BIGSOUND Speaker Lineup: Wham! Manager + More

The lineup of speakers coming down under to share their know-how at the biggest music industry conference in the southern hemisphere, BIGSOUND, has just gotten bigger, with a stack of international heavyweights joining the party in 2023.

Leading the charge is Simon Napier-Bell, the iconic record producer, artist manager, author and journalist, fresh from starring in an acclaimed Netflix documentary about one of the acts he used to manage, WHAM!

WHAM! | Official Trailer | Netflix

Napier-Bell – whose management CV also includes WHAM! frontman George Michael himself, plus The Yardbirds and Boney M – will be heading to Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley this September, for a special “in-conversation” event.

Grammy award winning English composer Simon Franglen, best known for his work on the Avatar films, is also joining BIGSOUND’s 2023 speaker lineup, alsongside South By Southwest’s Senior Music Programmer Dev Sherlock, president of Sub Pop records Tony Kiewel, Paramount’s VP of music Vanessa Palmer, and CAA agent Cameron Kaiser (who’s responsible for booking international megastars such as Doja Cat, A$AP Rocky, Christina Aguilera, Troye Sivan, Wu Tang Clan, Public Enemy and more).

“While we’re extremely fortunate to have a thriving, tenacious and ever-expanding industry in our own backyard, the importance of global relationships cannot be overlooked,” BIGSOUND programmer Tom Larkin said today in a press statement.

“So, in 2023, we’re leveraging all 22 years of our collective BIGSOUND experience to secure the most important figures in the industry for our next crop of Aussie acts. Deals mean meals and every very person we are bringing to BIGSOUND can further an artist’s career immeasurably!”

BIGSOUND’s 2023 speaker program now spans an impressive 40 names, including previously announced big dogs like ROC Nation Records co-president Omar Grant (who was the road manager for Destiny’s Child and has recently worked closely with Rihanna on her last album ANTI), Interscope/Geffen A&R coordinator Michele Ronzon and founder of music AI company Musiio, Hazel Savage, who’s also currently working at Soundcloud as VP of music intelligence.

There are also plenty more lineup announcements to come: more than 100 speakers will be making their way to BIGSOUND in 2023, which is taking place at various venues around Fortitude Valley from Tuesday, 5th September to Friday, 8th September.

ICYMI, BIGSOUND’s conference and speaker program runs alongside its annual artist showcases, and tickets for both are on sale now.

Over 140 artists will perform at this year’s event include BAYANG (Tha Bushranger), Bec Stevens, Cult Shotta, Delivery, Dr Sure’s Unusal Practice, Full Flower Moon Band, GAUCI, Gut Health, J-MILLA, Kobie Dee and MARLON X RULLA. Elsewhere are the likes of MF Tomlinson, Moaning Lisa, Nat Vazer, PRICIE, RAAVE TAPES, REBEL YELL, Siobhan Cotchin, STUMPS, Tamara & the Dreams, The Slingers, Too Birds and Twine.