Millie Millgate appointed to Support Act’s board of directors

Millie Millgate, executive producer of music export body Sounds Australia, has been appointed as a director of Support Act.

She is representing the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), one of the organisation’s founding members. She replaces Leah Flanagan, who has stepped down after five years on the board.

At Sounds Australia, Millgate is responsible for the roll-out and representation of the Australian music industry at key international music events around the world. She has overseen the marketing, networking and showcasing activity at 80 international events in 69 cities, across 25 countries since 2009.

Millgate began her music career in 1995 as entertainment manager for Macquarie University Union in Sydney before holding executive positions with MusicNSW and the Association of Artist Managers (AAM). She was also an artist manager and booked iconic music venues The Hopetoun and The Annandale.

“We are delighted to welcome Millie to the board,” said Sally Howland, chair of Support Act.

“She has such an incredible breadth of experience in the music industry and has done an amazing job in promoting Australian music internationally through her work with Sounds Australia.

“She is a critical thinker with huge amounts of energy and a great personality, and we know she will be a great asset to the board.”

Millie, for her part, added, “Support Act has always been an important organisation. However I truly hadn’t realised just how much so, until the singer-songwriter for the first band I ever managed was diagnosed with cancer in 2014.

“The care, attention and support shown to Ash, his family and friends during that critical time and when he passed was astounding to witness and really cemented my understanding of Support Act’s special and invaluable role in our sector.

“I look forward to playing a small role in the coming years alongside fellow board members and the incredible management and staff, as now more than ever before, significant and meaningful support for our industry remains paramount.”

Howland also paid tribute to Flanagan, particularly in guiding the organisation to become more culturally aware of the needs of First Nations artists, crew and music workers, and in helping to shape key policy and strategic initiatives that led to the appointment of its first Indigenous community engagement/social worker in August.

The Support Act board also announced that Lynne Small has become the deputy chair. Small represents ARIA, another of Support Act’s founding member. She is currently Support Act’s company secretary.