The House of Songs is an Austin, TX based project focusing on musical creativity through international collaboration. The House has been operating since September 2009 and has provided the foundation for creative collaboration between some of the strongest Austin and Scandinavian songwriters. Through these experiences, the participating songwriters have created numerous potential relationships and have attained unique experiences benefiting their musical careers. This panel will discuss how digital media influences these collaboration efforts in the present and in the future. The conversation will also cover current trends in this area, challenges artists face in developing and expanding their audience, how artists today can succeed in procuring worldwide digital revenue, and ultimately emphasize the need of having this conversation.
General director of ROSA - The Danish Rock Council and SPOT Festival, one of the biggest music industry festivals in Scandinavia.
Russell E. Rains, a past Director and Chair of the State Bar of Texas Entertainment and Sports Law Section, currently serves as program director of the Digital Media Management MBA program at St. Edward’s University, in Austin, Texas. He is also the chair of the Digital Media Management BBA major. He also teaches a number of classes including Introduction to Digital Media Management and Entertainment, and Digital Law & Policy.
As an attorney in private practice for over 20 years, Rains represented well-known artists and entertainment entities. His practice included both transactional law and business litigation with areas of concentration in entertainment law, trademark, copyright, general business, securities arbitration and mediation. Prior to entering law school, he was a musician.
Since 1990, Rains has taught and lectured on digital media management, digital law, entertainment and e-commerce law at St. Edward’s, the University of Texas at Austin, and St. Mary’s University Law School. Rains holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition with a minor in Music Theory and a concentration in Piano from the University of North
Texas. He earned a JD at the University of Houston, where he served as editor in chief of The Houston Journal of International Law, and is licensed to practice law in Texas and the western and southern federal districts.
Stephen Averill was born in 1950 and so came of age at a time when music was a symbol and conduit for teenage rebellion - exploring and experimenting with its boundaries. Coming to terms with its past and future; transforming from rock 'n' roll to rock and countless other genre categories.
His twin passions were music and graphics. This manifested in creating picture sleeves for the many 7" singles that he collected that didn't have them. He went on to work for a number of advertising agencies before ultimately forming a design consultancy that, initially, focused on the music and entertainment industry.
In the mid 70s he formed Irish punk band The Radiators (From Space), a means to express himself in music, without having any actual musical talent. That band is still together and released its third album, after a 29 year gap, in 2006. Following which they played a number of gigs including at an ACE Records anniversary party in London as well as being the first rock band to play at the refurbished Croke Park GAA football stadium when they opened for U2. They have also supported The Pogues at the Point Theatre as well as playing a series of small headline gigs.
As a result of his membership of The Radiators he met a young Adam Clayton, who looked for his advice on his band who Averill went on to name U2. That relationship developed and Averill began a long term relationship with U2 that resulted in several awards and some of the covers that were created are now considered classics. With his current company AMP Visual working with fellow designers Shaughn McGrath and Gary Kelly that relationship continues with the band. They are currently working with successful Irish band The Script.
In the past few decades Averill has worked as designer/art director on projects for such international acts as the aforementioned U2 as well as Elvis Costello, Depeche Mode, Dierks Bentley and renowned Irish local acts like The Dubliners, Clannad, An Emotional Fish, The Virgin Prunes, Aslan, Something Happens and The Hothouse Flowers.
Alongside music industry projects Averill has working on numerous other design projects for a wide variety of clients from corporate to charity.
The company has worked through the digital media over the last two decades and it is the ideal medium for contemporary design.
Award-winning Austin singer-songwriter and film and music producer Troy Campbell, the Austin liaison for The House of Songs — the one-year partnership between Danish songwriters guilds and Austin songwriters and producers in which Scandinavian and American artists will collaborate on new songs and how to distribute them — regularly plays Denmark and its hugely popular music festivals including the Aarhus and Tonder. His latest solo album, Long in the Sun, yielded a song, “Lovers,” that was featured as a Top 10 track in USA Today.
Campbell attended the Danish songwriters guilds’ Song Island (on the wind-powered, green-living island of Samsoe) in 2002 and co-wrote there with Danish rock-roots-pop star Poul Krebs. In Austin, Campbell will work with visiting songwriters and serve as House of Songs project ambassador, chief executive and artistic adviser.
Campbell has won numerous awards for his eight CDs and recent projects with Collection Agency Films. His music has been on Top 10 lists of The New York Times, and his co-writing work has gone gold and platinum, including “Jeg Lar Min Dør Stå Lidt På Klim,” the song he wrote with Krebs and Henning Kvitnes. He has toured internationally since 1994 and was named Best Producer at the Austin Music Awards for his work on that year’s tribute album of songs by Jo Carol Pierce.
Campbell’s music has been featured on TV soundtracks, and he worked as music supervisor for the film “Levelland” and on the documentary “Antone’s: Home of the Blues.” His and filmmaker Alan Berg’s short documentary, “A Place to Dance,” won the Audience Award at the 2004 Austin Film Festival.
The music video he produced for New York Dolls, “Dance Like a Monkey,” won Best Music Video at the Bradford Animation Festival and a 2006 Channel Frederator Award for Best Dance Sequence. Also in 2006, he won a Telley Award for Best Online-Internet ad for “Kinkytoons,” a series of short animated films for Texas Kinky Friendman’s Gubernatorial run.
Campbell was executive producer of the 2009 film “Happiness Is ...” and line producer on National Geographic Channel’s “Geobeats” the same year. He produced two 2008 videos with Hayes Carll, “Crystal Beach Memories” and “She Left Me for Jesus.”
In addition, Campbell has produced shows and served as tour manager for Texas music icon Roky Erickson, pioneer of psychedelic rock and front man for 13th Floor Elevators, helping stage his successful comeback performance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival in 2005. Campbell produced the sold-out Roky Erickson Ice Cream Social concerts during South by Southwest Music Festival 2008-2009.
