right side of history sometimes means being on the wrong side of the law”) to Tones And I’s reflections on paralysing fear and self-doubt (“It actually feels like I blacked out for a year. If I could go back now I would tell myself to enjoy the moments and really feel every part instead of numbing myself to it all”), the program was both personal, practical and inspirational.
The event explored a range of First Nations perspectives including an inspiring keynote discussion between Rhoda Roberts and Ziggy Ramo, discussions on self-determination and quotas as well as amazing music at BIGSOUND First Nations House presented with Spotify, with exclusive performances from Birdz, Kee’ahn, Southeast Desert Metal, Aodhan and many more.
Another keystone of the virtual event was the Mental Health Stream presented with Levi’s®, featuring seven panels from Support Act as well as a session from Next Act Coaching and Mindful Nation. These events featured experts in mental health and some of Australia's prominent artists, including Brendon Love from The Teskey Brothers, Jaguar Jonze, Nathan Cavaleri, Gordi, Fanny Lumsden and more.
A key theme across all panels and speakers, was the hope and positivity that the industry has in the face of what has been a difficult 2020. There is a real push from within to move forward and reconstruct a framework that replaces our pre-COVID structures with an industry full of strength, creativity and respect.
“BIGSOUND 2020 has hyper-served our industry in a unique way as we navigated a very different year. While COVID-19 has been the great disrupter, it has brought with it opportunities with every challenge,” said QMusic CEO Angela Samut. “We look forward to BIGSOUND 2021 returning to our beloved Fortitude Valley live music precinct where we can engage with one another and discover tomorrow’s great new artists live. We are grateful that we were able to use the hand we’ve been dealt this year to welcome so many more people into the BIGSOUND family and that we have been able to provide a program that educates, inspires and gives a sense of community when it’s been needed most.”
