AWAL Launches the AWAL Academy at Liverpool Sound City 2022

28 April 2022 - Press release

The AWAL Academy is a series of filmed interviews with experts in music promotion and marketing, that together create a programme of learning for independent artists who are looking to build their careers. The programme ranges from artist development to audience development and strategies for optimising streaming across multiple platforms, that together provide artists and their teams with invaluable expert advice, best practices and insights.

The AWAL Academy is available exclusively to AWAL artists via the AWAL portal, with three initial strands focused on Optimising for Streaming Platforms, Creating a Release Schedule, and Growing your Audience.

The AWAL Academy brings together expertise from across AWAL’s global teams, who have catapulted artists like LAUV, girl in red, Dayglow, Jungle and Little Simz to international success, as well as helped artists like The Wombats, Gerry Cinnamon, and You Me At Six secure the No.1 spot in the UK album charts.

At this year's Liverpool Sound City, the AWAL Academy will be hosting a day of Expert Sessions on Friday April 29th, with speakers from the AWAL team and external experts from companies such as YouTube, Spotify and TikTok. The day will focus on highlighting specific actions that artists and managers can and should take to grow their audience and careers.

Phil Loutsis (VP, Community Support at AWAL) said: “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. Our job is to help our artist community navigate the fast-changing industry, and AWAL is uniquely well placed to do that, as our teams run some of the most innovative and successful artist campaigns around the world.”

AWAL provides a unique alternative to the traditional record 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 wherever they are in their journey.

 

Details of the AWAL Academy Sessions at Liverpool Sound City are as follows:
AWAL Academy: How to smash it on the Streaming Platforms (hosted by Adele Kemp, Senior Manager, Artist & Label Development at AWAL)

With Robin Richards (Manager, Global Commercial Partnerships at AWAL) and 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: How do I get my message across on social platforms? (hosted by Aaron Bogucki, Global Head of Audience Development at AWAL)
With Lisa Young In (Senior Manager, Audience Development at AWAL) and 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: Who’s listening? How we Grow an Audience! (hosted by Aaron Bogucki)
With Joe Edwards (Senior Director, Marketing at AWAL), Francesca Burton (Senior Director, International Marketing at AWAL) and Corbyn Asbury (Label Relations, 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: Marketing in Action (hosted by Adele Kemp)
A Q&A with Joe Edwards (Senior Director, Marketing at AWAL) who ran the album campaign for the UK #1 album "SUCKAPUNCH" from You Me At Six.