Industrial Strength: Woodstock, Music Passport, Helpmanns, Tia Gostelow, PledgeMusic & more
VICTORIA TO HELP ARTIST MANAGERS WITH LIGHTHOUSE AWARD….
The Lighthouse Award grants $5,000 to a female manager who exhibits passion, creativity and integrity.
It was set up by APRA AMCOS in memory of Linda Gebar who died in October 2008 soon after the birth of her second child.
One of the few female managers in the ’90s, she worked with The Killjoys, Frente and The Blackeyed Susans.
She also booked the Punters Club, ran a record label and worked at PBS FM and APRA AMCOS.
Previous recipients of the award include Jen Cloher, Bonnie Dalton, Bernadette Ryan, and last year, Sabrina Robertson.
Robertson used the grant to travel to the UK’s The Great Escape and to South America for a Sounds Australia trade mission, set up her Mismatch blog “and allowed me to continue unofficially mentoring emerging managers and artists.”
Eligibility criteria and application details here.
Applications close April 18, recipient announced in May.
AND MUSIC PASSPORT
Music Passport is an export market development trip to allow at least two emerging managers, accompanied by a globally experienced manager.
The idea is to create opportunities connection, knowledge and relationship building in the global music business world.
It is run by The Association of Artist Managers Australia (AAM) with the support of Creative Victoria.
Focused on the American market, participants will travel to LA and New York.
Included in the mission, in partnership with Sounds Australia, will be attendances at Sync Summit 2019, Indie Week 2019 and Libera Awards.
“The AAM has been seeking support for our associate, entry-level and emerging managers. Increasingly artist managers are working in a global marketplace from the early stages of career development,” says executive director Leanne de Souza.
“This program activity is specifically designed to build capacity, networks and knowledge of the next generation of career managers working globally.”
Applications close on Sunday, March 31, with recipients announced on Monday, April 8.
They depart Melbourne on the week commencing June 3 and return on the week beginning June 24.
Guidelines and applications at here.
HELPMANNS NAME DATES, VENUE
The Helpmann Awards, which last year announced it was moving to Melbourne for its 19th episode, will be staged at Arts Centre Melbourne on July 14 and 15.
The move to Melbourne is the result of a new destination partnership with Visit Victoria.
The 42 trophies handed on the night cover musicals, contemporary music, comedy, opera and classical music, theatre, ballet, dance and physical theatre, presentation for children and young people, regional touring and cabaret.
TIA GOSTELOW SIGNS GLOBAL BOOKING AGENTS
Tia Gostelow, who this week was the youngest ever to win album of the year at the Queensland Music Awards with Thick Skin, continues her ascent by looking further afield.
The Brisbane based 19-year-old has signed booking agency deals with Paradigm (North America) and ATC (Europe) and has announced her first European tour kicking off in May.
Before that, she goes into the studio in early April to start work on her second album.
Recently she was about to embark on her first US tour when serious illness struck a family member – who has now recovered – and she decided to stay at home.
MUSICNSW ANNOUNCES NEW ALL-AGE GIGS SERIES
MusicNSW has a new all-ages gig series called New & The Now which is programmed by its youth committee.
The six shows are held at 107 Projects in Redfern in Sydney.
The inaugural gig is on Saturday, April 6 between 6-10 pm, with Wollongong guitar pop duo Cry Club, Newcastle’s E4444E, R&B singer-songwriter Kymie and Sydney DJ Rydeen.
The youth committee is made up of around 20 young people, aged 12-25 from across the state.
CULTIVATE LAUNCHES AS WOMEN-ONLY MUSIC BIZ LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
The first recipients and mentors of if the inaugural Cultivate – a women-only leadership program for music industry leaders set up by Music Victoria in partnership with the Victorian Government – are announced.
Supported by the Minister For Women Gabrielle Williams, ‘Cultivate’ aims to foster the development of major music biz figures by partnering them up with CEOs, senior role holders and mentors to support and guide the advancement of their careers.
Participants are Dallas Frasca, Push CEO Kate Duncan, Look Out Kid co-owner and Barely Dressed GM Katie Besgrove, Bad Apples Music label manager Coco Eke and Corner Group music & marketing manager Sally Mather.
Mentors are Lord of the Fries co-founder and owner Amanda Walker, Moxie Products co-founder and director Mia Klitsas, Ticketmaster/ Live Nation Entertainment GM of communications Jackie Antas, consultant and board director Leonie Morgan AM and Philanthropy Australia CEO Sarah Davies.
ALPHA WOLF SIGN WORLD DEAL
Aussie hard rock band Alpha Wolf, who are signed in Australia and NZ with Greyscale Records, have struck a deal for the rest of the world with Sharptone Records.
The partnership kicks off with new single ‘Sun Zero’, which will be followed with an EP Fault.
Sharptone’s roster includes Emmure, Crystal Lake and Australia’s own Polaris.
Alpha Wolf are about to head off for their first European tour through Avocado Bookings, alongside new label mates Emmure as well as Fit For A King, Obey The Brave and Rise Of The Northstar.
The 20 dates between April 5 and 26 covers the UK, France, Denmark, Poland, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium.
MUSICAL CHAIRS
Sony/ATV Music co-president Rick Krim is departing, after being brought into the publisher in 2015 to lead all A&R operations in Los Angeles.
Rosie Dennis is new CEO and artistic director of Bleached Arts Ltd, parent company of the Gold Coast’s Bleach* festival. She was a dynamic CEO and artistic director of Urban Theatre Projects (UTP) for six years, and will move from Western Sydney to Queensland to take up her role in June. She presents her first Bleach in April 2020.
As reported in TMN, outgoing Bleach* artistic director Louise Bezzina takes over the same role at Brisbane Festival in May.
Angel Aristone is iHeartMedia’s new executive vp communications.
Amanda Collins is Sony Music’s EVP, global head of corporate communications, based in New York.
One of Scotland’s celebrated producer and promoter of comedy, Sharon Burgess will move to Perth later in the year to take on her appointment as CEO of Artage, which runs WA’s Fringe World Festival. Burgess is a board member of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society. Fringe World director Amber Hasler is acting CEO until Burgess’ arrival.
PLEDGEMUSIC GOES QUIET
In harrowing news to PledgeMusic’s Australian artists, things have gone quiet six weeks after it was put on the market to pay off its obligations.
Music Week reported that “phones are not being answered at the UK office, there have been no more reassuring blog posts and there is speculation about the future of the company.”
It also discovered that staff have left this month.
Among those gnashing their teeth are Jesus Jones, Sleeper, Gang of Four and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
NORDOFF ROBBINS MUSIC QUIZ RETURNING
The music industry’s longest-running quiz is becoming larger as it turns 21.
This year, the Nordoff Robbins Music Quiz is partnering with the UK’s Sounds Familiar Music Quiz, reveals the therapy association’s CEO Belinda Leonard.
It’s also enlisted Double J broadcaster and ABC National music correspondent Zan Rowe to host for the first time.
It returns to the Crystal Ballroom at Sydney’s Luna Park on Thursday, April 4 (between 5—9.30 pm), with teams of eight and individuals.
VINYL COUNTDOWN
Like Australian festival goers, the most enthusiastic of vinyl collectors travel abroad for their fix.
So we could see some heading to Disqovr x Musika 2019, Malaysia’s biggest record market.
The fifth edition is held at The Gasket Alley in Petaling Jaya on April 6 from 4pm to 10pm, as a prelude to Record Store Day.
Nurul Jannah, one of its founders, tells us, “Not only is Musika a music digging and hunting event, it also serves as a community gathering of music lovers.
“The venue itself is a conducive space, with deejay booths, a mini band stage and exhibition area giving music-related activities prominence at Musika.”
NUMBER CRUNCHING
2 billion YouTube views for Maroon 5’s ‘Girls Like You’ in just 10 months.
20% rise in revenue for British music in the past three years, according to the BPI overnight, with streaming subscription revenues up 220% in that period to nearly £500 million and accounting for 60% of income.
$18 million is what it would have cost to refurbish Sydney’s Allianz Stadium, says a new report, instead of the $714 million government figures to bring it up to safety standards.
1 million ticket sales on target for Fleetwood Mac’s North American tour.
30th-anniversary celebrations for Gold Coast’s station 90.9 SeaFM which had Jimmy Barnes performing at its premiere.
2.6 million advance copies for South Korean boy band BTS’s Map of the Soul: Persona album.
$20,000 grant from NSW government to Tenterfield’s Peter Allen Festival after last September’s inaugural event drew over 1,000 and stay in the town.
12 minutes for Metallica’s Mt. Smart Stadium Auckland show to sell out 17,000 tickets.
$40,000 raised by Big Gay Day on March 10 in Fortitude Valley for Queensland LGBTIQ charities.
AUSTRALIAN MUSIC BOOK PICKED UP FOR LA COURSE
Adelaide metal music journalist Leticia Supple (Biodagar)’s 2013 book Music Journalism 101 has been picked up by the Los Angeles College of Music as the primary text for a new music journalism course.
Unable to get her work published by existing media, she set up her own, Metal As Fuck.
Music Journalism 101 is a focus on the mechanics of rock journalism.
‘She says, “I was a little bit surprised that they chose it, because for a start I thought it might have been a scam to get free books.
“They contacted me and asked for free copies to evaluate whether it not it could be included.
“I was like, “well it’s only $14, you could buy it”; but I took a punt and sent the books.
“ I heard nothing about it for ages – and then all of a sudden, fantastic news.”
WHITE SKY, ONE ON ONE, CREATE OPPS FOR MUSIC BIZ WOMEN
White Sky and One of One join forces for a scholarship initiative for women working in the Australian music industry.
Each year, White Sky will fund the recipient to attend a board governance training program tailored specifically for women.
This will ensure more women have the necessary governance training and capabilities to advance their board careers and leadership skills.
It will also produce a flow-on effect, as more women on boards will mean more opportunities for diversity, healthier debate, role models and mentors for emerging people to connect with and learn from, and more diverse leadership within the biz.
U2, MADONNA, MANAGER RAISES FUND FOR NZ MOSQUE VICTIMS
Guy Oseary, manager of Madonna and U2, has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for victims of the Christchurch mosques mass shootings.
In the first few days it shot past its US$100,000 target (and counting).
“It was important for me, an Israeli Jew, to show love,” he said.
Contributors included Madonna and Ben Stiller.
VOTING BEGINS FOR MAX’S 1000 GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIME
Voting has started for MAX channel’s 1000 Greatest Songs of All Time countdown.
Hosted by WSFM’S Brendan ‘Jonesy’ Jones and Amanda Keller, it screens on the Easter long weekend from noon Friday, April 19 until Monday, April 22.
The countdown is compiled using viewer votes (on maxtv.com.au), feedback from industry experts, chart ratings and song popularity.
Last year’s poll was won by AC/DC’s ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top’.
Other top ten contenders included Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, John Farnham’s ‘You’re the Voice’, Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway To Heaven’ and John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’.
AND A FEW OTHER THINGS….
Speculation is rife that Lorde is engaged to boyfriend Justin Warren, promo manager at Universal Music NZ, after she was spotted wearing a diamond ring on her left hand.
Among Aussies playing Woodstock’s 50th anniversary are Brian Cadd (who’s apparently living in the Woodstock region at the moment) and Courtney Barnett.
After calling time off from four shows due to an infection, John Farnham gets his pressure down this weekend, re-joining the Red Hot Summer tour.
Over two nights in May, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will perform the score to James Bond flickeroonie Casino Royale while it screens.
With “white terrorism” on the nose in New Zealand right now, former Pantera member Philip Anselmo’s two shows there with the band The Illegals were pulled by the venues and the tour promoter when a 2016 incident when he gave a Nazi salute and babbled something about white power (we don’t think it was about clothes detergent) during a California show. He apologised immediately after but it keeps biting him in the ass. Yesterday the chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, Dvir Abramovich, called for his current Australian shows to be also axed citing his “neo-Nazi and antisemitic sentiments.”.
Chance The Rapper and Kirsten Corley, whom he met when he was just 9 years old, got married in Newport Beach, California. Among guests shoving their way to the buffet were Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.
Speaking of which, the Daily Telegraph reports that X Factor producers tried to persuade lovebirds Jess and Matt Price to get married on-air.
Queensland Police confirmed there were reports of someone filming people in the showers one night at the CMC Rocks Queensland country music festival.
Some nasty sent Iggy Azalea a vial of semen in the mail, she revealed in a tweet. “The office assistant had to unknowingly open the package,” she said, before adding she was alerting the FBI. “We have your DNA, idiot!”
Country music singer-songwriter Troy Cassar-Daley and his media personality wife Lauren Edwards are selling off the 10-acre Queensland weekender and songwriting retreat that inspired his hit ‘I Love This Place’. The house, “Carinya” at Vernor, just outside of Fernvale, west of Brisbane, has stunning views of the Brisbane River and surrounding countryside.
One time stripper Cardi B is making a triumphant return to the strip club – this time in a stripper movie called Hustlers with Jennifer Lopez.
Melbourne hip hop artist Ivan Ooze is taking an indefinite break after a run of shows. He said his heart has begun “to move in another direction” and that he was made to feel an outsider by hip hop circles. “Being brutally honest, I’ve always felt like I’m not accepted in the Australian hip hop scene, especially by other artists, which has at times felt like being back at high school bullied by the cool kids.”
Tim Minchin was yesterday awarded an honorary doctorate for his contributions to the arts at the ECU’s Mount Lawley campus. He couldn’t resist giving hundreds of students some career advice: “I’m old now and giving unsolicited advice is what old white guys are supposed to do. Mansplain the arts to you.”
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