BIGSOUND 2024 Announces First Speakers: Amyl & The Sniffers, 4AD, Elijah, Mushroom & More

9 May 2024 | 10:00 am | Ellie Robinson

“This announcement is really a calling card of what BIGSOUND represents,” says programmer Tom Larkin.

Amy Taylor / Casper Mills / Korda Marshall / Naomie Abergel / Elijah

Amy Taylor / Casper Mills / Korda Marshall / Naomie Abergel / Elijah (Supplied)

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BIGSOUND 2024 is fast approaching, and today (May 9) sees the programming team share their first lot of speakers and buyers for the conference side of the event.

Leading the pack is Amy Taylor, frontwoman of trailblazing Aussie punk band Amyl & The Sniffers, who will deliver an insightful keynote sure to resonate with thousands of attendees. Notably her band is part of the ACT Live roster, and one of their star agents, Roxanne Dumoulin, will appear on the ground at BIGSOUND to scout for hot new talent.

“Over the years we’ve become regular attendees of BIGSOUND,” said ACT Live’s managing director, Alex Bruford. “It’s always so thrilling to come to Australia and check out potential acts to sign to our roster. We are really excited to be sending our agent Roxanne Dumoulin this year.

“We have over 30 Australian acts on our roster, including Amyl & The Sniffers, Julia Jacklin and Royel Otis, and have signed acts including Girl and Girl, Cable Ties, Enola and Good Morning as a direct result of attending BIGSOUND – it has become one of our favourite international events, and is a fantastic place to see new Australian talent.”

Making the trek out from London will be polymathic influencer Elijah (best known as a co-founder of the Butterz label), festival king Adam Ryan (who’s responsible for flagship events like The Great Escape, Lovebox and Wilderness), A&R legend Korda Marshall (who notably founded Infectious Records, and will appear at BIGSOUND representing Mushroom Group as the current leader of their UK office) and Casper Mills (one of the key figures at indie label powerhouse 4AD).

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Reeperbahn’s Patrick Daniel will give Germany a presence at BIGSOUND 2024, while on the American side, we’ll hear from music NFT pioneer Naomie Abergel (repping Sound.xyz) – who you might also know as the Skrillex-backed producer Mark Johns – as well as Elliott Lefko (AEG and Goldenvoice), Dev Sherlock (SXSW) and Bradley Palmer (Concord Music Publishing). And joining them from Canada will be none other than Ben Buchanan of the Creative Artists Agency.

In a press release, conference programmer Tom Larkin said of this year’s first lineup: “This announcement is really a calling card of what BIGSOUND represents. The cross section of global industry that will be on ground is a testament to BIGSOUND as a vehicle for connecting artists locally and internationally, and we recognise that in 2024 the need for this is greater than ever.

“We’re thrilled to go out of the gates with Amy Taylor as a keynote speaker as she will no doubt give a robust insight from many angles. Ultimately, BIGSOUND is an event where people arrive with a genuine sense of excitement at being immersed in music over three days and three nights.”

BIGSOUND 2024 will run from Tuesday September 3 to Friday 6 in its usual home of Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley precinct. Early bird delegate passes are on sale as of this morning – head here to register for yours.

BIGSOUND 2024

SPEAKERS & BUYERS – FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT

Amy Taylor – Amyl & The Sniffers (AUS)
Adam Ryan – The Great Escape / Festival Republic (UK)
Ben Buchanan – Creative Artists Agency (CA)
Bradly Palmer
– Concord Music Publishing (USA)
Casper Mills – 4AD (UK)
Dev Sherlock – SXSW (USA)
Elijah – Artist / Thought Leader / DJ (UK)
Elliott Lefko – AEG / Goldenvoice (USA)
Korda Marshall – Mushroom Group (UK)
Naomie Abergel – Sound.xyz (USA)
Patrick Daniel – Reeperbahn (GER)
Roxane Dumoulin
– ATC Live (FRAN)