Tom Larkin – founding member of Shihad, and founder of multiple artist development initiatives including the 30-week SIGNAL program and agency Homesurgery – and Damian Costin, Director at 123 Agency have launched VVV MGMT.

The new artist management venture “to provide a platform for artists to develop careers and access opportunity” was formed under the 123 Music Entertainment Group (123 MEG).

“Tom and I are technically family,” said Damian Costin. “We have been working together in one way or another since 1998 when our bands first toured together – Fast forward to 2018 and the Agency now represents Shihad and when Tom came to me with the idea of a management company to run alongside the agency, it was a no brainer.”

Tom Larkin added: “This partnership a natural step to combine our strengths under one roof. 123 Agency have positioned themselves as a key entity within the Australasian music community in discovering and sustaining new talent, so being able to leverage our strategic and creative infrastructure as a management company alongside that presents huge opportunities for both parties.”

Tom Larkin and Damian Costin

VVV MGMT’s team is rounded out by Manager Rachel Whitford, Artist Operations Coordinator Aijia Li, and Head of Finance Jake Lowe. The roster, which covers both Australia and New Zealand, features artists such as Dear Seattle, The Vanns, Between You & Me, Bad Juju, Sweater Curse, Eliza & The Delusionals, Kingswood, and Woodlock.

VVV MGMT team

VVV MGMT’s Rachel Whitford said the projects coming though over the next 12 months require an approach “that respects not only the musical vision they have but the strategy that each artist needs to grow their presence.”

“If we look at what we have coming in the immediate future such as new releases from Between You & Me and Bad Juju this week, fresh material from Kingswood, the new Dear Seattle release, or finding the right partners for an act like Eliza & The Delusionals, each one of them benefit from us being able to take the project to the team and get the personal experience and support from each member to do the very best for the act,” Whitford said.

VVV MGMT launch in Melbourne

It’s expected that VVV MGMT will sustainably grow the roster in the next 12 months while looking to develop new initiatives.

“With VVV MGMT, we have put together both the team and the platform based on what it is like to live as a musician and to partner closely with our acts in order to build resilience, generate opportunities and bring strong visibility that allows them to stand out,” Larkin and Costin said in a statement.

Over the next 12 months VVV MGMT are looking to sustainably grow the roster and look to develop new initiatives that add value and possibility to their client base. Damian rounds off by saying.

Tom Larkin at the VVV MGMT launch in Melbourne

“We have now built an artist-driven company with an incredible roster that we intend to work very hard for in order to support them to launch globally,” said Costin.

“We have our team travelling internationally knocking on doors and securing a network that puts faces to the names, The next 12-24 months will see us innovate and make increasingly strong announcements on behalf of our acts and our wider group of partners – the future is looking very bright here at VVV.”

Watch VVV MGMT’s launch video below:

:: ANIMATION: When Damian Costin knew 123 Agency was here to stay

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.