Michael Gudinski is Billboard’s International Power Player of 2021
Michael Gudinski finally got his U.S. No. 1.
The late Mushroom Group Chairman and founder is tops on Billboard Magazine’s newly-published International Power Players List for 2021, in recognition of his “incomparable five-decade music career.”
Gudinski passed away March 2 at the age of 68, having built Mushroom Group from the floor up.
Today, the Melbourne-based business gathers two-dozen companies and competes in every conceivable area of the music industry, and beyond.
The Mushroom brand is considered the template for an independent music group, and Gudinski’s impact on Australia’s music industry is “immeasurable,” reads the Power Players feature.
The independent music titan “shaped the landscape of Australian music, and he also introduced the world’s biggest acts to Australian audiences through Frontier Touring,” a company which ranked as the third-largest promoter in the world in 2018, according to Billboard Boxscore, with gross ticket sales of US$245.1 million and over 2.7 million tickets sold to 440 reported shows.
Michael Gudinski
Billboard’s International Power Players list is a shout out to industry leaders with primary responsibility outside the United States.
Other Australasian executives who made the cut this year include George Ash, President, Universal Music Asia Pacific; Andrew Hajgato, Label manager, Australia, Concord Recorded Music; Denis Handlin, Chairman/CEO, Australia & New Zealand, Sony Music Entertainment; Dan Rosen, President, Warner Music Australasia; Ruuben van den Heuvel
Director, YouTube Music partnerships, Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, and label relations, Asia Pacific, YouTube; Simon Moor, Managing director, Kobalt Music, Asia Pacific; Kim Frankiewicz/ Executive vp worldwide A&R, Concord Music Publishing; Roger Field; President, Live Nation Asia Pacific; Brett Murrihy; Partner/head of Asia Pacific, music, WME; Harvey Lister, Chairman/CEO, Asia Pacific, ASM Global and Tim Worton Group director, Australia arenas, ASM Global.
Billboard recognizes industry leaders at over 100 companies who are driving the success of music business outside the U.S.https://t.co/YJPoLZ6QUo
— billboard (@billboard) April 26, 2021
Gudinski’s reign over Billboard’s International Power Players list coincides with Saturday’s (April 24) second edition of Music From the Homefront, which aired on the Nine Network and was spearheaded by MG during the pandemic.
On the night, many of the performing artists paid tribute to Gudinski, including Jimmy Barnes and The Rubens’ frontman Sam Margin, who wore a shirt emblazoned with the message “MG #1.”
The Gudinski spirit was strong during the telecast, with his son and Mushroom Group CEO Matt Gudinski joining for a live interview with host David Campbell and Kate backstage on roving-reporter duties.
Read the Billboard report in full here.
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.