Michael Chugg: The Ultimate Australian Impresario – Part One

Been in the business more than two days? Then you'll know the name Michael Chugg. And that doesn't just apply to Australia. He's known the world over, and in his 50th year of business tells TMN how a recent crop of signings and deals is only going to cement that reputation further. Take a bow, Chuggi.

When Michael Chugg is asked how he’s feeling, he responds with an “s” word. Though it’s not one of those casual curses that Chuggi blurts in the same way the rest of us breathe. The 67-years-old admits he’s feeling “satisfied.” And why not. The Australian impresario has every reason to sit happy on what’s actually been a banner year. Chugg Music, which includes recording and artist management activities, is up and away. Three of Chugg’s signings –LimeCordiale, The Griswolds and Sheppard – are making the right noises on the other side of the world, and the latter is doing particularly brisk business closer to home. His company has taken on Megan Washington for management; her new album “There There” opened at No. 5 on the ARIA chart in September. As usual, Chugg’s touring arm has had its share of the big tours in 2014, from Bob Dylan to Keith Urban and Robbie Williams. All of this in his 50th year of business. “Things have been going really well.” He pauses and reconsiders. Actually, he admits, “things have been pretty amazing the last year or so.”

Chugg’s on the phone from his hotel in New York. He’d just caught Robbie Williams’ opening date in Perth (he also plans to catch the closing shows in Sydney in late September), then jetted Stateside to spend time with Sheppard. His protégés were nearing the end of a seven-week run which included a tour of the UK and Europe, and shows with promo dates in the United States. Sheppard are on the verge of joining Australia’s golden crop of artists. The melodic six-piece from Brisbane has enjoyed No. 1 songs Down Under, andthey were unlucky to miss the top spot when their debut album “Bombs Away” dropped in July. The action overseas is seriously heating up. Scooter Braun, the US artist manager behind Usher and Justin Bieber, is a big believer in Sheppard. He’s taken a piece of Sheppard’s management in America, and he’s involved with the record side of things through Republic and his own label School Boy, and they’re booked to play the June 2015 Firefly Music Festival in the US, an event The Griswolds played this year.

Chugg Entertainment CEO Matthew Lazarus-Hall spent nine months in LA establishing networks for Chugg Music (he’s since returned to Australia), and international industry personnel are brought on as and when they’re needed. Chugg is the patriarch to his ever-expanding company and its artists. “Chuggi is like a father to us,” Lime Cordiale frontman Oliver Leimbach explains. “He’ll ring to check up on us at the most awkward of times to make sure we’re OK. it doesn’t matter if it’s 3am on the opposite side of the world, Chuggi will call and make sure we’re not getting up to too much mischief.”

Few in the business need a reminder of Chugg’s passion for Australian music. If he were a radio station, it would play a steady stream of homegrown music and be turned up 11. Though he won’t take the credit, not all of it anyway, Chugg is thrilled with the post-Gotye international breakthrough Aussie artists. The likes of Sia, Five Seconds of Summer, Iggy Azalea, Vance Joy and Flume have crashed through the barriers, and homegrown artists have been regulars at or near the top of the ARIA sales charts.

“Wherever we go we keep hearing Australian music. Sia has been building beautifully for a couple of years and just keeps getting bigger and bigger. 5SOS are absolutely monstrous. We’re starting to hear the Preatures on the radio now. You got to France and you hear Chet Faker on the radio. This morning I was out walking and I heard Vance Joy chatting on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Alt Nation. People tell me the Hilltop Hoods were building a big vibe when they were in New York. It’s rewardingto see mainstream radio in Australia picking up bands like Sheppard. People are accepting Australian music as part of the world fabric now. It’s not one hit, one offs. It’s starting to come. It’s going to continue along those lines.”

The pugnacious Tasmanian admits the touring biz is dicey right now, and some of the big names heading to Australia in the coming,warmer months aren’t so hot at the box office. “Some of these acts are still getting far too much money. And the ticket prices are out of control. It’s very up and down and patchy, but it’s patchy all over the world, not just Australia.”

TMN will publish the final part of this article, tomorrow.This article is taken from the November issue of the Australian Music Business Review.If you'd like a hardcopy of themagazine pleasecontact us.