Manager Rae Harvey “farewells” the music industry after split with The Living End

One of the best managers in Australia and a guiding light for female entrepreneurs, Rae Harvey set up her Melbourne company Crucial Music in 1995, first as a touring company, bringing Blink 182 and NOFX to Australia.

She then picked up The Living End for management, and by 2002 expanded the roster to include bands Gyroscope, Children Collide, ForthWrite, Hunting Grounds and rappers 360 and Pez.

She also set up Red Door Studios with producer Woody Annison, The Living End’s Chris Cheney and his wife Emma.

In the industry, Harvey earned a reputation for being tough and protective of her acts.

She preferred to call it “being passionate”.

At a Music NT conference in Darwin some years ago, she offered advice to aspiring acts on finding the right manager.

“Someone who genuinely loves and believes in the band, and who you feel you can really trust, is ideal.

“Experience is great, but enthusiasm and asking lots of questions to learn can be just as good.”

Harvey went through a sea change the day she hit a possum on a Victorian country road.

Its joey was still alive. So cradling it under her jumper, she called Wildlife Victoria, which in turn put her in touch with a local carer.

It led to her and partner Sayo Prentic setting up a wildlife shelter called Wild2Free, in Bega Valley, NSW.

Last year, in a profile in the BBC, Harvey quipped that former music industry associates called her the crazy kangaroo lady.

“Have I lost friends?” she mused in a characteristic manner. “Probably. Do I care? No.”

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This week Harvey took to Facebook and in a post titled ‘Farewell To The Music Industry’, revealed, “After 22-years of faithful service, my management agreement with The Living End was suddenly terminated.

“Having dedicated the best years of my life to a band I assumed were a part of my family forever, what a kick in the guts.

“It is at my insistence that I’m honest about this and there’s no wishy-washy statement about splitting amicably, that’s not my style. I was fired. There…. I said it.”