Mushroom Group Staff Awarded Special Keepsakes on MG Day

The spirit of Michael Gudinski lives on at Mushroom Group, where scores of long-serving staff were recently gifted a special piece of memorabilia.

On MG Day 2024, a celebration of the legacy of the Mushroom Group founder, 63 members of staff were awarded commemorative vinyl gold (for 10 years) and platinum plaques (20 years) for their service.

Collectively, say reps, those Mushroom Group teammates have worked at the independent music company for 1,193 years.

“A key to Mushroom’s long-term success has always been our loyal and dedicated people,” comments Matt Gudinski, CEO of Mushroom Group.

“Whether you’ve been with Mushroom for one year, or 20 years, the commitment, passion, and hard-working nature of entire team is something I’m incredibly grateful for.”

MG Day is the annual event for Mushroom Group staff, established to inspire the next generation, and feel the vibe of Gudinski senior, the indie music maverick who died March 2, 2021, aged 68.

At age 19, the Melbourne entrepreneur launched Mushroom Records and went on to sign and nurture a long list of iconic artists including Skyhooks, Split Enz, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly, Hunters & Collectors, Kylie Minogue, Archie Roach and Yothu Yindi.

Today, the business is said to be Australia and New Zealand’s largest independent music and entertainment collective, employing more than 260 people across six specialist divisions and upwards of two dozen companies.

Matt Gudinski

“For people to stay with the company for so long is a rare thing in this industry and is a testament to the company’s culture, shared values and working environment we create,” says Matt.

“Congratulations to everyone in the Mushroom family who were recognised at MG Day.”

Team Gudinski was celebrating another No. 1 this week, as Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story premiered Tuesday, April 9 on Network Seven, and helped the commercial, free-to-air broadcaster win the ratings.

Ego pulled in a national audience of 563,000 and a BVOD audience of 19,000 for Seven, according to data published by market research firm OzTam, with a national TV reach of 1.62 million.

The doco was part of a slate of special releases and events that rolled out in 2023 to commemorate Mushroom Group’s 50th anniversary, capped by an all-star concert at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.