AWAL is the unique alternative to the traditional music label, powering independent artists with all the resources and expertise of a global label without giving up ownership or control. AWAL has been designed to help artists build long-term careers in music, and to tell stories that shape culture. This means working closely with partners such as TikTok, Spotify, YouTube, and the like to help new artists grow their audiences and income, and more established artists get #1 records.
At Sound City, we will be hosting four sessions with the experts to highlight the practical things you can and should be doing to grow your career. The music industry has never been more open to developing artists but with so many tools at your disposal and platforms to work with, focusing in the right place is key to building success.
We’ve curated these sessions to make sure you’ll be in a much better position to grow a fanbase by the end of the day without just needlessly adding a tonne more things to your to-do list.
AWAL Academy: How to smash it on the Streaming Platforms (hosted by Francesca Burton)
With Robin Richards (Manager, Global Commercial Partnerships at AWAL) & Joel Borquaye (Editor at Spotify)
In this session, we explore best practices for boosting audience engagement and editorial support on the streaming platforms. From playlisting to analytics tools, and what not to do when it comes to playlist promotion.
AWAL Academy: Who’s listening? How we Grow an Audience! (hosted by Aaron Bogucki
With Joe Edwards (Director, Marketing at AWAL), Francesca Burton (International Marketing Director, AWAL), and Corbyn Asbury (Label Relations at YouTube)
This session brings together the various elements of marketing, PR, radio & social media and how we use those to engage with and grow your audience. We’ll look at how this process, run well, leads to 'super fans'.
AWAL Academy: How do I get my message across on social platforms? (hosted by Aaron Bogucki
Lisa Young In (Manager, Audience Development at AWAL) & Lucy Benbow (Music Partnerships, TikTok)
In this session, we examine how to use social media platforms and tools to grow an audience. We’ll cover paid marketing, asset creation, and storytelling. Of course, we’ll get stuck into TikTok here as well Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter among others.
AWAL Academy: Meet the Manager - A Conversation with Rob Swerdlow
A Q&A with acclaimed artist manager Rob Swerdlow and Stephanie Achigbu (Director, Marketing at AWAL) who worked closely together on the award-winning campaign for Little Simz’s album "Sometimes I Might Be Introvert".