Mushroom welcomes Foreign Echo into Group

Mushroom Group has expanded its artist services collective, officially welcoming management company Foreign Echo into the fold.

Foreign Echo was established in 2019 in partnership with Mushroom, but is today celebrating its official launch.

Newly minted CEO of Mushroom Group, Matt Gudinski, said he was excited to unveil the partnership with Foreign Echo’s founder and director, Sasha Chifura – a TMN 30 Under 30 winner in 2021 – and the wider team.

“Their roster speaks for itself and I strongly believe Sasha and the crew will be major players in the industry for decades to come. We’re excited to build together, with the power of the Mushroom Group behind them,” he added.

Foreign Echo said it is a company driven by an entrepreneurial and creative ethos, focusing on building sustainable careers and nurturing talent for a global audience.

Its roster includes award-winning queen of alternative hip hop Tkay Maidza, the genre-defying Ecca Vandal, techno fan favourite Skin On Skin, one of the country’s most exciting upcoming producers Tobiahs, Daniel Cartisano (with production credits for the likes of Mahalia, Rico Nasty and 6lack) as well as next-up rap sensation Agung Mango.

Chifura praised the partnership, noting in today’s competitive landscape, it’s difficult to find people you both trust and want to work with.

“Partnering with Matt Gudinski and the Mushroom Group, who share our own values and drive, will only further benefit our talented team and roster. We are now even better positioned to support our artist-first ethos, and provide more value to our artists by expanding both our domestic and international capabilities,” he said.

In his 30 Under 30 submission, Chifura also noted the importance of a happy and people-first culture.

“A people-first culture is what the new generation of workers are demanding and deserve, and that is my driving ethos already reflected in the way our company has run to date and is also the core reason why I still work with mostly the same group of artists and people since the start of my career,” he said.

He also flagged the risks associated with industry monopolies and the dominance of a few decision-makers and gate-keepers.

“Despite technological advances, the corporate concentration continues to further shift power to conglomerates that have been dominating and taking over all facets of the industry – radio, streaming, promotion, ticketing, artist management, and venue ownership, essentially any revenue-generating slice of the industry. For example, the domestic and international top 100 charts are typically 75 – 80% + dominated by conglomerates week by week,” he said.

“With an increasingly growing share of revenues earned in the industry, these few conglomerates are the most powerful buyers of music and talent, and they will exercise that power to prioritise a handful of self-serving purposes, meaning music will be less democratic and the broad middle class of artists, labels, venues, and other small businesses will be forced to rely on – and increasingly pay – monopolists for access to bands and fans.”

In addition to Chifura, Foreign Echo boasts Callum Wallace as head of management, artist managers Shelley Liu (also on this year’s TMN 30 Under 30) and Cameron Mackinnon, as well as artist administrator Andrea Delos Santos.

Foreign Echo flagged that more exciting announcements, including more artist signings, would be coming soon.