Power 50
March 2019
The Power 50 Australian Music’s Most Influential
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Music is what we all love, music is what it’s all about… Music is what we cry to, it’s what we march to, it’s what we rock to... It’s our shared global language. — ALICIA KEYS, 2019 GRAMMY AWARDS
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JOHN FARNHAM JESSICA MAUBOY SAMANTHA JADE DAMI IM S TA N WA L K E R J E S S & M AT T M I S S Y L A N C A S T E R J U S T I C E C R E W C Y R U S T I M W H E AT L E Y
“Australia’s premium home for Talent that Works on every stage”
ALEX MCKINNON ANDREW JOHNS ANDREW WEBSTER J O H N AT H A N T H U R S T O N M I T C H E L L P E A R C E M A L M E N I N G A
W W W. PA R A D E M A N A G E M E N T. C O M
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Music Business Tax Royalties Touring Experts.
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This is where we make coffee. Now, imagine what the studios look like… studios301.com RECORDING – MIXING – MASTERING – EVENTS – CREATIVE HUB
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Our top picks of the hottest Australian acts for 2019 – Keep your eyes and ears locked here. Check out the full list at ticketmaster.com.au/newfor19
Bugs (back left) | Genesis Owusu (back right) | Kaiit (middle)| Kian (bottom left) | Ruby Fields (bottom right)
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A . D . K . O . B - A D R I A N E A G L E - A L E X C A M E R O N - A L I C E I V Y - A L L O U R E X E S L I V E I N T E X A S A M Y S H A R K - A N D Y B U L L - T H E A M I T Y A F F L I C T I O N - A R C H I E R O A C H - A S H A J E F F E R I E S - A S T A A T L A S F R A N K L I N A L E X A N D E R - B A K E R B O Y - B A L L P A R K M U S I C - B A T T S - T H E B E A U T I F U L G I R L S T H E B E A U T I F U L M O N U M E N T - B E L L C I T Y S Q U A R E - T H E B E T H S - B E N N Y W A L K E R B L E E D I N G K N E E S C L U B - B L U E J U I C E - B O B E V A N S - B O Y & B E A R - B U S B Y M A R O U - T H E C H A T S T H E C H U R C H - C I T I Z E N K A Y - C L I E N T L I A I S O N - T H E C L O U D S - C O D A C O N D U C T - C O L L A R B O N E S C O N F I D E N C E M A N - C O S M I C P S Y C H O S - C R O C O D Y L U S - C R O O K E D C O L O U R S - D A L L A S W O O D S D A P P L E D C I T I E S - D O N N Y B E N E T - D O N W A L K E R - D U S T I N T E B B U T T - D Z D E A T H R A Y S E I L I S H G I L L I G A N - E L E C T R I C F I E L D S - E L I O T T - E L I Z A B E T H R O S E - E M M A L O U I S E - E R T H L I N G S E V A N K L A R - F I C T I O N W R I T E R - F I N N A N D R E W S - G H O S T I N G - G I N W I G M O R E - G O L D F I E L D S H A R R I S O N S T O R M - H A Y D E N C A L N I N - H E A P S G O O D F R I E N D S - H E N R Y W A G O N S - H I G H T E N S I O N H O B S O N S B A Y C O A S T G U A R D - H O L L Y T H R O S B Y - H O L Y H O L Y - H O O D L E M - I K N O W L E O P A R D i m b i t h e g i r l - I V L E A G U E - I V A N O O Z E - J A C K L A D D E R - J A K E S T O N E - J A P A N E S E W A L L P A P E R J E S S E D A V I D S O N - J I M M O G I N I E & T H E F A M I L Y D O G - J O N T I - J O S H P Y K E - J U G G E R N A U T D J S T H E J U N G L E G I A N T S - K A R D A J A L A K I R R I D A R R A - K A Y E X - K A V T E M P E R L E Y - K I A N K I R I N J C A L L I N A N - K L P - K Y L E L I O N H A R T - L - F R E S H t h e L I O N - L . K . M c K A Y - L A D Y H A W K E - L A N K S L A S T L I N G S - L A U R A J E A N - L I M E C O R D I A L E - L I T T L E Q U I R K S - T H E L U L U R A E S - M A J O R L E A G U E S M A M A K I N S P E N D E R - M A T M c H U G H - M I A M I H O R R O R - M I D N I G H T J U G G E R N A U T S - M I K E W A T E R S M I S S J U N E - M O A N I N G L I S A - M O J O J U J U - T H E M O N E Y W A R - M O N T A I G N E - M O R E T O N M O R G A N B A I N - M O R N I N G H A R V E Y - M O S E S G U N N C O L L E C T I V E - M O S Q U I T O C O A S T M O S S Y - M U K I M Y O W N P E T R A D I O - N G A I I R E - N I C O L E M I L L A R - N O R T H E A S T P A R T Y H O U S - n y c k - O D E T T E OH MERCY - OK MOON - OLYMPIA - PACES - PAGAN - THE PAPER KITES- PASSENGER P A T R I C K J A M E S - P E T E R B I B B Y - P E T E R G A R R E T T - P H I L A D E L P H I A G R A N D J U R Y - P I S T I D I O T S P O L I S H C L U B - S U P E R E G O - T H E P R E A T U R E S - P V T - R O B B I E M I L L E R - R U B Y B O O T S - R U B Y F I E L D S R Ü F Ü S D Ü S O L - S A L L Y S E L T M A N N - S A M S A R U H - S A N C I S C O - S E T H S E N T R Y - S K E G S S S L Y W I T H E R S S T E L L A D O N N E L L Y - S T U L A R S E N - S T U C K O U T - S U P E R E G O - T H E T E M P E R T R A P T H E T E S K E Y B R O T H E R S - T H E L M A P L U M - T I M B E R W O L F - T I M F I N N - T I M H A R T - T I N P A N O R A N G E T K A Y M A I D Z A - T O R A - T O T A L L Y U N I C O R N - U N D E R G R O U N D L O V E R S - V I L L E T T E - V O I I D W A A X - W A G O N S - W A L L A C E - W E L O S T T H E S E A - W I N G D E F E N C E - W I N T E R B O U R N E W O O D E S - Z I G G Y A L B E R T S - Z U R I A K O K O
A U S T R A L I A ' S # 1 I N D E P E N D E N T B O O K I N G A G E N C Y
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A U S T R A L I A - N E W Z E A L A N D - A S I A
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Credits POWER 50 Published by Street Press Australia Pty Ltd ABN 76117128579 459 Victoria Street, Brunswick West, VIC 3055 PO Box 231, Brunswick West, VIC 3055 Phone: (03) 9421 4499 PUBLISHER: Craig Treweek EDITORIAL: Bryget Chrisfield, Andrew Mast, Mark Neilsen, Sam Wall, Hannah Story, Lauren Baxter COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: Mushroom Creative House
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The 2018
Power
50 List
An annual ranking of the 50 people who most shaped the Australian music industry in 2018.
SALES DIRECTOR: Leigh Treweek
The Criteria
SALES:
The requirements for making the Power 50
Antony Attridge, Brad Edwards, Thom Parry ADMINISTRATION: Bella Bi COVER DESIGN: Ben Nicol LAYOUT & DESIGN: Ben Nicol, Felicity Case-Mejia OG: Loretta Zoppos
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theMusic.com.au
• A proven ability to shape the local music scene • Having made a significant impact on the music industry through actions, programs or initiatives • Working in a role that has had a positive economic impact on the industry • Possessing a public profile as an industry worker/representative • Has received recognition for industry accomplishments
The Power 50 is compiled by a cross-section of music industry representatives along with the publishers and editorial team of The Music/theMusic.com.au.
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From a depressing hotel room, to becoming a vehicle of connection: looking back at 15 years of The Seed Fund Fifteen years on, Danielle Caruana looks back at the origins of The Seed Fund, the “guerrilla grant fund, run by the arts community, funded by the arts community, for the arts community”.
F
ifteen years ago in an airless and depressing hotel room, in an entirely forgettable town in the middle of America, after an achingly unsatisfying day off, our one-year-old daughter Banjo, delirious on sugar and jetlag, John and I had a crackpot idea, or maybe a moment of divine inspiration. We had been toying with the concept of an independent grant fund for artists, run by artists. We wanted to reinvest in our culture and our people, and we wanted to create a portal for others to do the same. Here in this suffocating room, we had our first glimpse of how this idea, which had been floating between us for some time, might actually come into reality. We hadn’t been able to work out how to do it without going through existing government grant channels, yet we were allergic to the idea of getting tied up in bureaucracy or agendas that we didn’t feel aligned to. As Banjo crawled around on that over-patterned orange and brown synthetic carpet, we decided that we would just create a fund ourselves: we would run the whole thing, and we would decide what categories we would fund and how the process would run. Within five minutes we both went from laying depleted on vacuous bedspreads, to both sitting upright, our impassioned hands gesturing wildly. I jumped from the bed and pulled out my international calling card, and after dialling the number and re-inputting the 23-digit pin three times, I immediately called two people — first, Jacqui Geia, a respected and rebellious arts worker, manager, grant writer and connector who I had worked with on a couple of projects; second, Carlo Santone, a musician and manager in Blue King Brown. I knew these two would get it, a guerrilla grant fund, run by the arts community, funded by the arts community, for the arts community. They were on board by the two-minute mark of the conversation, which was fortunate because those calling cards were a total rort! Within a month Carlo, John, Jacqui and I were all sitting under a huge tree in Jacqui’s backyard in Williamstown. By the end of that meeting we had set our intention to embolden and empower our community of musicians and artists to be connected to each other and supported by each other. Look, I’m going to strip the romantic filter here for a second; we had no fucking idea what we were doing. I can’t even remember how we promoted that the fund even existed. I mean we were (and still are) total small fries in comparison to the sums that the government bodies have to dish out. By closing date, when Jacqui turned up at our makeshift ‘office’ in a warehouse in Collingwood, with 450 applications (all in large envelopes complete with photos and CDs and full old-school press kits), we got a serious dose of, “Holy shit, this is real!” We immediately engaged someone to manage the fund: enter Stacia Goninon stage left, who swung into action to keep this thing afloat! In that first year we funded such an broad and eclectic mix of projects. Our categories were Multicultural Art, which was exclusively available to artists who were in Australia on a Temporary Protection Visa; Workshop And Professional Development, for artists wanting to work with a mentor or present a workshop series to mentor other artists; Social Activism Through The Arts, a fund for artists to install art which would be experienced free to the public which held a social message; Music Marketing; and Indigenous Music. We asked ourselves what areas of our arts community we felt passionate about and set up a category to suit it! It was a pretty wild ride, and a very steep learning curve. While meeting to go through the first round of acquittals and decide which categories we would announce for our second round, we realised we wanted to do something a little deeper — we wanted to bring our network of people together and create our own mini mentorship program. Another spark was lit and in about as much time as it once took to dial someone overseas using
an international calling card, the seed for the management workshop was sown, and with it an old saying that we felt fit our agenda: give a person a fish and they eat for a day, teach them how to fish, they eat forever. We no longer wanted to hand out meals, morsels, stopgaps of funding — we wanted to create a space for knowledge sharing and connection, we wanted artists to become self-sustained of their own making, knowing they are buoyed by their peers. In a flurry of calls and excited conversations (more wild hand gesturing) with just about everyone we had ever worked with, we had three days worth of panellists signed up and we were off and racing. Our first workshop was in 2006, for three full days, two months after the birth of my second child (madness). 25 participants, around 20 panellists; over nine hours a day of facilitated conversations. Again we were bowled over by what we hadn’t planned for. We hadn’t factored for the connections and relationships that would be made by the 25 participants, all emerging managers and self-managed artists, who suddenly had each other to lean on. This was as powerful as the information that was shared. I cannot believe that the fund is now 15 years old. I can’t fathom that this year we will deliver our 11th management workshop, now called The Future Makers. It is still Stacia, Carlo, John and I at the helm of the fund. Unfortunately Jacqui passed away soon after our first workshop. She was incredibly proud of what we made together, and was so excited to facilitate many of those first conversations, bringing her incredible gusto and ‘think outside the box’ attitude into play at every opportunity. 15 years is a long time to keep anything going, and looking back from this perspective, I am struck by a few key things: I am so proud of our small, tight-knit team that has stuck together through reshaping ourselves over and over to stay true to our intention over so many long, philosophical conversations about the ‘why’ of what we are doing. I am encouraged and inspired that an ambitious yet clear spark of an idea can create a real shift for many people. Carlo sums it up beautifully here: “The Seed’s rock solid foundation is based on the most crucial thing for any project — clear intention and purpose. This has not shifted throughout the years, and is a great example of how the power of a focused intention can ripple into a limitless amount of amazing outcomes. Although firmly grounded, The Seed is in constant evolution, this year’s workshop will be a game changer.” The Future Makers has become our primary focus now. This is where we know we are creating our most powerful and long-lasting impact. This year we will put the largest group through yet — 33 participants agonisingly selected from over 300 deserving applications. These 33 will join over 250 emerging managers and self-managed musicians who have been through the workshop . As I cast my mind back to that hotel room, that gross sticky carpet, a couple of shaggy and shagged parents in their late 20s, an idea, a spark, a couple of phone calls, a meeting under a tree... somehow it all stuck, it all added up to something greater than we ever might have even allowed ourselves to dream it would. It has been the vehicle for connection that we naively hoped it might. I meet Seed alumni at every single music function I go to — they are scattered throughout festivals, award nights — and the acknowledgement of what we have shared and how we support each other runs deep, a knowing that we are all stitched into something greater than ourselves, a fabric of culture, and we all hold a responsibility to hold each other up, a responsibility to grow each other. To date The Seed Fund has distributed over $1,000,000 worth of funding and initiatives, all raised through the private sector, predominantly from musicians and arts associates who are committed to seeing our community thrive.
“Somehow it all stuck, it all added up to something greater than we ever might have even allowed ourselves to dream it would.”
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1 Michael Gudinski AM Mushroom Group, Executive Chairman
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BACKGROUND CHECK When he was just seven years old, Michael Gudinski showed obvious entrepreneurial potential when he charged race-goers for parking spaces at Caulfield Cup. Gudinski later went on to promote gigs in Melbourne halls for bands such as Chain (who he later managed) and The Aztecs. In 1972, with his business partner Ray Evans, Gudinski staged, managed and booked all of the entertainment for Sunbury Festival, founding Mushroom Records that same year. The Mushroom Group collective has now expanded to contain two dozen specialist brands across the music and entertainment industry.
THE YEAR THAT WAS Gudinski returns to the top of The Power 50 for the fourth time since 2012. As Executive Chairman of Mushroom Group - the largest independent music and entertainment company in Australia, which also boasts the biggest promo department in the country Gudinski’s clout is undeniable. In Billboard’s end of year report, Frontier Touring achieved the highest result for an Australian/NZ promoter to date when the company came in at #3, grossing over US$245 million from the sale of 2,768,259 tickets across 440 shows between 2 Dec, 2017 and 17 Nov, 2018. “Frontier has gone from strength to strength over the past decade and I’m incredibly proud to see us, as an independent promoter exclusive to Australia and New Zealand, playing in the same space as global promoting giants AEG Presents and Live Nation,” Gudinski commented. As well as Ed Sheeran’s massive stadium run - the biggest tour in Australian/NZ history - Frontier Touring also presented the Paul McCartney, Foo Fighters and Sam Smith tours across the year, just to name a few. After its sold-out Melbourne debut in 2017, Paul Kelly’s festive Making Gravy shows expanded to include other states last year. RNB Fridays Live attracted record crowds for a touring festival and A Day On The Green experienced its biggest year across five years in 2018, with the Mt Duneed edition of Florence & The Machine selling out in less than a day.
Gudinski’s passion for Australian music is well documented and, in 2018, he was personally involved in signing The Teskey Brothers - after 12 years as an independent band - to Ivy League Records, alongside Chris Maund and Marihuzka Cornelius. In terms of Mushroom Group’s various label achievements, Liberation Records offshoot Bloodlines had an impressive first year, cementing its position in the market with some strong ARIA Albums Chart positions including the ARIA Award-winning Working Class Boy (The Soundtracks) by Jimmy Barnes (#3). Kylie Minogue’s 14th studio album Golden (Liberator) topped the ARIA Albums Chart (her fifth #1 album in this country). Gudinski signed Minogue when she was just 18 years old and in 2018 she celebrated her 50th birthday. Together with Minogue, Tina Arena, Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum and Archie Roach, Gudinski is also a founding patron of the Australian Music Vault, which - in the year since its December 2017 unveiling attracted nearly 500,000 visitors (80% of whom had never previously visited the Arts Centre Melbourne). Mushroom Events, Mushroom Group’s dedicated special event and corporate functions arm, continues to flourish with 2018 highlights including Sam Smith performing from the Mounting Yard prior to the Melbourne Cup, two weeks of diverse programming on the Australian Open Sessions stage and the AFL Grand Final Day entertainment (Jimmy Barnes and Black Eyed Peas). Frontier Touring recently announced a second Hanging Rock date on Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road for 2020 and Mushroom Group’s purple patch looks set to continue, with Gudinski revealing, “2019 is set to be another incredibly busy year for us and we’ve got some exciting announcements to come.” 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Achieving the highest result ever for an Australian/NZ promoter at #3 in Billboard’s end of year report, Ed Sheeran’s tour becoming the biggest in Australian/NZ history and the Paul McCartney tour.”
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2 Jessica Ducrou & Paul Piticco Secret Sounds, CEOs
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BACKGROUND CHECK Jessica Ducrou was taking a break from her accounts job at Rolling Stone magazine in Sydney when she met Paul Piticco in a Byron Bay pub. Piticco was managing an emerging band called Powderfinger at the time - he gave her a demo and the pair kept in touch. When Piticco eventually travelled with the band to Sydney, Ducrou was booking Lansdowne Hotel and soon became Powderfinger’s booking agent. In 1996 Ducrou founded Homebake festival in partnership with International Music Concepts (IMC), and then established domestic booking agency Village Sounds in 1999 before co-founding Splendour In The Grass with Piticco in 2001. in the late ‘90s, Piticco formed Secret Service Artist Management, then launched independent record label Dew Process (2002) before launching Dew Process Publishing (2008). In 2012, Piticco launched another record label, Create/Control. That same year it was announced that he would become co-promoter, alongside Ducrou, of Falls Festival. All of the pair’s respective companies united under the Secret Sounds banner in 2016. THE YEAR THAT WAS Secret Sounds is probably recognisable to most as the team behind Splendour In The Grass, Spin Off Adelaide, Falls and Download festivals. Splendour In The Grass took home the NSW Tourism Award (Gold) in the Major Festivals & Events category in 2018, with the annual Byron Bay festival selling out less than half an hour after going on sale. Secret Sounds Touring presented some massive 2018 tours by artists such as Lana Del Rey, George Ezra, Halsey, Bloc Party, Vance Joy and G Flip. Another Secret Sounds Touring highlight was the War Child benefit featuring The Wombats, which took place at Oxford Art Factory as part of ARIA Week, with a limited amount of double passes available through a prize draw for those who made a $10 donation to the child protection charity. Secret Sounds Connect, the company’s sponsorship division, once again successfully created a diverse range of brandled consumer experiences in 2018, with clients including Visa, The Iconic, Rimmel, Jack Daniels and Carlton United Breweries. Just one of the stars on the Dew Process label, Mallrat’s Goldcertified Groceries single came in at #7 on the 2018 Hottest 100. Piticco was also kept busy launching the new 3,300capacity Brisbane music venue, Fortitude Music Hall, which he backed together with Powderfinger bassist John Collins and Scott Hutchinson (Hutchinson Builders), that is due to open mid 2019. And Ducrou, as one of five founding board members who joined forces to launch the groundbreaking Australian Festival Association (AFA), was a key driver in assembling some of the Australian music industry’s leading figures and festival promoters who have collectively committed to delivering safe and well run events. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? Ducrou: “It’s fair to say this is a collective effort from the Secret Sounds team: they are integral and the reason we do so much good shit.”
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Alex Lahey • AFI • Airbourne • Augie March • Bears Den • Big Thief • Broken Social Scene Bullet For My Valentine • Catfish and The Bottlemen • Clairo • Clowns • Cradle Of Filth Christine and The Queens • C.W. Stoneking • Dave • Death Grips • Denzel Curry • Django Django • DJDS Elle Watson • Fractures • Frenzal Rhomb • Gaz Coombes • Ghost • Glass Animals • Harvey Sutherland Highasakite • Iggy Pop • I Prevail • Holly Throsby • Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit • Justice • Joseph J Jones Joanna Newsom • Kllo • Lil Gnar • Little Dragon • Liza Anne • Lucianblomkamp • Lucy Rose • Mac DeMarco Manchester Orchestra • Marika Hackman • Marilyn Manson • Marlon Williams • Masego • Movements Nadia Reid • Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats • Nick Mulvey • Nine Inch Nails Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds • Opeth • Phantastic Ferniture • Phantogram • Pierce The Veil • POND Real Friends • Rhye • Rytmeklubben • SG Lewis • Slayer • Sepultura • Slotface • Sylvan Esso • St. Vincent The Big Moon • The Harpoons • The Horrors • The Plot In You • Thurston Moore • Trippie Redd • Ty Segal Van Morrison • $uicideBoy$ • Zeds Dead and plenty more….
CAROLINE AUSTRALIA Label - Artist and Label Services - Est. 2013
Pic by Ian Laidlaw, The Tote Collingwood Dec 2016
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Denis Handlin AO Sony Music Entertainment, Chairman & CEO (Australia & NZ) & President (Asia)
BACKGROUND CHECK In 1970, Denis Handlin accepted the position of junior record assembler at the Brisbane warehouse of the Australian Record Company (which would later become CBS then Sony). His passion for the business was undeniable and Handlin was soon promoted, taking on various roles over the next five years — promotions rep, promotions manager and state manager (Qld) — until he was elevated to national promotions manager and relocated to work out of the Sydney head office. Handlin was then appointed MD and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Australia in 1984 and president of Sony Music Entertainment Asia in 2011. THE YEAR THAT WAS Sony Foundation, which has raised and donated over $31 million to youth-related causes since its inception, celebrated its 20-year anniversary in 2018 with a series of sold-out events that achieved record fundraising results in Sydney ($1.4 million), Melbourne ($770k) and Brisbane ($375k). A special two-disc Drought Relief: Artists For The Drought Appeal CD was also compiled to raise funds to specifically support young people in drought-affected areas through the Sony Foundation. 2018 started strongly for the company when Sony Music and Tencent (China’s electronic dance music empire) entered into a joint venture, forming Liquid State to provide a new home for electronic artists to break within the region. Numerous Sony Music staff promotions — which were announced in July 2018 to further support growth in the AsiaPacific region — resulted in some notable Australian artist
activity in Asia, including tours and promo trips by Amy Shark, Cosmo’s Midnight and Peking Duk. Sony Music Entertainment’s global music and distribution company The Orchard also expanded into artist and label services in 2018. The Sony Music roster experienced some strong results on the ARIA Albums Chart last year as well, including Amy Shark’s Love Monster (#1), RUFUS DU SOL’s Solace and Tash Sultana’s Flow State (both #2), plus live albums from Midnight Oil and Gang Of Youths, which both peaked at #5. Significant new Australian signings to the label in 2018 included Conrad Sewell, Illy, Kira Puru and GRAACE. A global deal to distribute UNIFIED saw results (see: The Amity Affliction’s Misery topping the ARIA Albums Chart) and Sony Music announced two more joint venture labels — 123 Music and New Tribe Music — in 2018. And 2018 was capped off for Sony Music with the acquisition of the entire multi-Platinum Savage Garden catalogue, plus Darren Hayes’ first two solo LPs, from John Woodruff Management. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Sony Music has always been passionate about developing and breaking Australian artists with the goal to have those artists feature on a world stage. Amy Shark, Gang Of Youths, Tash Sultana and Ruel were outstanding examples of this in 2018 with the recognition they received both in Australia and overseas.”
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George Ash Universal Music Asia Pacific, President
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Tom Mee & Alicia Sbrugnera Spotify Australia/NZ, Artist & Label Marketing Lead /Head Of Shows & Editorial
BACKGROUND CHECK Originally from New Zealand, George Ash’s passion for music began through performing as a musician when he was a teenager. After holding positions at various companies including BMG NZ and PolyGram, Ash set up Universal Music NZ in 1995 before relocating to Australia in 2001 to become managing director of Universal Music Australia. Ash was then appointed president of Universal Music Australasia in 2010 before he became president of Universal Music Asia Pacific in 2013. He is also chairman of the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia Ltd (PPCA) and a member of the ARIA Board of Directors. THE YEAR THAT WAS After landing in Billboard’s International Power Players list of 2017, Ash once again made the cut in 2018, one of only six highprofile Australian executives to sit among the 73 global names on the list. When you consider just a few of the labels that fall under Universal Music Group’s umbrella — Decca, Dew Process, EMI, Republic Records and Interscope — it goes without saying that the company had a great 2018 in terms of releases. One of only two locals to top the ARIA Singles Chart in 2018, 5 Seconds Of Summer’s seven times Platinum Youngblood single spent eight consecutive weeks at #1 (also topping the ARIA End Of Year Singles Chart). The Sydney band’s album of the same name simultaneously debuted at #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, with 5SOS becoming the first Australian act to top both charts at once since Gotye in 2011. Other significant UMG releases that topped the 2018 ARIA Albums Chart include Eminem’s Kamikaze, Post Malone’s Beerbongs & Bentleys, Drake’s Scorpion and Kanye’s Ye. Universal Music Group also had a massive year thanks to Queen, the film Bohemian Rhapsody and the band’s single of the same name, which was officially announced as the world’s most-streamed song from the 20th century at the end of 2018. And then there was the A Star Is Born soundtrack, which became the year’s longest running #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart after a tenweek stint and even robbed Michael Buble of his annual Xmas #1. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “2018 was a brilliant year for everyone at Universal Music Australia — our artists, our labels, managers and management partners. Our continued success proves that the enduring relationship between our labels and our artists remains vital to the development of artists’ long-term careers, and in breaking acts globally. The statistics for the year are undeniable, with record-breaking chart and platform shares right across our company. I am personally proud of the way our artists and labels competed on the global stage, delivering unprecedented success for Australian music.”
BACKGROUND CHECK Armed with a bachelor’s degree in communications from Auckland University Of Technology and two years experience in the music industry in New Zealand, Tom Mee accepted a digital marketing position at Warner Music Australia in 2012 before moving to Universal Music Australia in 2014 to become strategic repertoire manager. He started working at Spotify as manager of artist and label services in 2016, while undertaking an MBA at Macquarie Graduate School Of Management. Alicia Sbrugnera graduated from SAE Institute Sydney with a diploma in audio engineering before getting her start in the music industry in 2006 as radio and chart manager at The Music Network. After working various programming jobs, Sbrugnera accepted a senior editor position at Spotify in 2015. THE YEAR THAT WAS It’s now widely accepted that Spotify can play a vital role in breaking artists. The artist and label marketing team sit at the centre of an artist’s campaign on Spotify, with Mee leading the charge in Australia/ NZ. 2018 saw Mee and his colleagues working closely with 5 Seconds Of Summer, and their team, to develop a global marketing campaign that saw the band’s Youngblood album debut at the top of the ARIA Albums Chart. Last year also saw Spotify’s largest ever
investment in local off-platform marketing initiatives for artists such as Ruel, Tash Sultana, Paul Kelly and Troye Sivan. As head of shows and editorial last year, Sbrugnera spearheaded Spotify Australia’s first playlist live event, Front Left Live. In terms of local artist success stories, Spotify Australia/NZ have been big supporters of Dean Lewis since he released his debut EP in 2017 and last year Lewis’ Be Alright single reached #1 on multiple Spotify charts. 2018 triple j Unearthed High winner KIAN has also been on Spotify Australia/ NZ’s radar since 2016. Initially supported through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist, KIAN’s track Waiting was added globally and is now growing steadily in the US and German markets. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? Mee: “With numerous success stories ranging from 5 Seconds Of Summer reaching #2 on our Australian 2018 Wrapped [Most Streamed Tracks] list to RUFUS DU SOL becoming a major global electronic act, we fostered success for Australian/NZ artists locally and internationally. We did this by working closely with our industry partners and our global Spotify network on marketing campaigns and artist development.” Sbrugnera: “Front Left Live. I am proud that we were able to showcase a progressive line-up, unique collaborations from local artists on stage for the first time and bring international headliner King Princess to our shores for her first Australian show.”
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Roger Field Live Nation Australasia, CEO
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BACKGROUND CHECK Starting off in ticketing, Roger Field first worked in a call centre for Stoll Moss Theatres in London (1995) during a gap year, before moving to Ticketek when its Victorian operation opened in 1996. He then accepted the role of Melbourne & Olympic Parks Trust box office manager (2000) before joining Michael Coppel Presents in 2003. In 2010, Field and his colleague Luke Hede opened the Live Nation Australia and NZ office, the business acquiring Michael Coppel Presents in 2012. Field was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2014, before taking the CEO role in 2017. THE YEAR THAT WAS 2018 was another record year for Live Nation Australasia, with the leading live entertainment company bringing an abundance of huge international acts our way throughout the year. Leading the charge was the unstoppable Pink, her Beautiful Trauma tour selling out 42 arena shows in Australia
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and NZ. Shania Twain also performed her first Australian shows in almost two decades and Bruno Mars finally brought his 24K Magic tour to our shores in March last year. Add to that list Taylor Swift, Cher, Def Leppard, Kendrick Lamar, Roger Waters, Macklemore and Paramore and it immediately becomes clear why Live Nation topped Billboard’s end of year report for top-selling global promoters. Live Nation’s successful Australian tours of 2018 included 5 Seconds Of Summer, The Presets and Jet’s Get Re-Born tout to celebrate 15 years since the release of their debut Get Born album. Already in partnership with NAB, Virgin Australia and Flight Centre, Live Nation Australia announced an exclusive multiyear partnership with Optus in August of last year, with the telco giant already boasting its own roster of music alliances including partnerships with Google Play Music, iHeartRadio and Spotify. Live Nation Australasia has also formed strategic partnerships with government and private
entities such as UNIFIED and Secret Sounds to operate venues and launch new festivals including Download. As well as Live Nation’s growing portfolio of festivals and venues, the entertainment company also merged with Ticketmaster to create Live Nation Entertainment in 2010. Under his leadership, Field has encouraged Live Nation to support community outreach programs such as Support Act and The Big Umbrella. Field introduced The Big Umbrella to Marvel Stadium in 2018, setting up a partnership whereby Marvel Stadium provides use of their kitchens so that The Big Umbrella can feed the disadvantaged and homeless.
operating a full-blown business. UNIFIED was then founded in 2011 to consolidate the artist services Comerford was already providing through Boomtown Records and Staple MGMT. In partnership with Live Nation, UNIFIED then launched a touring arm of the business, Unify Presents, in 2016. In 2017, UNIFIED Music Group was launched to consolidate UNIFIED Artist Management, UNIFIED Recorded Music, UNIFIED Touring & Events and UNIFIED Merchandise Services under the one banner.
After launching two joint venture labels in late 2017 - THAA Records (with The Hills Are Alive Festival’s Aidan and Rhett McLaren) and Domestic LaLa (with James Tidswell of Violent Soho, another jewel in the UNIFIED Artist Management crown) - the 2018 releases kept rolling out thanks to BATTS and LANKS (THAA) plus Dear Seattle and West Thebarton (Domestic LaLa). The UNFD label itself experienced some outstanding results on the ARIA Albums Chart in 2018, with The Amity Affliction’s Misery becoming the Gympie metalcore band’s fourth consecutive #1. UNFD clocked up the following three top 10 albums last year as well: Holy Hell by Architects (#8), Anon by Hands Like Houses (#4) and The American Dream by Trophy Eyes (#8). Comerford also co-manages the global careers of Vance Joy, Amy Shark and producer Edwin White (Joy’s drummer/ Musical Director) with his wife and business partner Rachael (who comes in just two spots behind him in the 2018 Power 50). And it’s certainly no secret that Joy, Shark and White had extremely successful 2018s (for a comprehensive account of their specific achievements, head to #9).
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7 Jaddan Comerford UNIFIED Music Group, Founder/CEO
BACKGROUND CHECK After selling his clarinet when he was 17 years old, Jaddan Comerford started Boomtown Records - inspired by California’s indie-punk label Epitaph Records - while he was still living in his family home. He also completed a Bachelor Of Commerce at Victoria University, majoring in Music Industry, and by the time Comerford graduated he was already
With Comerford at the helm, UNIFIED Music Group continued to grow on a global scale throughout 2018. A partnership with Mardi Caught’s new marketing services company The Annex was announced, as was a worldwide deal with Sony’s distribution arm The Orchard. UNIFIED also opened a new office in Hollywood so that their management roster could expand to include US acts (their first signing being Dashboard Confessional). UNIFIED co-promoted the first-ever Australian Download Festival in Melbourne last year as well, with the 2019 edition expanding to also include an event in Sydney. UNIFY: A Heavy Music Gathering, the boutique festival UNIFIED run in conjunction with The Hills Are Alive, sold out for a fifth consecutive year in 2019.
2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Successful tours with Aussie acts - 5 Seconds Of Summer, The Presets, Jet, Kimbra - in Australia, as well as Courtney Barnett, Amy Shark, Vance Joy and Ziggy Alberts in New Zealand.”
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8 Matt Gudinski Mushroom Group, Executive Director BACKGROUND CHECK The son of our Power 50 2018 #1, Matt Gudinski now sits next to his father at the helm of the biggest independent music and entertainment collective in Australia/ NZ. Straight out of high school, Gudinski formed his own imprint, Illusive Sounds, with Adam Jankie in 2003 with Illusive Presents as the touring arm. Gudinski has held the Mushroom Group Executive Director position since 2013. In 2015, Gudinski launched Mushroom Group’s first dedicated management arm, Role Model Artists, and acts as this company’s director. THE YEAR THAT WAS As executive director, Gudinski is responsible for the business development, operations and strategy of Mushroom Group, which experienced its biggest year to date in 2018. Mushroom Group continues to grow its existing businesses while diversifying into new areas and expanding its operations in Australia/NZ, as well as globally, which Gudinski is primarily driving. An event Gudinski developed and launched in 2016, RNB Fridays Live (and its NZ sister event Friday Jams Live) scaled up to stadiums and showgrounds in 2018, selling in excess of 200,000 tickets to become the country’s biggest touring music event. Gudinski’s touring arm, Illusive Presents, continues to be massively successful, with over 600,000
tickets sold to Illusive-presented tours and events over the last 18 months. Throughout the year, Gudinski also continued to develop and expand Mushroom’s talent management interests and created new, soon-to-be-announced management partnerships. Mushroom’s management interests now span 30-plus artists including Jack River, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Bliss N Eso, Fergus James and Tkay Maidza. The collective of labels under Mushroom Group, which Gudinski established, continues to experience success. I OH YOU (established in partnership with Johann Ponniah) had a big year with album releases in 2018 thanks to DMA’S, Jack River, City Calm Down and DZ Deathrays. Fast-growing imprint Soothsayer is also becoming one of the country’s finest electronic labels with 2018 album releases from artists such as Willaris K and CC:DISCO!. A new partnership between Mushroom Group and Underground Cinema was launched at the end of last year and will bring to life a number of classic films over the coming years. Dirty Dancing is the first film to be presented by Underground Cinema and will be experienced by over 20,000 people in Melbourne and Sydney across six nights in March 2019. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Breaking the Australia/NZ touring record with Ed Sheeran, and turning RNB Fridays Live into the biggest music touring series in Australia.”
9 Rachael Comerford UNIFIED Music Group, Senior Artist Manager BACKGROUND CHECK Rachael Comerford moved from Cairns to Sydney at the age of 17 to study at Australian Institute Of Management (AIM). While studying, she did some work experience at Modular Records and Hub Artist Services where she accepted a full-time position, working for about three years with artists including Dappled Cities and Megan Washington. After moving to Melbourne, Comerford started working with Ralph Carr, looking after Vanessa Amorosi, Cosentino, Jon Stevens and Kate Ceberano, and also overseeing other artists and staff within the company. Comerford started working with Vance Joy around July 2013 alongside her
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10 Rachel Newman Apple, General Manager — iTunes, App Store & iBookstore Australia/NZ BACKGROUND CHECK After three years as program director at XYZ Networks, Rachel Newman joined Apple in 2009 as iTunes Australia/NZ Manager, Music. In 2011, she was promoted to General Manager — iTunes, App Store & iBookstore Australia/NZ and the end of last year she became Global Director Of Editorial, Apple Music. THE YEAR THAT WAS
husband and business partner Jaddan and the pair now co-manage the international careers of Joy, Amy Shark and producer Edwin White. She has spent the last four years touring while based in New York and LA. THE YEAR THAT WAS It’s no secret that Amy Shark and Vance Joy (and, in turn, his drummer/musical director Edwin White) had dream 2018s, for which Comerford, as their co-manager, deserves high praise. Joy took home the Best Adult Contemporary Album ARIA for his Goldcertified Nation Of Two album, the second highest-selling Australian album of 2018. Joy’s second record topped the ARIA Albums Chart, came in at #2 on the Canadian charts and #10 on the Billboard 200 (US). I’m With You achieved Gold status, while Lay It On Me was certified three times Platinum and We’re Going Home, which was the 18th most-
played song on Australian radio according to AirCheck, and Saturday Sun went Platinum. In Pollstar’s mid-year report, Joy was the only Australian featured on their top-grossing worldwide tours list (#95) thanks to 250,000 tickets sold across North America and 55,000 tickets sold in Australia. Shark collected four ARIA Awards — Album Of The Year, Best Pop Release, Best Female Artist and Producer Of The Year (Dann Hume and M Phazes for I Said Hi) — and released the highest-selling Australian album of 2018 in Love Monster (which peaked at #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified Gold). Her three times Platinum single I Said Hi was the ninth most-played track on Australian radio for 2018 and another Shark single, All Loved Up, also achieved Gold status. As well as co-producing Joy’s albums, Edwin White produced Shark’s single Leave Us Alone and co-wrote Jack River’s Limo Song.
It’s now widely accepted that streaming services help to open doors for artists to more readily experience global success. Statistics also prove that streaming continues to accelerate revenue in the recorded music sector. According to the 2018 Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) mid-year figures, recording revenue was up 6.04%. Income from subscription services totalled $10.99 million (up 35.1%) with video streaming amounting to $14.6 million (up 41.11%). There was also a reported 31.86% jump in ad-supported streaming while subscription sales were up 35.1%. Back in 2016, streaming revenue accounted for 38% of ARIA’s sales. With streaming now accounting for 67% of ARIA’s sales (up from 54% in 2017), this uptake of streaming services by Australian consumers has become the main driver for recorded music’s continued growth in this country. As Apple Music’s Australian leader, Newman maintained the company’s strong ties to the Australian music industry in 2018. Continuing to present the Apple Music Song Of The Year category at the ARIA Awards, a new voting option was also introduced for Apple Music subscribers. To vote, subscribers were encouraged to stream at least 30 seconds of their favourite song on the Apple Music Song Of The Year playlist with a limit of one stream per day. Newman’s company stepped up their partnership as well, with the ceremony officially branded as The 2018 ARIA Awards with Apple Music. In September of last year, Apple Music also introduced an allnew Top 100 playlist series, which allows subscribers to access the most-played songs in each country via playlists that are updated daily based on Apple Music streams. The following month, Sounds Australia became global curators on Apple Music in an effort to gain better visibility for our local artists on this worldwide platform. As well as Sounds Australia Selects — a monthly playlist featuring new releases from artists who have showcased with the organisation in the past ten years — specific playlists will also be curated by Sounds Australia to introduce Australian artists who are showcasing at international music conferences such as SXSW and The Great Escape. Further expansion of Apple Music in 2018 also saw Qantas adding free limited access to the streaming service. As both a music and video streaming service, Apple Music’s competitors include the streaming behemoth that is Spotify as well as the video-sharing website YouTube. Under the guidance of Newman, we have no doubt that Apple will continue to innovate, improving the individual user experience while fostering the brand’s sense of community.
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Michael Chugg AM
Niko Nordström
Millie Millgate
Chugg Entertainment, Executive Chairman
Warner Music Australasia, President
Sounds Australia, Executive Producer
BACKGROUND CHECK
BACKGROUND CHECK
BACKGROUND CHECK
From humble beginnings running dances and managing bands in Launceston at the age of 15, Michael Chugg relocated to Melbourne in 1969 before co-founding Frontier Touring Company in 1978 with Michael Gudinski and Phil Jacobsen. In 2000, Chugg went out on his own, launching Michael Chugg Entertainment. Chugg Music, an independent label and management company handling Australian artists, was also launched in 2012.
Niko Nordström joined Warner Music Finland in 2007 when the company acquired Helsinki Music Company (HMC), a firm that he co-founded with interests in recorded music, merchandising, music publishing and touring. Nordström started off as managing director and became vice president of Warner Music Nordics in 2014, before moving to Sydney to take up his current post. In 2018, Nordström was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emma Gaala, the Finnish equivalent of the Grammy Awards.
After garnering over a decade’s worth of experience working in artist management and venue booking (The Hopetoun Hotel, The Annandale Hotel), Millie Millgate went on to hold executive positions with both MusicNSW and the AAM (Association Of Artist Managers) before joining Sounds Australia in 2009.
THE YEAR THAT WAS Chugg Entertainment dominated the first quarter of 2018, selling the most concert tickets in Australia, which was largely thanks to Alanis Morissette returning to our shores for the first time in almost 20 years (Jan) and Robbie Williams, who played to almost 60,000 people in Victoria alone (Feb/Mar). Proudly partnering with a number of independent promoters including Destroy All Lines, Lunatic Entertainment (co-promoters of the Laneway Presents touring arm), Penny Drop and Rob Potts Entertainment Edge also allows Chugg Entertainment to infiltrate niche touring markets. Chugg Entertainment co-promotes major music festivals such as St Jerome’s Laneway and CMC Rocks QLD, which sold out in a matter of hours in 2018. On the management and label front, Sheppard’s star continued to rise in 2018 with the band’s Watching The Sky album topping the ARIA Albums Chart while singles Coming Home and Keep Me Crazy achieved two times Platinum and Gold status respectively. Last year also marked the 19th consecutive year that Chugg was nominated for Pollstar’s International Promoter Of The Year (an award he’s won four times over the years). At 71 years old and with almost 60 years of industry experience under his belt, Chugg is an esteemed member of the music community with a wealth of knowledge to share. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Watching my team grow and achieve in an independent company fighting international companies who don’t care about the music, just the share price.”
THE YEAR THAT WAS Warner scored a string of #1s on the ARIA Albums Chart in 2018 with Nordström as Australasian President. Ed Sheeran’s Perfect came in at #3 on ARIA’s Top Singles Of 2018 list (with three other Sheeran singles also making the Top 100: #25 Shape Of You, #75 Happier and #90 Castle On The Hill). Sheeran’s ÷ album came in at #2 on ARIA’s Top Albums Of 2018 list (behind another Warner release: The Greatest Showman soundtrack) with two other Sheeran albums also scoring Top 25 positions: #10 X, #23 +. The unstoppable Sheeran has followed 2017’s year-end #1 album (÷) with a #2 position for this same album the following year (2018), and this also happened with X (#1 in 2014, #2 in 2015) — nuts! The Greatest Showman soundtrack actually spent all year in the ARIA Albums Chart Top 50, even troubling the Top 10 for 49 of those weeks. Other 2018 #1s on the ARIA Albums Chart for Warner Music Group included Twenty One Pilots (Trench) and Panic! At The Disco (Pray For The Wicked).
THE YEAR THAT WAS As Sounds Australia’s executive producer, Millgate is responsible for the rollout and representation of the Australian music industry at key international music events including but not limited to SXSW, The Great Escape, Canadian Music Week and Reeperbahn in Hamburg. Sounds Australia reached its ten-year milestone on 5 Jan this year and activity to date has produced 220 showcase events that have provided 1825 unique performance opportunities to ensure Australian artists get in front of global audiences. After partnering with G’Day USA at SXSW for Australia House in 2018, Sounds Australia programmed showcases and networking events throughout the week, offering Australian artists including G Flip, Stella Donnelly, Mallrat, The Teskey Brothers, Gordi and Gang Of Youths additional platforms for exposure. Australian artists also gained worldwide visibility thanks to Sounds Australia becoming a global curator on Apple Music. Sounds Australia returned to South America for a third consecutive year as well, presenting the Aussie BBQ at leading music conferences in Chile, Argentina and Brazil. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Partnering with G’Day USA to deliver Australia House at SXSW with NPR hailing SXSW 2018, ‘The year of Australia,’ in their annual wrap-up.”
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Leanne de Souza
John O’Donnell
Peter Noble OAM
Association of Artist Managers (AAM), Executive Director
EMI Music Australia, Managing Director
Bluesfest, Executive Director
BACKGROUND CHECK
BACKGROUND CHECK
A former music journalist who served time at both Rolling Stone and JUICE magazines, John O’Donnell founded the Murmur record label for Sony Music Australia in 1994. After being promoted to a corporate-level position at Sony, O’Donnell was recruited by EMI Music Australia/ New Zealand to become CEO in 2002 — a position he held until 2008. During this time, O’Donnell was also chairman of the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia Ltd (PPCA) and a member of the ARIA Board. After leaving EMI in 2008 to write The 100 Best Australian Albums book — since updated, in 2017, to The 110 Best Australian Albums — and co-manage Cold Chisel (which he continues to do), O’Donnell returned to run EMI Music Australia in 2013.
Byron Bay Bluesfest (formerly East Coast International Blues & Roots Festival) has been running since 1990 and co-founder Peter Noble became a partner of the annual festival in 1994. In 2016, Noble was awarded the Medal Of The Order Of Australia (OAM) “for service to live and recorded music, to tourism, and to the community”. In 2018, Noble received a Keeping The Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation in Memphis.
BACKGROUND CHECK In July 1992 and with just $20 in the bank, Leanne de Souza started her first music business and has since accumulated more than 25 years experience working in artist management and events. In 2006, de Souza was BIGSOUND’s Executive Programmer and then went on to co-found the Rock & Roll Writers Festival in 2015. Alongside her commitment to the Association Of Artist Managers (AAM), de Souza is also Curatorial Advisor (Music) for the Museum Of Brisbane and one of the Trust members for Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). THE YEAR THAT WAS With de Souza at the helm, 2018 saw the highest membership and retention count for AAM in 12 years. She also secured over $100k in project funding from Australia Council, APRA AMCOS and Creative Victoria for professional development programs for artist managers. As Contemporary Music Curator for Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games’ music and arts festival, de Souza channelled an injection of over $250k of Queensland Government money directly into the pockets of music industry professionals. She recently picked up a Humanities & Social Sciences Research Scholarship at University Of Queensland and last year also facilitated the How Music Shapes The World forum at BIGSOUND. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Writing, and delivering, a speech on behalf of the entire music industry in support of Labor’s contemporary music policy going into the 2019 federal election — the policy secures the AAM’s first-ever core funding from government — meaning we will build better, and significantly more, managers to professionally represent and grow artists’ global businesses in the years to follow.”
THE YEAR THAT WAS As managing director of EMI Music Australia, O’Donnell has been instrumental in the signing and career advancement of global sensations Troye Sivan and 5 Seconds Of Summer. Sivan’s Bloom album landed in Top 10 charts the world over and 5SOS became the first Australian act in 13 years to top the ARIA End Of Year Singles Chart thanks to their Youngblood single. 5 Seconds Of Summer also took home Best Australian Live Act, Best Group and Song Of The Year at the 2018 ARIA Awards. As well as winning triple j’s 2018 Australian Album Of The Year, Middle Kids’ debut album Lost Friends also landed in the ARIA Albums Chart Top 10. Nature by Paul Kelly became his second consecutive #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart and then EMI Music Australia capped off their successful year by signing 2018 triple j Unearthed High winner KIAN. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “For me, the crowning achievement was the triple j J Award for Album Of The Year going to Middle Kids, for their debut album Lost Friends. This was a brilliant and proud moment for this great band who are on their own path to somewhere really special. It was a triumph for great, personal art — and the sales are catching up.”
THE YEAR THAT WAS Bluesfest’s 2018 line-up saw the likes of Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters, Lionel Richie, Chic and Tash Sultana wowing over 101,000 attendees, with the festival not only ranked #1 Australian festival but also #14 globally on Pollstar’s mid-year Top 100 Worldwide Concert Grosses list. In Pollstar’s year-end Top 20 Worldwide Festival Grosses list, Bluesfest came in at #8. Bluesfest 2018 also took home the award for Best Cultural, Arts Or Music Event at the Australian Events Awards (ahead of Splendour In The Grass, Adelaide Fringe and Vivid Sydney) and at last year’s North Coast Regional Tourism Awards, Byron Bay Bluesfest was inducted into the Hall Of Fame (Major Festivals And Events). Celebrating its 30th year in 2019, Bluesfest’s line-up will bring legends such as Iggy Pop, The Saboteurs, David Gray and Mavis Staples to our shores, with Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul a recent addition. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Working hard and restructuring the business to allow myself more time to concentrate on what I love, booking and presenting talent, and successfully bringing the Bluesfest group of companies into a new decade.”
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18 Nicole Richards Head of Island Records Australia BACKGROUND CHECK
triple j, Music Director
Nicole Richards began her music career at EMI Music Australia where she worked in various roles before co-founding marketing/PR company Original Matters in 2007. Richards then founded her own music marketing, media and management company, Pod Artist Services, in 2010 before accepting a Director, PR position with Universal Music in 2012. In 2014, she took on the role of Snr Director, Marketing & Media and in 2016 was again promoted to the position of Head of Australian Artists.
BACKGROUND CHECK
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Since the age of 16, Nick Findlay has been working in radio, getting his start at various community stations. In 2005, he graduated from the Australian Film Television & Radio School (AFTRS) in 2005 and started working in triple j’s music library before stepping into Richard Kingsmill’s shoes as Music Director in 2017.
In March 2018 it was announced that Richards had been promoted to the newly created role of Head Of Island Records Australia. During her first year in this role, Island Records Australia witnessed the most significant global and local success for an Australian debut artist in the label’s 12-year history thanks to
17 Nick Findlay
THE YEAR THAT WAS As triple j’s Music Director, Findlay programs, schedules and tracks down new music for our national youth broadcaster. Triple j’s day-to-day programming exposes new artists to millions of listeners around the country (and the world) and Ocean Alley is a perfect example of a band whose trajectory has undoubtedly been assisted by triple j play. The Sydney group’s Confidence single was premiered on the station in February 2018, earning high rotation before taking the top spot on 2018’s Hottest 100. On Billie Eilish, Findlay says, “triple j were one of the first outlets anywhere in the world to play her music,” and in 2018 she was all over the triple j airwaves with Australia now one of her biggest territories. Artists Findlay programs on air often make their way into the Hottest 100 as well, with King Princess (1950 and Pussy Is God) and Bene (Soaked) just two examples of artists whose songs immediately piqued his interest last year. For the 2018 Hottest 100 countdown, a record amount of 2,758,584 votes were cast and the most common age of voters was 18 years, which clearly demonstrates Findlay’s ability to appeal to triple j’s core demographic of young Australians. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “I’m always proud of the amazing work the whole triple j team put into the Hottest 100, but this year was particularly special. Once again we hit a record-breaking number of votes, and with the most common age of voters being 18, it highlights the success we’ve had in servicing the musical needs of our core demographic over the past year.”
19 Michael & Anthea Newton Roundhouse Entertainment, Promoters/Co-Directors BACKGROUND CHECK Promoters Michael and Anthea Newton of Roundhouse Entertainment began A Day On The Green in Victoria with the first show on 26 January 2001. The 2017/2018 summer season (October to March) was A Day On The Green’s 17th and ended with show number 453. Of the Newtons, The Living End’s frontman Chris Cheney commends: “The people who run A Day On The Green are music fans and do a brilliant job.” THE YEAR THAT WAS
Dean Lewis. Be Alright — the six times Platinumcertified lead single from Lewis’ forthcoming debut album, A Place We Knew, which is scheduled for release on 22 March 2019 — held peak position on the ARIA Singles Chart for five straight weeks. Another Island artist, Matt Corby, also experienced chart success in 2018 with Rainbow Valley coming in at #4 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Richards is one of only a few females to lead a label in Australia and is also an active member of the Women In Music community. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “My appointment as Head of Island Records Australia and the continued local and global success of Dean Lewis.”
A Day On The Green prides itself on providing experiences beyond ‘just a gig’ that are staged across 23 wineries and venues in Australia and New Zealand. During the 2017/2018 summer season, A Day On The Green put on 30 shows, with 45 acts performing in front of 229,523 happy fans. International stars included Robbie Williams, Stevie Nicks, Pretenders and Bryan Adams. As proud supporters of Australian music since day one, A Day On The Green also presented artists including John Farnham, Daryl Braithwaite and Bachelor Girl along with incredible new talent such as Ali Barter, Chris Watts and Bonnie Anderson during this season. Likened to the glory days of Big Day Out and Homebake, A Day On The Green’s 2018 indie ‘90s line-up included The Living End, Spiderbait, Veruca Salt and The Lemonheads. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? Michael: “Navigating and consolidating A Day On The Green through a very competitive marketplace and growing the brand to reach new audiences by securing diverse and high profile acts such as Florence & The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kylie Minogue and Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road world tour.”
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Stephen Wade
Danny Rogers
Select Music, Owner
Lunatic Entertainment, Managing Director / St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Co-Founder
BACKGROUND CHECK Stephen Wade was a touring musician (The Fergies) and a venue booker in New South Wales before setting up Select Music, a booking agency — together with his business partner, Rob Giovannoni — in 2005. THE YEAR THAT WAS With Select Music’s “We build careers” mantra proving true for artists such as Amy Shark, Baker Boy (who was named Young Australian Of The Year last year), Client Liaison and Crooked Colours, the company had another huge year in 2018. As CEO, Wade has overseen the growth of Select Music while always working to strategise according to the individual needs of each artist, the global success of Amy Shark, The Paper Kites, Stella Donnelly and RUFUS DU SOL — to name a few — speaking volumes about the effectiveness of this approach. Consistently keeping an eye out for new talent to represent and foster, Select signed 2018 triple j Unearthed High winner KIAN last year. 2018 also saw the merging of Blue Murder Touring and Select Touring to form a new touring entity, SBM Presents, which has already presented tours by the likes of Fall Out Boy, NOFX, Killswitch Engage plus Bill Murray, Jan Vogler & Friends. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “RUFUS DU SOL — album released in 2018 and tour was set up for early 2019. Headlined Field Day five years after their first Field Day show playing the smallest stage. Album tour has sold 65,000 tickets in 2019 and that doesn’t include Sydney shows.”
BACKGROUND CHECK In his 20s, Danny Rogers landed a job at a music venue called The Living Room in New York City. After returning to Australia, Rogers did a New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS) course to help him get a small business started and Lunatic Entertainment was launched in 2002. Discussions about what would become St Jerome’s Laneway Festival took place over a few beers at St Jerome’s (a now-defunct Melbourne bar) in 2005. THE YEAR THAT WAS In 2018, St Jerome’s Laneway Festival continued to focus on introducing exciting local talent (Alex Cameron, Cable Ties, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever) while also booking exciting emerging international talent (Loyle Carner, Moses Sumney, TOKiMONSTA). Last year was a big year for Laneway Presents as well, with sideshows including Mac DeMarco, Dream Wife, Slowdive and The Internet as well as Billie Eilish who is now well on her way to world domination. After working tirelessly with Maribyrnong City Council for the past three years, it was announced in September that the Melbourne edition of St Jerome’s Laneway Festival would move to a new site, Footscray Park, in 2019 (just in time for the festival’s 15th birthday). At the end of the year, Rogers was also announced as one of the five founding board members of the Australian Festival Association (AFA), which sees some of the Australian music industry’s leading figures and festival promoters joining forces with the collective aim of delivering safe and well run events. Rogers’ Lunatic Entertainment management company has continued to grow as well, with new co-management partnerships including Gang Of Youths and Middle Kids. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Working with PLUS1. St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Gang Of Youths, Chvrches, Florence & The Machine and so many other great artists and events were introduced to PLUS1 and raised significant funds for charities of their choice.”
22 Gregg Donovan & Stuart MacQueen Wonderlick Entertainment, Owners BACKGROUND CHECK In the early ‘90s, Gregg Donovan started out as a manager and promoter in Canberra. After stints working as an office manager and tour manager in Sydney, Donovan started Step2 Artist Management in 2001, which became Wonderlick Entertainment when he collaborated with business partner Stuart MacQueen in 2007. Donovan is also a founding member of the Australian Association Of Managers (AAM). Also in the early ‘90s (but in Adelaide), MacQueen started off as a music journalist, band manager and audio engineer. In 1997, he became general manager of Krell Records before being headhunted for the director of A&R role at Melbourne’s Shock Records in 2000. MacQueen is a director of the Robert Stigwood Fellowship program and has also served on the board of the Australian Independent Record Labels Association. THE YEAR THAT WAS Wonderlick Entertainment, comprising management, publishing, promoting and recording arms, boasts a roster of artists such as the unstoppable Amy Shark, Montaigne and The Paper Kites. Last year, Shark collected four ARIA Awards and released the highest-selling Australian album. The Paper Kites also had a cracking year, releasing two new records and also celebrating their Bloom single going Gold in the US. New signings to Wonderlick in 2018 included sibling duo CLEWS and electronic artist Japanese Wallpaper. On a personal level, Donovan continues to mentor mid-level managers through the AAM Co-Piliot Mentorship Program with MacQueen mentoring artists and industry via the Robert Stigwood Fellowship. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “The success of Amy Shark, both in Australia and internationally, and our continuing proven ability to build long-term international careers and to break new artists.”
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Brett Murrihy
Tim McGregor
Maggie Collins
William Morris Endeavour (WME), Head Of Asia Pacific For Music
TEG Live, Managing Director
BIGSOUND, Executive Programmer / Morning Belle, Director
BACKGROUND CHECK BACKGROUND CHECK Brett Murrihy founded Artist Voice in 2010 with Matt Gudinski, as part of Michael Gudinski’s Mushroom Group, to book local and international music acts for tours throughout Australasia. In 2015, epic American talent agency William Morris Endeavour (WME) acquired Artist Voice with Murrihy shifting roles from Artist Voice CEO to Head Of Asia Pacific For Music at WME. By absorbing the Artist Voice roster — 5 Seconds Of Summer, Angus & Julia Stone, Matt Corby, Neil Finn and Paul Kelly to just name a few — the acquisition further strengthened WME’s global reach and music roster and vice versa. THE YEAR THAT WAS In his current role, Murrihy continues to expand WME’s footprint into Asia. 2018 WME touring results included Dua Lipa, now being booked in arenas, performing sold out shows across the Asia Pacific region. Paul Kelly has experienced somewhat of a resurgence of late, with 2017’s Life Is Fine his first ever #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart followed up by another chart-topper in 2018’s Nature and his festive Making Gravy show expanding from a Melbourne-exclusive event to also include Sydney and Brisbane in 2018. Another WME artist kicking goals internationally, Gang Of Youths performed at the NRL Grand Final. Some other 2018 tour highlights that Murrihy and WME had a hand in include Solange headlining Vivid, and St Vincent playing Carriageworks and Dark Mofo. This year’s Breakthrough Artist ARIA Award winner, Ruel, is also signed to WME and is noticeably making his mark on a global scale, with a promo tour in South Korea and his second Japanese tour. Yet another WME artist, David Byrne finally brought his wireless American Utopia tour Down Under, and Neil Finn joined Fleetwood Mac. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Continuing to increase the footprint of WME in Asia Pacific.”
After working at Dainty Group for 11 years, Tim McGregor was appointed managing director of TEG Live in 2016 after TEG acquired Dainty Group earlier in the year. He had previously held senior positions with the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and Falls Festival. McGregor is also board director for Melbourne International Film Festival. THE YEAR THAT WAS As managing director of TEG Live, McGregor’s role sees him taking charge as promoter of the company’s full spectrum of live entertainment that spans across concerts, family events, sport and exhibitions. In 2018, TEG Live — with McGregor at the helm — continued to focus on introducing more varied entertainment content to audiences. Some highlights included global premieres of the Real Madrid World Of Football Exhibition and Mandela My Life: The Official Exhibition (both at Melbourne Museum) as well as the Australian-exclusive stop of Exhibitionism (The Rolling Stones exhibition) in Sydney. 2018 was also a successful year for live video game competition events, with the Intel Extreme Masters Esports Event (7,500 attendance on each event day) at Qudos Bank Arena and the inaugural Melbourne Esports Open taking over Melbourne Park (15,000 attendance) during the AFL September bye weekend. Recent concert tours such as Keith Urban, The Prodigy and Eminem clearly prove the company hasn’t lost touch when it comes to putting on quality live music events. It was also announced last year that TEG Live and AEG Presents will introduce a new annual country music festival, Country To Country (C2C), which has been running in the UK and Europe since 2013 , to our shores in 2019.
BACKGROUND CHECK A Brisbane-raised, Sydney-based professional boasting ten years experience working in the music industry, Maggie Collins got her start at community radio station, 4ZZZ, presenting for four years before eventually becoming the station’s Music Director. She then moved over to triple j and continues to present and produce with the network, mainly on triple j Unearthed and Double J. Collins has also booked various venues (including Goodgod Small Club) and manages DZ Deathrays and The Creases, as well as programming BIGSOUND. THE YEAR THAT WAS In 2018, Maggie Collins launched Morning Belle, a music services company specialising in artist management and event programming, with DZ Deathrays and BIGSOUND as her two main clients. ARIA Award-winning duo DZ Deathrays released their third album Bloody Lovely, which peaked at #4 on the ARIA Albums Chart in 2018. Collins programmed the entire BIGSOUND ‘18 solo — the biggest yet — before a new team format was announced, with three additional festival programmers, Tom Larkin, Melody Forghani and Tim Shiel, working under the leadership of Collins (who retains her Executive Programmer position), for the ‘19 conference. BIGSOUND ‘18 success stories include A Swayze & The Ghosts signing to Ivy League Records, Tape/Off inking an agency deal with PS Music Group, Two People signing to Brooklyn-based label Terrible Records and Yu Yi signing to New World Artists booking agency. Collins is also an Association Of Artist Managers (AAM) board member. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Programming the biggest ever BIGSOUND solo and then having the role split between four people moving forward, which kinda says something about the work involved.”
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27 Ben Turnbull Staple Group, Director BACKGROUND CHECK
26 Meg Williams Inertia Label Group, Co-Director BACKGROUND CHECK After graduating from Sydney’s University Of Technology with a Bachelor of Communication, Meg Williams kicked off her music career in 2007 as project manager at MusicNSW before spending three years as co-director of the management and publicity company Spark & Opus. Williams also spent a couple of years as executive director of the Association Of Artist Managers (AAM) and managed the artist Oisima before accepting the head of promotions position at Inertia Music in 2015.
In order to finance his science degree, Ben Turnbull promoted club nights Bang, Next and Plastic, which is how he got his start in the music industry. Turnbull and Jaddan Comerford formed Staple Group in 2005. When Comerford left to set up UNIFIED in 2011, Turnbull steered the company onward. THE YEAR THAT WAS As director of Staple Group, Turnbull oversees a group of businesses that include Destroy All Lines (touring/ events), Happy Horsemen Group (venues), Artist First (merchandising), Uncommon (marketing) and Greyscale Records (label). Destroy All Lines had a cracking 2018, probably best demonstrated by the inaugural Good Things festival with The Offspring, Stone Sour, Tonight Alive and BABYMETAL gracing stages. The Music’s own Lauren Baxter said it best: “There’s been many a Good Things review plagued with catchy idioms and proverbial phrases featuring the word ‘good’. Truth be told we tried really hard not to fall victim, but after a day like today you need to call it for what it is. A damn good thing.” Other spectacular Destroy All Lines tours of 2018 included
28 Sebastian Chase MGM Distribution, CEO BACKGROUND CHECK Many know Sebastian Chase not only as the founder of Metropolitan Groove Merchants (MGM) Distribution (1998), but also through Chase Records, which he established back in the ‘80s. He also founded rooArt and Black Yak Records (with The Whitlams’ Tim Freedman) and eventually became a partner in Phantom Records as well. Chase was honoured with the 2016 ARIA Industry Icon Award for his contributions and work within the industry over the years, also opening MGM’s US offices in Nashville that same year.
THE YEAR THAT WAS At the end of 2017, Inertia Group divided into Inertia Label Services and Inertia Label Group, which Williams oversees as co-director. Inertia Label Group looks after releases from Farmer & The Owl, Secretly Canadian, Ninja Tune, [PIAS], Pieater, Fat Possum and WARP record labels, to name a few, as well as releases on their own labels: Inertia Music and Pod. 2018 Inertia Label Group-affiliated success stories included Robyn (whose first album in eight years, Honey, debuted at #20 on the ARIA Albums Chart), Dream Wife (a standout band at Laneway Festival 2018) and Hockey Dad (Blend Inn hit #6 on the ARIA Albums Chart). Inertia Label Group also saw the return of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Joan As Police Woman and Spiritualized, who all released albums last year. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Gab Ryan and I signed our first band to the Inertia Label Group with Body Type, a partnership globally with Partisan records. The band have received incredible support internationally on their debut EP and, with an extensive international tour around their next EP, they’re setting up to be one of Australia’s most exciting new exportable bands.”
THE YEAR THAT WAS
Primal Scream, Simple Plan, Bruce Dickinson and Andrew WK. The Happy Horsemen Group of venues continues to seize opportunities to repurpose spaces such as The Valley Drive In, with Brisbane now gifted a permanent outdoor stage. Reviving the charm of classic Aussie pubs in the ‘80s, the group also opened Blute’s Bar in Fortitude Valley. Their first Melbourne venue, Stay Gold, also opened its doors in 2018. Uncommon creative agency also had a busy 2018, with big-time clients including Sydney Festival, Warner Music and Bluesfest. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “The inaugural Good Things festival and launching our first Melbourne venue, Stay Gold.”
MGM Distribution notched up 20 years in the business in 2018, also celebrating three #1 records on the ARIA Albums Chart thanks to Sheppard (Watching The Sky), John Butler Trio (Home) and Gurrumul’s Djarimirri (Child Of The Rainbow), Gurrumul’s posthumous release becoming the first Indigenous language album to top the chart. Artists on MGM’s roster also collected five ARIA Awards (four thanks to Gurrumul plus Jonathan Zwartz) as well as five WAM Awards (Abbe May, Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving, Stella Donnelly, Grace Barbe and Jenny Aslett from San Cisco) in 2018. Still the largest independent digital and physical distributor of Australian music in the world, opening offices in Nashville further extended MGM’s reach into North America.
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The Cinematic Orchestra To Believe 15-Mar-19
American Football American Football (LP3) 22-Mar-19
Nilüfer Yanya Miss Universe 22-Mar-19
Circa Waves What’s It Like Over There? 05-Apr-19
Jai Wolf The Cure To Loneliness 05-Apr-19
Bibio Ribbons 12-Apr-19
Body Type EP2 03-May-19
Jamila Woods LEGACY! LEGACY! 10-May-19
Charly Bliss Young Enough 10-May-19
PLUS MANY MORE RELEASES FROM...
VISIT WWW.INERTIAMUSIC.COM FOR MORE INFO
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30 Susan Heymann Chugg Entertainment, Managing Director
29 Paul Sloan SUPERSONIC Enterprises, Founder/Billions, Co-Director BACKGROUND CHECK After drumming in Perth bands Thrombus, Valvolux and Bikini Atoll, Paul Sloan decided to try his hand at putting on gigs and founded Supersonic Enterprises, an independent music agency, management and promotion business, in 1993. Since then, Sloan has delivered more than 5000 live events as a promoter, agent, producer and event director. He was also a “pioneer of the independent ticketing revolution”, according to the Billions website, thanks to his West Australian ticket company Heatseeker (which was eventually sold to Oztix). In 2015, Sloan was inducted into the WA Music Hall Of Fame. He also continues to perform in Sunshine Brothers and Huge Magnet.
BACKGROUND CHECK After completing a sports science degree, Susan Heymann couldn’t shake the music bug so pursued a career in the music industry, working various roles in artist management, for EMI, in retail and media. In 2003, Heymann landed the assistant to the general manager job at Chugg Entertainment, also working as marketing manager and tour coordinator, before she was elevated to MD in 2016.
2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “I couldn’t identify one crowning achievement of 2018, but I’m proud of the collection of successful tours that we delivered, as well as the breadth of genres and scale covered off across the year.”
to six regional areas. In 2013, Cattleyard Promotions launched GTM’s ‘sister festival’, The Plot, which focuses more on emerging talent. After branching into Cattleyard Brewing, the duo have now launched B-Cubed - Burgers Beers Beats - as well: a series of pop-up events in regional locations. THE YEAR THAT WAS
THE YEAR THAT WAS The ‘About’ tab on the Billions website - which represents about 40 clients for Australia/NZ - reads, “We take on new clients infrequently and only after careful consideration,” and when you look at their roster you’ll marvel at the quality. If you’ve ever seen Amyl & The Sniffers live, you’ll understand why they were welcomed into the Billions fold, touring relentlessly both locally and abroad throughout 2018. Ditto King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Also on the Billions roster, Shihad’s massive 30th anniversary tour went down in 2018 and fans scored a chance to talk at/ask a question of Nick Cave during his in conversation shows this year as well. Plus, 2018 also saw Sloan producing Falls Festival Fremantle on behalf of Secret Sounds, as well as the 13th annual Wave Rock Weekender, which Sloan founded with the intention of putting on a festival that leaves no trace - single-use cups are the enemy. Add to those aforementioned tours potential life highlight shows by Lee Fields & The Expressions, Angel Olsen, Mazzy Star’s first ever Australian tour and a visit by Car Seat Headrest and it soon becomes apparent why Sloan landed firmly in 2018’s Power 50.
Chugg Entertainment dominated the first quarter of 2018 largely thanks to Alanis Morissette returning to our shores for the first time in nearly 20 years and Robbie Williams, who played to almost 60,000 people in Victoria alone. CMC Rocks QLD sold out for the second year running, with country music touring continuing to go from strength to strength with sell-out tours from Luke Bryan, Kelsea Ballerini, Randy Houser and more. Chugg Entertainment delivered intimate shows for some of the world’s biggest up-and-coming artists including Billie Eilish, Noah Kahan, Lauv and Mahalia last year, which certainly proves they’ve got their finger on the pulse. In 2018, along with their promoter partners, Chugg Entertainment announced a huge number of 2019 tours from incredible female artists such as Florence & The Machine, Kacey Musgraves, Maggie Rogers, Christine & The Queens and G Flip.
31 Stephen Halpin & Rodney Little Groovin The Moo, Co-Founders /Cattleyard Promotions, Directors BACKGROUND CHECK Cattleyard Promotions was founded in 2004 with the first incarnation of Groovin The Moo taking place in April 2005. GTM has since flourished to become a firm favourite on Australia’s festival calendar, now touring
With a line-up that included Royal Blood, Portugal. The Man, Paul Kelly and Sampa The Great, it came as no surprise when all Groovin The Moo’s locations sold out in 2018. In a brave and progressive move, the 2018 Canberra edition hosted Australia’s first ever pill testing trial with 128 punters utilising the service. Post-trial, it was reported that a couple of lethal drugs had even been identified. In the wake of five deaths at Australian festivals in recent months, hundreds have taken to social media using the hashtag #timetotest in an effort to call upon the government to change its strategy. It has been confirmed that a second trial will take place at Groovin The Moo Canberra in 2019. Halpin and Little continue to open up the conversation surrounding drug safety and education in this country and, as such, should be regarded as industry game changers.
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Tim Janes
Linda Bosidis
Dean Ormston
Maria Amato
Caroline Label Services Australia, General Manager
Mushroom Music Publishing, Managing Director
APRA AMCOS, CEO
Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR), General Manager
BACKGROUND CHECK
BACKGROUND CHECK
Tim Janes worked at Shock Records for over ten years before setting up Cooperative Music Australia (Bloc Party, Phoenix) with Neil Roberston in 2011, becoming GM. It was while working there that George Ash (Universal Music Australia) pitched the idea of Caroline Label Services to Janes and he went for it. After partnering with Spunk, Cooking Vinyl and Nuclear Blast all in Caroline’s first six months, he’s never looked back.
A temp position at Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) led to full time employment for Linda Bosidis, who remained at the company for six years during which she created the first Melbourne Writer Services Department. In 1996, Bosidis moved to Mushroom Music Publishing (MMP) where she served as Head of A&R until it was announced in October 2018 that long-standing Managing Director Ian James would hand over the reins in 2019.
BACKGROUND CHECK
THE YEAR THAT WAS Top ten ARIA Albums Chart debuts for Caroline last year included Make Way For Love by Marlon Williams (#8) and Bad Witch by Nine Inch Nails (#9). 2018 was also a big year in terms of Caroline Australia ensuring niche markets worked for them, with the company’s investment in hip hop paying off thanks to records by Trippie Redd (#14), Denzel Curry (#27), $uicideboy$ (#10) and the late, controversial XXXTentacion (#8) all placing well. The label’s heavy music investment paid off as well, with top ten albums for Welsh band Bullet For My Valentine (#10), US band Machine Head (#10) and Sweden’s Ghost (#7). 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “I must say our fifth annual Xmas party was a true highlight. To have POND, Alex Lahey, Clowns, Lucianblomkamp perform live and Harvey Sutherland DJing was pretty epic. Made the hangover worthwhile. And to grow to a team of six is really gratifying too.”
THE YEAR THAT WAS Mushroom Music Publishing’s 2018 wins include the success of 5 Seconds Of Summer’s album Youngblood (the title track scoring #1 on the ARIA End Of Year Singles Chart) and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s People-Vultures featuring in a Fox Footy promo. MMP also made significant inroads internationally, kicking off 2018 by announcing a new partnership with New York-based Atlas Music Publishing to represent their roster in Australia and New Zealand. To cap off the year, MMP also inked a sub-publishing arrangement with the UK’s Bucks Music Group, which will see the two companies representing each other’s catalogues in their respective home territories. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “The opportunity to do the keynote speech for One Of One on International Women’s Day.”
Dean Ormston’s credentials include completing a High Potentials Leadership Program at Harvard Business School in 2011. Ormston spent ten years as Board Director of Screenrights and is also Vice Chair of the Australian Copyright Council, a position he’s held since 2009. Joining APRA AMCOS as Head Of Member Services in 2014, Ormston took over as CEO in 2018.
BACKGROUND CHECK
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In his role as CEO of APRA AMCOS, Ormston is pushing to put the music industry on the federal political map by positioning music as a crossgovernment portfolio opportunity - from local live shows to digital and global export. Ormston is also lobbying for an expanded Sounds Australia to maximise Australia’s potential as a music exporter.
2018 saw AIR partnering with Creative Victoria for the pilot program of the Fast Track Fellowship. AIR also partnered with APRA AMCOS to hold Indie 101 sessions in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, with more Indie 101 info sessions taking place in Adelaide thanks to support from the Music Development Office. Amato held a roadmap to the USA info session for labels at CHANGES in July and led a delegation of labels to Indie Week in New York with Sounds Australia. Amato was made anchor board member for Reeperbahn, heading over to Hamburg for the festival, and was also invited to speak at the MEI independent music festival in Faenza, Italy. The AIR Awards and Indie-Con Australia conference in Adelaide were highly praised events again last year. Capping off 2018, Amato was appointed to the board of directors for the Australian Institute of Music in September.
2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Whether it’s Australian music exports, musicians as small business, the educational, social and health benefits or the cultural and economic impact of our sector, convincing governments, oppositions and politicians across the political divide that the music industry is more than ‘arts’ is a journey we have made great strides in. For the first time ever we have a national music policy developed by the Labor Opposition with a commitment to funding that would see a commitment to copyright, and an investment in music education, live music, export, local content, management and mental health.”
After AIR CEO Dan Nevin relocated to the UK, Maria Amato - who already had more than ten years’ experience with AIR at the time - was appointed General Manager in July 2016. Prior to AIR, Amato held the role of CEO/CFO at Melbourne International Film Festival (2010-2014) and was also a Music Victoria board member (2012-2014).
2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Delivered great results for AIR together with a great team and strong board support, and I loved every minute of it.”
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36 Johann Ponniah I OH YOU, Founder / Converge Management, Co-Founder BACKGROUND CHECK After throwing a house party in his backyard to raise funds for an overdue gas bill in December 2009, Johann Ponniah started throwing regular warehouse parties and then formed a record label, I OH YOU Records, through Mushroom in 2010. All 11 acts currently signed to the label are Ponniah’s friends or friends of friends and I OH YOU expanded to include a management arm, Converge Management, in 2017. THE YEAR THAT WAS I OH YOU Records released four albums that peaked in the top 20 of the ARIA Albums Chart in 2018: Bloody Lovely by DZ Deathrays (#4), For Now by DMA’S (#7), Sugar Mountain by Jack River (#11) and Echoes In Blue by City Calm Down (#20). Converge Management artists include Jack River and Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever who have steadily gained traction both locally and internationally. Ponniah also co-founded the City Loop day party with Soothsayer, and programmed Laneway Festival’s Block Party Stage in 2018. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “I OH YOU label picked up seven ARIA nominations across Jack River (Best Breakthrough Artist, Engineer and Pop Release), DMA’S (Best Group, Independent Release and Rock Album) and DZ Deathrays (Best Hard Rock Or Heavy Metal Album).”
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37 Leigh Gruppetta & Stu Harvey Cooking Vinyl, Co-Managing Directors
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38 Claire Collins
Sharlene Harris
Bossy Music, Director
ALH Group, National Entertainment Manager
BACKGROUND CHECK
Both Leigh Gruppetta and Stu Harvey previously held posts at Shock Records - in the roles of General Manager, Music and Senior International Label Manager respectively - before Melbourne-based music company Cooking Vinyl Australia launched in 2013, expanding the UK-originated record label.
Claire Collins obtained a degree in Arts/ Law from the University Of Sydney and became triple j’s Publicist/Marketing Manager before starting Bossy Music in 2009. Collins manages Art Vs Science and DD Dumbo. She is also on the board of the Association Of Artist Managers and recently joined Brett Oaten Solicitors, where she works as a lawyer for music clients.
THE YEAR THAT WAS
THE YEAR THAT WAS
Cooking Vinyl Australia kicked off 2018 by inking a strategic deal with Sony Music in the form of a worldwide digital distribution deal with The Orchard. The label also continued to expand their eclectic roster of Australian artists by welcoming Mia Dyson, Ivan Ooze and Boydos to the fold. Parkway Drive’s Reverence album topped the ARIA Albums Chart, also collecting the ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock Or Heavy Metal Album, and Luca Brasi landed in the top ten with their album Stay (#10). Cooking Vinyl Australia also represents renowned local and international labels such as Anti-, Cooking Vinyl UK, Dine Alone, Epitaph, Greyscale and Resist in Australia and NZ.
Bossy Music have had artists represented in the top ten of the Hottest 100 since the company started, with Billie Eilish’s When The Party’s Over coming in at #8 on the countdown this year to continue the trend. When Bossy first started working with Eilish she had 11,000 Instagram followers. The American singer-songwriter now boasts 13.7 million followers at the time of writing, and Bossy Music helped to establish her in Australia, which is now one of her most important territories. Bossy’s other PR clients include Lorde, Flume and St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, with the leading independent PR and management company also signing G Flip and Stella Donnelly with a view to setting them up as breakout stars in 2019.
BACKGROUND CHECK
2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? Gruppetta: “Parkway Drive - Reverence #1 ARIA Albums Chart debut along with their ARIA Award win for Best Hard Rock Or Heavy Metal Album.”
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2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Concurrently starting a new gig as a lawyer at Brett Oaten Solicitors and raising two kids under three.”
BACKGROUND CHECK In the early ‘80s, Sharlene Harris bought her first hotel before finishing university, going on to manage more than 20 venues before taking on the Victorian Entertainment Manager role with ALH Group seven years ago. Harris now manages entertainment across over 330 venues nationally and ALH Group has since developed successful outdoor events with the Hotter Than Hell, Sea N Sound and Shakafest brands. THE YEAR THAT WAS The Hotter Than Hell boutique festival tour launched in three states, and Stones Corner Festival, a free event, reached new heights in 2018 with over 15,000 attendees. ALH Group further established regional and suburban footholds for touring acts in WA, NSW and Queensland, which resulted in increased numbers of acts such as Thundamentals, The Rubens, The Preatures, Sheppard and 360 touring to undernourished markets. Harris was also one of the ten music industry coaches for the Victorian Governmentbacked 2018 Music Works, Live Music Professionals program. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Hotter Than Hell.”
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Midnight Oil, Savage Garden and The Living End, Orford left TPA, before accepting the position of Managing Agent at New World Artists (NWA) in 2012.
Premier Artists for the next five years. Costin then founded 123 Agency, his own booking and management agency, in 2013, before co-founding Creative Entertainment Agency in 2017. 2018 also saw Costin launching VVV MGMT.
THE YEAR THAT WAS
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40 Damian Costin 123 Agency, CEO/Creative Entertainment Agency & VVV Agency, Director/Founder BACKGROUND CHECK When Damian Costin abandoned his drum kit after eight years playing in Motor Ace, he moved into the business side of the music industry and worked at
Costin expanded 123 Agency in 2018, joining forces with Sony Music Entertainment to form a new label, 123 Music. With over 70 in-demand acts on their roster, some of the agency’s 2018 highlights included Tash Sultana continuing to dominate on stages all over the world, and Ocean Alley’s song Confidence topping triple j’s Hottest 100. Costin also launched VVV MGMT with Tom Larkin, drummer for Shihad (who are represented by 123 Agency), in July 2018 and their roster includes Kingswood, The Vanns, Sweater Curse and Dear Seattle, who recently finished off their debut album, the band’s 2018 singles Maybe and Daytime TV promising great things.
41 Owen Orford New World Artists, CEO BACKGROUND CHECK After his last band Contraband split, Owen Orford started working for their booking agency, Harbour Premier, as a booker. In 1989, Orford left Harbour Premier to establish his own agency, Trading Post Agency (TPA). After working with artists such as Silverchair,
A few 2018 highlights for NWA artists include Grinspoon playing on the regional Groovin The Moo tour, and Mammal playing a one-off showcase in London (the band are now signed to UK agency K2 for future touring in the UK/Europe as a result). The Superjesus also signed to NWA before the agency set up a national tour for the band to mark 20 years since the release of their debut album Sumo. As well as expanding NWA’s market share in the keynote speech sector and corporate entertainment bookings, Orford also continues to mentor the company’s in-house booking agents. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Moving out of Sydney to live on the Gold Coast in South East Queensland, the next positive growth hub for contemporary live music. This place is brimming with opportunities!”
with Australia’s Electronic Music Conference (EMC) for the last seven years, is currently on the management board for MusicNSW and is also a member of APRA’s Club Music Advisory Group.
inaugural New Year’s Eve festival taking place in 2014/2015. Now, as co-directors of Untitled Group (together with additional partners Fil Palermo, Tom Caw and Christian Serrao), the conglomerate run over 100 events annually.
THE YEAR THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS
42 Nicholas Greco & Michael Christidis Untitled Group Co-Directors, Artist Management BACKGROUND CHECK From running their large-scale weekly Treehouse events at Inflation back in 2012, Nicholas Greco and Michael Christidis moved to Palace Theatre to host their Anyway nights, and then started dreaming of running their own festival. Enter Beyond The Valley, the
To list just a few highlights from last year, both Pitch Music & Arts and Beyond The Valley festivals sold out, and the group took Grapevine Gathering interstate. Lost Picnic also expanded, successfully debuting in Melbourne. Untitled Group also activated some huge, unique spaces for headline talent such as Solomun at The Wool Store in Footscray and Green Velvet at Yarra Park (MCG). The company’s first international foray saw Claptone’s The Masquerade event happening in Bali, and they also launched a record label, Daily Nightly, with Caroline. Greco also added Owl Eyes to his management roster in 2018. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? Greco: “Beyond The Valley 2018 selling out in only a couple of weeks with record numbers and activating the abandoned Footscray Wool Store with Solomun into the biggest dance party of the year.”
43 Jane Slingo Young Strangers, Founder / Electronic Music Conference (EMC), Director BACKGROUND CHECK Jane Slingo has worked in the electronic music sector since 1994, working in various roles as a promoter, publicist, street press editor, booking agent, tour manager and artist manager. She founded the Young Strangers boutique management company in 2006 (Set Mo, Sampology), has been working
Through her Young Strangers management company, Jane Slingo facilitated Set Mo’s innovative album release strategy, which saw the Sydney duo releasing 11 singles last year, and also worked with Sampology in launching his own label: the Middle Name Records imprint. She took the reins as Director of Electronic Music Conference (EMC) for the first time in 2018 as well. Having worked with the former Night Mayor of Amsterdam, Mirik Milan, on Global Cities After Dark, Slingo is an essential voice in discussions around tackling NSW’s night-time economy. She is also a proud member of the predominantly (70%) female management board for MusicNSW and contributed to the 2018 NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the music and arts economy. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “I honestly couldn’t define one of those moments as the all-time crowning moment.”
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Recording Studio In Woolloomooloo, Sydney, Australia FORBESSTREETSTUDIOS.COM
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and protest their right to experience and participate in live music. In 2015, Marcou was instrumental in the formation of the Victorian Government’s Sexual Assault And Harassment of Women In Licensed Venues Taskforce.
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44 Helen Marcou OAM Bakehouse Studios & SLAM, Co-Founder BACKGROUND CHECK Helen Marcou and her partner Quincy McLean founded Bakehouse Studios in 1991. The pair then formed Save Live Australia’s Music (SLAM) in 2010, galvanising 20,000 to march
Marcou’s 2018 achievements are too numerous to list here. She gave keynote addresses all over the country and internationally. Marcou was also invited to speak and participate in the music policy think tank in Fort Collins, Colorado. As well as working to establish a racism roundtable to address racial profiling in music venues, Marcou also founded the International Women’s Day First Nations Emerging Artist Award, which was awarded to Alice Skye in 2018. Marcou is an ambassador for the Victorian Honour Roll Of Women, curated MPavilion’s secret rehearsal series and also recently received an Order Of Australia alongside McLean. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “I believe my biggest achievement in 2018 was advocating for an equitable, inclusive, safe and respectful music industry.”
45 Damian Slevison Liberation Records, Managing Director BACKGROUND CHECK Damian Slevison joined Liberation in a label management role in 2004 before moving into A&R. Since then he has signed and been instrumental to the success of artists such as The Temper Trap, Vance Joy, Dan Sultan, Emma Louise, DD Dumbo and Gordi.
Jaime Gough & Matt Tanner Native Tongue, Managing Director/ Head of Creative Services BACKGROUND CHECK
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Jaime Gough’s music industry experience began with an internship at Melbournebased management company Mayday, where he booked tours for the likes of The Go-Betweens and Renee Geyer. He then moved across to Mana Music Publishing, which his dad Chris founded, before also founding Native Tongue. Gough has been working full-time at Native Tongue since 2005. While living in Japan in the early ‘90s, Matt Tanner worked as a tour manager before returning to Australia and starting Milefire Management, an artist and tour management company. He also started Casadeldisco Records during this time before joining Native Tongue in 2010. THE YEAR THAT WAS Under the leadership of Gough and Tanner, Native Tongue experienced another stellar
As Liberation Records’ first full year as a standalone imprint, 2018 provided some impressive highlights including five nominations at the ARIA Awards (three for Vance Joy and two for Dan Sultan), Gordi taking out the Songwriter Award at the inaugural Women In Music Awards, and new label signing Emerson Snowe winning the Levi’s Music Prize at BIGSOUND. Joy collected the ARIA for Best Adult Contemporary Album for his second album Nation Of Two, which was the second highest-selling Australian album of 2018. It was also a great year for Liberation in terms of lining the office walls with records thanks to Joy’s second record (Gold), debut album Dream Your Life Away (two times Platinum) and four singles: Lay It On Me (three times Platinum), I’m With You (Gold), We’re Going Home and Saturday Sun (both Platinum). Mansionair’s Astronaut single was also certified Gold. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Vance Joy’s #1 ARIA album was certified Gold and finished 2018 as the second highest-selling Australian album of the year.”
year in 2018 with new signings including writer/producer Kon Kersting (co-writer of Gold-certified Mallrat single Groceries), Japanese Wallpaper and Phantastic Ferniture. Boasting strong relationships with major music supervisors in the US, UK, Canada and Europe to extend the global reach of their clients, Native Tongue pride themselves on being more proactive than their competitors. In 2018, the company teamed up with The Push initiative Music Under Wings to launch Native Tongue Songwriters Stream, which paired four emerging songwriters/producers with mentors. Last year Native Tongue also added a long list of companies to their sub-publisher client list, including Concord Music (the fifth largest music company in the world). 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? Tanner: “Having one of our writers, Stu Crichton, work on Kygo’s Stargazing, which has sold almost one million units and racked up 14 Gold or Platinum certifications worldwide.”
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governments, state governments and notfor-profit organisations across a variety of music-based programs and initiatives. After a stint as Youth Music Development Officer at Darebin City Council, Duncan joined The Push as Creative Producer in 2015.
of the founding board members of the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation. In 2008, Meher-Homji launched his own television program, Good Listening. THE YEAR THAT WAS
47 Cyrus MeherHomji OAM Universal Music Australia, Classics & Jazz, General Manager BACKGROUND CHECK Cyrus Meher-Homji trained as a concert pianist and holds a Master’s Degree in Musicology. He joined Universal Music Group in 1998 as Marketing Manager for PolyGram Classics & Jazz and is also one
As General Manager of Universal Music Australia, Classics & Jazz, Meher-Homji has been integral to the broadening of the label’s activities throughout 2018, expanding the label’s reach into presenting live concerts (UMA’s first festival is to be held this year). Release-wise, Greta Bradman’s Home dropped on Decca Australia (a division of UMA) in 2018, before the soprano went on to tour the country extensively, performing mostly in churches and cathedrals. Also last year, classical crossover pianist Van-Anh Nguyen signed to Decca Australia. And 2019 already looks great for Universal, with the recent announcement that The Seekers have entered into a long-term partnership with Decca Records. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Receiving an Order of Australia Medal for my work in the performing arts was a moment of dual pride and humility.”
THE YEAR THAT WAS
48 Kate Duncan The Push, CEO BACKGROUND CHECK Kate Duncan played in bands and started working on underage shows while she was still in high school. She then studied professional communication, music business and youth studies at university before graduating as a qualified youth worker and working in a range of local
board member for the Australian Music Vault and a PBS FM board member.
Kirsty Rivers Creative Victoria, Senior Manager, Partnership Programs BACKGROUND CHECK After almost 19 years as National Manager, Writer Services with APRA AMCOS, Kirsty Rivers became head of the Victorian Government’s Music Works program for Creative Victoria in 2015. Rivers was also Vice Chair of The Push for 16 years, and is currently an advisory
In 2018, Rivers was promoted from Manager, Contemporary Music to her current role. Last year saw a consolidation of the opportunities that Music Works (the Victorian Government’s four-year, $22.2 million contemporary music funding and support program for Creative Victoria) gave the music community. These results included fighting for, and winning, the opportunity to host Melbourne Music Cities Convention in April — with Visit Victoria and Music Victoria. Among many other 2018 accomplishments, Rivers was also instrumental in getting the Victorian Music Development Office up and running.
Matt Emsell
2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT?
Wonder Management, Founder/Director
“Working with women — I’ve been super proud to be involved with One Of One and working behind the scenes with so many of the incredible women and underrepresented people in the community. Change is happening, but there is so much more to do.”
2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Launching The Push Strategy for 2019 to 2021.”
company. He founded the not-for-profit fundraising festival Secret Garden in 2009 and then Wonder Management in 2010. In 2016, Emsell also launched 1825 Records.
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Duncan was appointed CEO of The Push in May 2018, a year that saw her leading the Victorian youth music organisation — in partnership with Music Victoria and Yarra City Council — to launch Victoria’s new contemporary music forum CHANGES. The event encompassed a two-day program showcasing thought leaders across music and tech as well as hundreds of Victoria’s most inventive and exciting artists. Duncan also launched The Push Strategy for 2019-2021, with key priorities that include positioning The Push to become a national organisation, and delivering new program models for high profile, all-ages events and youth audience development.
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BACKGROUND CHECK In 2005, Matt Emsell got his start in the music business in London working at MTV Europe overseeing brand partnerships before moving to Sydney in 2008 and accepting the role of General Manager at Scorpio Music management
When you consider that Wonder Management’s roster includes 5 Seconds Of Summer and Matt Corby, it’s easy to imagine what kind of year Emsell has had. For the first time since Gotye did so in 2011, 5SOS topped both the ARIA Albums and Singles Charts simultaneously with Youngblood and the album’s title track. The Sydney foursome also made history in the States when they became the first ever to see their first three fulllength albums top the Billboard chart (in the Nielsen SoundScan era). It’s hard to compete with those stats, but Corby also made an impressive return to the charts in 2018 with his Rainbow Valley release peaking at #4 on the ARIA Albums Chart. 2018’S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT? “Matt Corby getting Richard Kingsmill’s pick for album of the year. And it was really special seeing 5SOS come home to win three ARIA Awards.”
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1 )(8. $/-. )&& .; 1 )(( .‡
These are not words which find their way into compositions, written or musical. But they are concepts which artists, musicians, actors, sportspeople, and their associated technicians and managers should be mindful of if they wish to maximise their incomes and minimize their costs and tax obligations. We have, over the past 44 years, established a global network of legal and accounting specialists who work with us to address and resolve all financial or taxation issues which will confront the entertainer or sportsperson during his/her career. Our list of entertainer clients worldwide, in both the music and film industries, is formidable and simply attests to the extent of the confidence and trust they have placed in us over time. We are always ready and able to assist you in protecting your interests while in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South East Asia. We will also refer you to the most appropriate professionals to address any fiscal/tax matter which may arise while working in the USA, the UK, or Europe.
, ' ' , .) -/ '#. * , ),' ( , *),.- 3 , ,)/( ‡ Connect with us: @apraamcos writer@apra.com.au | apraamcos.com.au 2017 Professional Development Award recipient Fanny Lumsden Photo: Belinda Dipalo
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