‘You Just Need 3 Minutes of Absolute Fucking Genius’: BIGSOUND Speaker Korda Marshall on Success in a Streaming Landscape
More than 30 years after breaking his first act, Korda Marshall hasn’t lost any energy in his pursuit of discovering the next big thing.
The quintessential “music man” – and a longtime member of the extended Mushroom Group family — the Brit has worked with, or signed, a who’s who of international stars, from Muse to James Blunt, Madonna and The Darkness, plus Australian acts Kylie Minogue and Pendulum.
While the tools of discovery and distribution have changed, Marshall’s mission remains the same. Navigate the music industry. Discover and nurture career artists. Hits.
Speaking with The Music Network ahead of BIGSOUND 2024, where he will participate in two onstage presentations, Marshall is energised, optimistic.
“I always got into trouble for being Eddie Optimist in the corner, but the context of being enthusiastic, we’re lucky to be in the world we live in, where we are on the planet, and in history. It’s an amazing time.
“For artists and creativity and there’s nothing better than making things that people enjoy and love and consume all around the world. It’s a really important part of society.”
Korda Marshall
Marshall is optimistic, with a sound dose of realism.
“It’s always been really, really hard to break artists, and it’s always been really, really hard to have a hit, by definition of the processes,” he explains.
“It is harder now, when there’s 100,000-120,000 songs being uploaded each day to every DSP.”
When you factor in the erosion of gatekeepers and the influence of traditional media, artists today need to work harder, smarter.
“You can’t sit around waiting for a record label anymore, and ultimately you have to just be really, really, really good, which you always had to be really. But now you have to be even better. And that’s true in every measure of society, whether you’re a cabinet-maker or a filmmaker. All the mediums are changing.”
In a fragmented music world, then, play the “Golden Triangle.”
Marshall points to a three-point theory, in which content forms one corner; the top point represents the socials, including digital distribution channels and “off-platform platforms”; and a third corner, digital spend, where you might “put in two grand over the weekend and spend it in a very focused, targeted market and see if it works.”
If you “get that triangle working, you can become a snowball. You just roll it down the mountain, it becomes massive.”
Marshall has directed major label A&R departments, produced, and been managing director of three major labels, including Warner Music U.K.
His heart, however, is independent.
In 2022, Korda returned to Mushroom Group as international director (labels), playing a key role in the company’s partnership with Virgin Music to support Mushroom artists’ releases worldwide (ex ANZ).
Based in London, he returned to the fold from BMG, which purchased his London-based label Infectious Records in 2014 and enjoyed global success with the likes of alt-J, DMA’S, Bloc Party, Ry-X, Richard Ashcroft and The Temper Trap.
Earlier, Marshall served as managing director for Mushroom Records’ outpost in the UK prior to its sale to News Corp in 1998, guiding the success of Muse, Garbage, Ash, Paul Oakenfold and more.
“I miss him,” he says of the late, great Mushroom Group founder Michael Gudinski. “We all do. Part of the beautiful context of what we’re doing with me and Mushroom is keeping his spirit alive and the vision of what he was doing with Australian artists, Australian music, media and creative.”
Marshall is locked in for a BIGSOUND In-conversation on Wednesday, September 4th with The Brag Media head of content Lars Brandle, and the following day for a panel discussion, “Adapt And Scale: The Future of Music Entrepreneurialism.”