Music Victoria’s Bonnie Dalton joins Creative Victoria

Bonnie Dalton is leaving Music Victoria for a new post with Creative Victoria.

Announced late Thursday, the veteran artist manager is named Senior Manager of Contemporary Music at Creative Victoria, following a secondment in a part-time industry liaison role.

Dalton, a recipient of the Lighthouse Award for management, joined Music Victoria in 2017 as Professional Conference Organiser, where she oversaw the Music Cities Conference with Music Victoria, Creative Victoria and Sound Diplomacy.

The powwow was resounding success, and Dalton was offered the role as General Manager of the Victorian Music Development Office (VMDO), which she took up in 2018.

Dalton has been “a force since she joined Music Victoria in 2017,” says Music Victoria’s outcoming CEO Patrick Donovan. “She threw her energy, verve and strategic thinking into the role and after hiring her gun team, they quickly put the VMDO on the map in a short space of time.”

The switch-up for Dalton, adds Donovan, is “fantastic news for the industry to have someone with such an intricate knowledge of the sector representing their interests in government during this critical time as the government prepares its Creative Industries strategy for the next four years.’’

Paddy Donovan

Earlier in her music industry career, Dalton worked with Little Red, The Vasco Era, Ali Barter and Oscar Dawson.

Also, she served as producer of the Melbourne St Jerome’s Laneway Festival for a decade, and as senior management at Falls Festival before that.

Bonnie’s recent achievements during her secondment to Creative Victoria have been critical for industry survival, say those close to her, and have included her work on the Victorian Live Music Venues Program ($9 million announced for venues so far), $1.2 million to Strategic Partnership Projects and also the launch of the Victorian Music Industry Recovery Program,  applications for which close at 5.00pm today.

Dalton completes her time with the VMDO today (22nd October) and starts in her new role at Creative Victoria on Monday.

In the meantime, VMDO Music Business Manager Katie Stewart will be acting as temporary VMDO General Manager from Monday until 31st December.

“From zero to hero. That’s what Bonnie has achieved with the VMDO during her relatively short tenure,” comments Music Victoria Chair Sally Howland. “She dreamt up ideas, conceptualised them, then delivered. Always seeking to add value. She has done that in spades for the Victorian Music industry. She is absolutely well placed to continue her fantastic work with Creative Victoria and we wish her all the best”

Music Victoria has yet to announce a successor to its founding CEO Donovan, who will leave the organization later this year after a decade in the role.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.