Look Out Kid, Monster Expands Global Reach With Merger

Look Out Kid and Monster Artist Management are coming together to create a different kind of monster – a mega-indie firm with a foothold in Australia and the United States and a combined roster of 13 acts, including the world-beating singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett.

Announced today (Jan. 19), Monster’s team of Jacob Snell and Alexandra “Apple” Bagios join Look Out Kid.

Based in Los Angeles, Snell and Bagios bring their roster, which includes The Beths, Hatchie, Methyl Ethel and Palehound, a move that will grow the company’s presence in Australia and North America “ensuring a strategic global approach to their business,” reps tell TMN.

From its Melbourne HQ, Look Out Kid already handles Barnett, Faye Webster, Beverley Glenn Copeland and others.

If artist management is about career building, and securing opportunities for artists, the new-look company can expand on those ambitions with a greater brainstrust and the ability to be based in multiple territories at once.

With the amalgamation, a realignment of the team which sees Katie Besgrove, Look Out Kid owner/director, now taking on duties as general manager.

And an addition to its ranks, touring specialist Emma Hawkes, who has worked on Lost Paradise, Groovin the Moo and Laneway, and recently served as production manager of Barnett’s U.S.-based touring festival Here And There.

Hatchie

Hawkes will have an important, but admittedly “really tricky job” working across Look Out Kid’s artists on their live expeditions, notes Nick O’Byrne, the firm’s owner/director and artist manager.

“As your artists get bigger,” O’Byrne tells TMN, “there’s an encyclopedia of things you need to know about how a big tour works. Especially when you get to theatres and sheds around the world.”

Most of Look Out Kid’s artists “are touring internationally. Most of them have crew,” adds O’Byrne. “Touring for us has, of course, always been a huge part of the business. Someone needs to be working full-time to be looking after them.” And that is where Hawkes slots in.

Monster opened for business in Perth, Western Australia in 2011, with Snell at the helm.

O’Byrne formed Look Out Kid in the same year, initially to guide the career of burgeoning superstar Courtney Barnett.

“We realised a long time ago that we have similar music tastes,” notes O’Byrne of his new teammates.

“They have a very similar ethos to us in terms of the way they like to run an artist’s career, the sort of partners they like to choose for their artists, and what they think is important, the way they prioritise elements of their business. We think our outlook is pretty unique, so when you meet someone that is quite similar you want to grab onto that.”

This “feels like a natural step,” he continues.

“I’m excited to exchange knowledge and celebrate in each other’s wins. We couldn’t be more enthusiastic about the year ahead,” during which a new Middle Kids record will drop, and the second annual edition of Here And There will roll out.

“We are so excited to work with managers and people that we respect so greatly and who share the same vision,” reads a statement from Monster.

“We see this collaboration as an amazing opportunity to learn from each other and create opportunities for our collective artists.”

Look Out Kid personnel:
Katie Besgrove – Owner/Director and General Manager
Nick O’Byrne – Owner/Director and Artist Manager
Emma Hawkes – Touring and Operations Manager
Jacob Snell – Director of Strategy and Artist Manager
Apple Bagios – Artist Manager
Eleanor Kay – Artist Manager
Ellen Kirk – Artist Manager

Look Out Kid roster:
Courtney Barnett
The Beths
Sarah Blasko
Cloud Nothings
Beverly Glenn-Copeland
Hatchie
Methyl Ethel
Middle Kids
Palehound
Rinse
Seeker Lover Keeper
Sweeping Promises
Faye Webster