New Signings & Team-Ups: Sony handling Damien Leith; Massive join two booking agencies; New co-manager for Ash Grunwald

Sony handling Damien Leith’s next release

After releasing his last album Chapter 7 (Nov 2013) on Social Family Records, Damien Leith’s next is through Sony Music Entertainment Australia, which issued his first six long players.

Songs From Ireland, dropping March 13, was recorded in Sydney and Dublin, with collaborations with Sharon Corr, Sharon Shannon and via technology, the late Bing Crosby.

Drawing heavily on traditional Irish instruments, the record was inspired by The Parting Glass, a play he wrote for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Leith has sold half a million records in this country. His first album Where We Land from 2007 reached #43 in Ireland.

Warner Music Australia to release Chic’s first album in 20 years

Chic, who recently toured through Australia to rapturous reviews, are prepping their first album since 1992’s Chic-Ism. It is released here in June through Warner Music Australia as part of a deal struck in the US by Warner Bros with leader Nile Rodgers’ Land of the Good Groove label.

Rodgers has been at the forefront of the current disco crossover producing for Daft Punk, Duran Duran, Avicii, Disclosure and Sam Smith. The new album reportedly will feature updated material of recently found Chic demos, which Rodgers made in between working with David Bowie on his Let’s Dance album.

Massive join two booking agencies

Melbourne hard rock band Massive signed booking deals with Premier Artists for Australia and TKO for Europe/UK and North America, their management Third Verse Management announced. Massive will return to North America and Europe this year to continue to promote their debut album Full Throttle before returning to the studios to record their follow up.

iHeartRadio turns up volume with Soundwave

Australian Radio Network’s (ARN) iHeartRadio platform is launching a rock, metal and punk station to coincide with the Soundwave festival which kicks off on February 21. It will include music with its 2015 acts as Slipknot, Faith No More, Soundgarden and The Smashing Pumpkins, and interviews with Lindsay 'The Doctor' McDougall.

The app is available now for iOS and Android, and provides access to over 1500 radio stations based on music tastes and users’ moods. “With new customised stations being added all the time, there is always something different to discover,” says Geraint Davies COO and Head of iHeartRadio Australia.

Domain scores naming rights for Subiaco Oval

Perth’s Subiaco Oval will be Domain Stadium for the next (and its final) three years. Real estate agency Domain Group took over after negotiations to extend the four-year $3.5 million deal with Patersons Securities (it was renamed Patersons Stadium) failed reportedly over annual payment.

WOMADelaide releases full Planet Talks program

Planet Talks, WOMADelaide’s partnership with the University of South Australia, released its schedule of six panel discussion topics and workshops dealing with sustainability and the environment. Led by ABC science presenters Robyn Williams and Bernie Hobbs, it features 16 speakers including US oceanographer Sylvia Earle; author and seed democracy activist Vandana Shiva; and US environmental communicator Simran Sethi as well as Australia’s Andrew Denton, Rod Quantock and Hannah Gadsby.

Katy Perry devises mobile game

San Francisco based mobile games developer Glu Mobile is developing a new mobile game with Katy Perry. It will include Perry's voice and likeness and due out in late 2015 on Apple and Android mobile devices. The company was behind the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood' Developer game.

Bellingen Chamber Of Commerce, Mullum Music, launch new festival

The NSW mid-coast’s Bellingen Chamber Of Commerce and the team behind NSW’s Mullum Music Festival worked together to set up new family-friendly music festival. Bello Winter Music is held July 2 to 5.

The lineup is announced in March, and activities include a Youth Mentorship Program and street theatre. The festival director is Glenn Wright, who also spearheads Mullum Music.

Wright, a regular visitor to Bellingen, says he was attracted to its picturesque beauty, diverse community and thriving local music scene. The Chamber was attracted to how Mullum Music injects half a million dollars into the local economy, and how a wide demographic festival could be of great importance to local businesses. See www.bellowintermusic.com.

New co-manager for Ash Grunwald

Graham Ashton’s Footstomp Music has taken over co-management and Australian representation of Ash Grunwald alongside long-time manager Sarah Waller. He continues to be represented in North America by Christian Hillier of Zuma Management.

Grunwald, whose latest publicity shot sees him sans his famous dreadlocks, is currently on a 12-date run until February 20 of Canada (where he is booked through The Agency Group) and confirmed for three Australian festivals in March/April. He’s been working on an album with US producer Nick DiDia which features current collaborators, Wolfmother’s keyboardist Ian Perez and former Blue King Brown drummer Pete Wilkins.

How blues festival fans got in the rank

To help promote safety during last weekend’s Australia Blues Music Festival, Goulburn Mulwaree Council gave away two hundred $10 taxi vouchers. Sponsored by the Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) they were available at the festival’s Goulburn site and Goulburn Visitor’s Information Centre. In his sixth year of running the event, promoter Geoff Bell reported a greater amount of younger fans attended.

Unilever ads to feature more music

Unilever’s ads in Australia will feature more music in its ads. This follows the European parent signing with London-based specialist music agency Big Sync Music to search and license music for its worldwide campaigns. Unilever has 400 brands covering home & personal care, foods and ice cream.

Universal Music Australia to release La Priest

La Priest (pronounced ‘Lah Pree-st’) is a project from reclusive electronic musician Sam Dust. New single Oino is the first material to surface since the hiatus of his band Late Of The Pier in 2009. Dust spent most of his time since in Greenland, studying the effects of the Ivittuut region's electro-magnetic phenomena on recorded sound, and producing more than five secret uncredited projects – some which trickled out to public acclaim.

Screen Ability to smash stereotypes about disabilities

The NSW Department of Family and Community Services and Screen NSW teamed with Metro Screen are to come up with a new initiative aimed at smashing stereotypes about disabilities.

Screen Ability (metroscreen.cmail2.com) will fund four teams of writers, directors and producers to produce 2-3 minute films to be shared online and TV broadcast. With at least one or two members of each team to be living with a disability, the projects can include spoken word, hidden camera story or sporting event. Funding covers cash, concept and script advice, and help with equipment. It will be broadcast on TV and online. Applications close March 27, with more info from David Opitz on (02) 9356 1818 and d.opitz@metroscreen.org.au.

Dead City Ruins sign deal, moving to Europe

Melbourne hard rock band Dead City Ruins have signed a worldwide record deal with Germany’s Metalville Records. They plan to give their music a shot by moving to base themselves in Europe. They play a farewell show at the Cherry Bar on AC/DC Lane on Saturday Feb 28.

JOY FM to use SBS digital for Mardi Gras coverage

SBS Radio handed over one of its digital radio channels to Melbourne lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender station JOY 94.9 for its coverage of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras (Feb 20 to March 8).

JOY will also team with Sydney’s 2SER for the coverage of the parade which last year had 10,000 participants. JOY’s President, Jed Gilbert, hoped there would be more partnerships with SBS in the future, and added that getting a national platform was a long time dream for the station. “Let's face it, some of the people who most need JOY's empowering and uplifting programming are in regional and remote Australia, so we really want to connect with them and showcase the difference JOY can make in their lives.”

Aaron Ball to strike NZ record deal

US singer songwriter Aaron Ball who has toured Australia, is about to sign a record deal with New Zealand’s Peerless Records. The Idaho-hailed performer who still teaches at Blackfoot High School, recently reached #2 on the NZ singles charts with Second Gear.

Adelaide Festival taps on Blinc visuals

The Adelaide Festival of Arts (Fri 27 Feb – Sun 15 Mar) tapped on UK curators and designers Joel Cockrill and Craig Morrison – who originally created the North Wales light-based festival Blinc – to hold an exhibition featuring digital art installations each evening. These will include a 3D elephant created entirely in light, a disco-dancing space monkey, a sculpture and video hybrid incorporating a swarm of honey bees, ghostly monologues, strange water creatures, and a commemoration of the centenary of World War I and Gallipoli using one of the most powerful lasers available in Australia.

Deals update for Netflix

Ahead of its March entry into the Australian market, Netflix tapped GroupM agency MEC to create awareness of the brand and its content, and has held negotiations with Ten Network.

Netflix also commissioned Sydney-based film maker Baz Luhrmann create a 13-series music-driven drama Get Down through Sony Pictures on New York’s role in the 1970s birth of hip hop.

Charlie Parr signs with Red House

US singer songwriter Charlie Parr – the use of his track 1922 on a 2008 Vodafone mobile phone ad in Australia and his music on the 2010 Australian movie Red Hill led to a number of tours locally – signed with US indie Red House to release his 13th studio album Stumpjumper on April 28.

Animal Logic finds Japanese connection for Astro Boy

Sydney based animation and special effects company Animal Logic signed with Japan’s Tezuka Productions to make a movie about super-powered cartoon character Astro Boy. It will be filmed in Australia in 2016. The BAFTA-winning company, which worked on Warner Bros’ US$400 million grossing made The Lego Movie, is working on two spin-offs Lego Batman and Ninjago and eventually the proper sequel The Lego Movie 2.

New Hunter convention centre works with Scene Change

The newly opened $6 million Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley conference and event centre will use Australian company Scene Change to deliver its audio visual technology.

Redland City Council gets in cage with Fretfest

Queensland’s Redland City Council and The Cage Youth Foundation teamed with Al Buchan of events firm fRETfEST to help its young musicians. Through its Community Grants Program, fRETfEST will audition and work alongside new talent with workshops and mentoring. The long-running fRETfEST was a launching pad for names as Pete Murray, Shane Nicholson and Tom Busy.