Page 55 - AIB | The Chanel | Issue 1 2013
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THE CHANNEL
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ISSUE 1 2013
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55
FEEDBACK
Whilst that represented a fantastic
performance opportunity, it
became clear to us from partner
and audience feedback that there
was a strong desire for a prize
focused on developing skills and
knowledge that might help provide
opportunities for winning artists to
further their careers. With this in
mind, the
Pacific Break
prize was
refocused as a development and
learning opportunity, and the
eventual
Pacific Break
winner would
fly to Australia to record a demo of
their best song, attend the
Australasian World Music Expo
and perform live within the ABC.
The
Pacific Break
prize was
communicated far and wide through
a coordinated marketing and
promotional campaign across the
Pacific. The competition attracted
almost 100 high quality entries.
They came from single mothers,
young professionals, labourers,
yard workers, students and
unemployed people from 18 Pacific
countries. It was clear that our shift
in thinking toward providing a
nurturing and development
opportunity was well received.
The most recent
Pacific Break
winner Jaik Berg flew to Melbourne
on the 12th of November. He spent
two days re‐recording his winning
song “My Oh My” and another
outstanding original composition
“Ten Again”. Under the guidance
of the ABC’s well‐known live music
producer David Manton and locally
based professional musicians, Jaik
was amazed to see how working
with other creative people in a
professional studio at the ABC
could influence his songs.
“This song I wrote in my
bedroom and it’s so neat to see a
group of musicians learn it, have
their own feel for it and help me
develop it,” he said. Feedback from
the professionals was that Jaik had
taken to the recording studio like a
pro: "His songs have come together
well and he really gelled with the
musos weʹve brought in to help".
Jaik was born in New Zealand
and raised in Rarotonga in the
Cook Islands. His mother Lyza
accompanied him on the 5,500 km
journey to Australia and was close
to tears as she watched Jaik
blossom in the studio, jamming
with the drummer and guitarist.
CRUCIAL INSIGHT
Gaining valuable experience
through the opportunity to record
his winning song in a professional
environment was only one part of
the prize though. Jaik also attended
the Australasian World Music
Expo, hosted in Melbourne in
November, where he met with local
and global industry music buyers,
artists and peers. This provided
Jaik with crucial insight into the
business side of the music industry
and he began to understand the
mechanisms that sit behind
successful music careers.
But it wasn’t all about Jaik and
his music, there was also time for a
modern contemporary cultural
twist exploring Melbourne’s
trademark laneways, taking in the
street art and inner‐city ambience.
Jaik enjoyed plenty of sushi, which
ironically, is prohibitively
expensive in the Cook Islands
despite being in the middle of the
world’s largest ocean.
Of course, gaining attention for
stories in a large media
organisation like the ABC, where a
huge number of stories compete for
visibility every day, can sometimes
be a real challenge. To support
Jaik’s journey and to assist in
raising his profile within the ABC,
Radio Australia staff took some
unusual steps ‐ wearing hibiscus
flowers and T‐shirts emblazoned
with “Who is Jaik?”, and placing
inflatable palm trees around the
building as symbols of the Pacific.
This helped create quite a buzz
around the ABC’s large Southbank
Centre and focused media attention
on Jaik and his extraordinary
musical talents.
On Thursday 15 November, Jaik
performed a live acoustic set at
lunchtime in the ABC cafeteria. The
performance left everyone spellbound
with his extraordinary vocal gifts
and song‐writing talents. The next
24 hours provided another great
MARKETING
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THE CHANNEL
▼
Jaik Berg in
Melbourne
▼
Top
Mark
Hemetsberger
Below
Staff in the
ABC Café
supporting Berg
The
prize was
refocused
as a devel-
opment and
learning
opportunity
“
”
learning experience for Jaik with
more than 15 interviews lined up
on ABC networks across Australia.
When Jaik sang live in a number of
those interviews, the text messages
came flooding in. Since then YouTube
clips of Jaik’s live performance in
the ABC Cafeteria have become the
most accessed clips Radio Australia
has on the Internet.
ASPIRATIONAL
So how did the story end for Jaik?
Armed with his professionally
recorded demo tracks and under‐
standing of copyright and digital
recording, he has now returned to
Rarotonga to discuss with his
family his next steps in pursuing a
career in music.
And what was the return for
Radio Australia? As a broadcaster
Radio Australia is committed to
sharing an understanding of
Australian attitudes, culture and
position within Asia and the Pacific,
and reflecting the diverse opinions,
attitudes and cultures of the region.
In a very natural way,
Pacific Break
not only establishes a valuable
ction with audiences in the
but also engages these
audiences with a unique and
aspirational opportunity. The
project works on different levels
and has the support of local media
in this region who actively promote
the competition to their respective
audiences because it complements
local music development,
competitions and initiatives. I said
earlier the aim is to unearth the best
original, unsigned amateur musicians
across more than 20 countries and
five time zones in the Pacific – we
have discovered Jaik but there is
more to come.
■
w.abc.net.au
