MUSIC NEWS: Indie Con First Speakers Announcement

First Speakers Announced for AIR’s Indie-Con Australia Conference and A2IM’s Indie Week Australian Edition

The Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR) is thrilled to introduce some of the International speakers for its annual conference events taking place in Australia’s UNESCO designated City of Music, Adelaide, from Wednesday 30 July to Friday 1 August 2025.

The 2025 Indie-Con Australia Conference and A2IM’s Indie Week Australian Edition will feature A2IM representatives Dr. Richard James Burgess, MBE (President and CEO) and Lisa Hresko (General Manager), and expertise from label representatives across the USA including Ian Harrison (EVP Hopeless Records), Melanie Sheehan (US General Manager Rough Trade Records), David Barnes (COO Rhymesayers), and Salvatore Maicki (Senior A&R The FADER Label). While Secretly’s Anna Bond (Director of Planning and Initiatives) and Ali Murphy (Senior International Marketing Director) bring knowledge of distribution and marketing, Kaoruko Hill (GM APAC Merlin) and Guji Lorenzana (A&R Business Development Symphonic Distribution APAC) connect new possibilities across the Asia-Pacific Region from music rights and licensing to distribution and strategy, with the full program announced in late June. 

“We look forward to welcoming speakers from around the globe to connect with the Australian independent recorded music community,  discuss issues that affect our industry and explore opportunities for global growth.” -  Maria Amato, AIR CEO

Dr. Richard James Burgess, MBE, President and CEO A2IM, USA
President and CEO for the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), Dr. Richard James Burgess MBE has produced, recorded, and performed on many gold, platinum, and multi-platinum albums. He was previously head of business at Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, where he produced Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology, chronicling the history of jazz and The Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap. His career path includes studio musician, touring musician, recording artist, producer, manager, and label owner. He is known for his pioneering work with synthesisers, computers, sampling, EDM, New Romantics, and early house music, as the inventor of the SDSV drum synthesiser and for coining the music genre terms EDM and New Romantic. His latest books are The Art of Music s Honours list 2022.

Lisa Hresko, General Manager A2IM, USA 
Lisa Hresko is the General Manager at A2IM (The American Association of Independent Music). A2IM, which consists of over 600 U.S. record label members and nearly 200 other music businesses, advocates for the needs of the independent music community on a policy level. Additionally, Lisa works to ensure that all A2IM members receive the highest level of education and community resources. 
Prior to A2IM, she spent nearly ten-year tenure at CMJ during which time she held several positions, including Editor-in-Chief. Her responsibilities encompassed booking the professional programming for CMJ Music Marathon, leading the radio department, and developing international initiatives. Lisa has been an invited speaker at music conferences across the globe.

Kaoruko Hill, GM, APAC Merlin, Japan 
Kaoruko Hill is the General Manager of APAC at Merlin, the digital music licensing partner for independent labels and distributors. With over a decade of experience, Kaoruko is a recognised leader in music rights and licensing in the Asia-Pacific region. Her distinguished career includes managing global music rights at ByteDance and playing a pivotal role in Merlin's successful entry into the Japanese market from 2016 to 2020. Kaoruko's expertise also extends to her time at a Japanese music copyright collective and her work as a consultant in music rights. A member of the Copyright Law Association of Japan, Kaoruko is committed to fostering innovation and collaboration within the music industry, driving Merlin's mission to build an ethical, sustainable, and indie-centric world.

Anna Bond, Director of Planning and Initiatives, Secretly Distribution, USA 
 With over twenty years in the music industry, Anna Bond has dedicated her career to supporting independence and independents. As Director of Planning & Initiatives at Secretly Distribution, she is able to support the best independent labels in the business while working to push the sector itself forward. And as a board member at the Center for Music Ecosystems, she works to expand opportunities for global musicians and businesses. She has worked in record label management at Rough Trade Records and FatCat; in publishing at Songtrust/Downtown; as well as in retail, distribution, and artist management. This breadth of experience has impressed upon her the importance of evaluating market developments from multiple stakeholder perspectives, as well as cementing the love for independent labels that she learned as a college radio-loving teen.

Guji Lorenzana, A&R Business Development Symphonic Distribution APAC, USA/Philippines 
Guji Lorenzana is a seasoned music executive and former indie artist with over 20 million streams to his name. As Asia-Pacific Territory Manager for A&R Business Development at Symphonic Distribution, he leads strategic expansion across key markets including South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and more. Guji began his career as a singer-songwriter and actor, gaining regional recognition through television, film, and digital platforms like Netflix and Disney+. His success as an independent artist deeply informs his approach today, prioritising authenticity, sustainable careers, and culturally grounded strategies. Before Symphonic, he managed independent artists and held pivotal roles at YouTube Music (Content Programming for the Philippines), Ingrooves Music Group (Country Manager), and Virgin Music Group, where he helped establish operations in Thailand after it acquired Ingrooves

Ian Harrison, EVP Hopeless Records, USA
Ian Harrison is the Executive Vice President of Hopeless Records, where he has played a significant role in label leadership since 2005 through various roles- including head of Marketing & Operations and General Manager. In his current role as EVP, Ian oversees key areas including commercial partnerships, business development, label strategy, international growth, and advancing the mission of the Hopeless Foundation, the label’s nonprofit organisation. Ian is a W.I.N. board member, previously served on the board of Music Biz, and was recognised as one of Billboard Magazine’s Indie Power Players in 2024

Melanie Sheehan US General Manager, Rough Trade Records, USA 
Melanie has devoted 20+ years to the independent music community. She managed a successful record store in Seattle for many years, then moved to NYC where she Project Managed album campaigns for The War On Drugs, Grimes, Kaytranada, Warpaint, Spoon, & countless more across Secretly Group and Beggars Group. After PM'ing a campaign for the Platinum Single selling group Houndmouth, Melanie joined the esteemed and iconic London label Rough Trade Records as General Manager. There she continues her work with artists like Parquet Courts, black midi/Geordie Greep, Dean Blunt, Anohni, Jockstrap, Jarvis Cocker/Pulp and countless more talent here and abroad.

David Barnes, COO Rhymesayers, USA 
David Barnes is a strategic executive who uses his 15 years of experience in tech startups and the music industry to help build sustainable careers with artist partners. As the COO of Rhymesayers, he oversees a business umbrella that includes artist management for the likes of Atmosphere, Aesop Rock and the MF DOOM estate, an E-comm D2C operation, live events and touring, publishing and NIL rights mgmt, along with 30 years of catalog. Previously, he was the Head of Operations at Vinyl Me, Please, helping scale the vinyl subscription business to be the 2nd largest vinyl distributor in the world until his departure in 2018. He is currently based in Los Angeles.

Salvatore Maicki, Senior A&R The FADER Label, USA 
Detroit-born, Brooklyn-based Salvatore Maicki began his career in music journalism, cutting his teeth at outlets such as i-D and Complex, and working as a production assistant for NPR Tiny Desk Concerts. He landed at The FADER in 2018, beginning as a staff writer and later producing and hosting The FADER Interview podcast. In 2021, he shifted his focus to the FADER Label, where he currently serves as senior A&R.

Ali Murphy, Senior International Marketing Director, Secretly Group
 Ali Murphy has been part of the marketing team at Secretly Group (Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar, Saddest Factory Records, Secretly Canadian) since 2016. In her current role as Senior International Marketing Director, she oversees all facets of the roster’s marketing across the UK, Europe, and further afield. This includes big picture campaign strategy, paid and organic social activity, audience growth, retail marketing, fan activations, and much more.  Recent campaign highlights include Bon Iver’s top 5 album SABLE, fABLE, Mitski's "My Love Mine All Mine" (#8 in the UK single charts), alongside a top 5 album "The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We", Slowdive's top ten album "everything is alive" and the chart topping Khruangbin - A LA SALA campaign.

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