Omissions from the AMID Power 50

A list like the AMID Power 50 is always going to breed controversy, especially considering the sensitive nature of ranking the players in such an ever-changing industry. Omissions will be made, and rankings will be questioned. Even the Power 50’s number one, Michael Gudinski, has a few qualms about the list, most notably regarding the absence of many key females who are undoubtedly power players in the Australian music industry.

In the spirit of promoting conversation, TMN offers up fifty people in the music industry that certainly would not have been out of place on the AMID Power 50 list, in no particular order.

Marcus Seal. Marketing & Communications, Live Nation Australia & New Zealand.
The Live Nation juggernaut continues its foray into local territory, with Seal controlling the marketing side.

Tom Misner – SAE, 301 Sydney and 301 Byron
Misner’s business savvy is why 301 Sydney is considered the flagship studio(s) in the country by many producers and artists.

Tony Midolo -National Radio Promotions Manager, WMA
Warner have the highest Top 40 radio market share of the first six months of the year, even though they have a smaller catalogue than UMA and Sony.

Paul Mulholland – CEO, Jands
Founded 42 years ago, this privately owned Australian company manufactures and distributes audio, lighting and staging, as well as employing over 120 people across Australia. Elton John even crashed their 1986 Xmas party.

Rachel Newman – iTunes Australia & New Zealand Manager, Label Relations and Music Programming at Apple Inc.
“Rachel Newman runs iTunes, I mean if she’s not a top player I don’t know who is.” – Michael Gudinski

Paul Field– The Wiggles manager.
At the helm of one of the most powerful and successful groups in Australian music history, Paul Field is a power player. You never forget your first love, moreso when they wore matching skivvies.

Katrina Southon – Senior VP, Managing Director of MTV Networks Australia and New Zealand
Although the focus has shifted away from pure music content in recent years, MTV still have impressive pull in Australia.

Rhys Holleran – Chief Executive Officer of Southern Cross Media Group.
CEO of the Southern Cross Media Group since late 2009, Holleran has been in the radio game for close to 25 years.

Andrew McManus – Concert Promoter, founder of McManus Entertainment 
Lenny Kravitz, Joe Jackson, Def Leopard, Motley Crue, Chris Isaak, Guns ’n’ Roses and Raggamuffin Festival are a few tours that McManus has been behind.

Lorne Padman – Vicious
Vicious had a massive year at radio in 2011 and are backing it up with more of the same. One of Australia’s most dominant independent labels.

Brian Taranto – Managing Director of Love Police
Heading up the leading merchandise company in the country, BT also acts as a promoter, with the massive Black Keys tour later this year being Love Police’s current focus.

Wally De Backer
Somebody That I Used To Know is the highest selling single in America so far this year, with over 5.5. million copies sold by July 1. (Soundscan) No one man should have all that power!

Michael Harrison – General Manager at Frontier Touring Company
Harrison rose through the ranks at the affiliated Harbour Agency to helm Frontier. As Gudinski told us, Mushroom Group’s success is due to the people Gudinski surrounds himself with.

Mathew Eggleston – 2Day FM Music Director and Network Music Director for the Today Network.
Abela will pass the baton to Eggleston, making ‘Eggo’ one of the most influential MDs in the country.

Nadya Balzarolo – General Manager Promotions, Universal Music
Balzarolo controls the promotion of Universal’s artists, a job that is going to hold even more weight with their takeover of EMI.

Olivia Belvedere – Program Director Radar Radio
It’s hard to break a song at commercial radio in the current climate, making Radar’s programming across SCA one of the only ways into metropolitan scheduling.

Joan Warner – Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Radio Australia
Commercial Radio Australia represents 99% of all commercial radio broadcasters in the country, making Warner one of the industry’s leading figures.

Toni Pipicelli/ Kristine Pymont – Group Music Director – Nova Network – DMG Radio
When you control the network between Triple J and Today, you have the power to make (or neglect) hit songs.

Craig Treweek- Managing Director at Street Press Australia
A solid network of music titles around the country brought together by a well executed website, and far too modest to include himself in his own list.

Phil Stevens – Founder, Jarrah Records, manages Little Birdy, JBT, Waifs.
Stevens has been the driving force behind John Butler becoming the booming business that he is.

Matt Emsell – Director Wonder Management/Twenty Five Music
I don’t think Mercury Australia could ask for much more than Emsell’s charges Matt Corby and Karise Eden. Between them, they’ve sold over 350,000 records.

Kathy McCabe – Music Editor, The Daily Telegraph
With close to a million readers, it’s no wonder McCabe’s take on concerts and records is sought after from labels and managers.

Shaun James- Manager Director, XYZ Networks
Music TV is obviously a powerful tool, often prompting increased radio support and sales. XYZ not only has [V], [V] Hits and Max – it also includes one of the biggest influences in Australia’s country music landscape, CMC.

Dave Ruby Howe – Music Director, Triple J Unearthed
Unearthed is often unfairly regarded as a monopoly, to which Chris Scaddan retorted “If people are calling it a monopoly, it’s because it’s been successful.” Exactly.

John O’Donnell – Artist Manager, Journalist
Aside from penning the definitive book of the top Australian albums, O’Donnell co-manages Cold Chisel with John Watson.

Dan Zilber – FBi Music Director
Responsible for breaking some of Australia’s most successful bands, Sydney’s FBi even gave Wolfmother their first spin.

Stephen Wade/Rob G- Select Music
“Select Music opened its doors in 2005 with the dream of being a multifunctional music company covering all facets of the industry.” Seven years on, they have definitely achieved this.

Marcus Teague – Deputy Editor of The Vine
Teague heads up the editorial team at The Vine, which is fast becoming one of the most powerful online entertainment portals.

Brett Cottle – CEO APRA/AMCOS
Cottle has been the Chief Executive of APRA since 1990 and of AMCOS since the two merged. Musicians cannot overstate the importance of these societies!

Jerome Borazio – Laneway Festival/Bar Baron of Melbourne
Laneway Festival has grown in leaps and bounds since its 2004 beginnings in an actual laneway. And, yup, Borazio is the ‘St. Jerome’ in the name.

Stephen Halpin and Rod Little – Groovin The Moo promoters
Groovin’ The Moo secures more and more impressive acts every year, making it no surprise they have the regional festivals market sown up.

Bill Riner/Brandon Stewart – ABC Local Radio Network Music Programmers
With a unique playlist, a placement on ABC Local Radio can be the difference between selling and not selling records.

Michael Parisi – Artist manager
As Managing Director of Michael Parisi Management and with a history as Senior VP of Warner Music Australia, Parisi has a realistic and careful approach in guiding artists’ careers.

Duncan Campbell – Group Content Director of ARN
Having predicted many radio-programming trends in his two years with the Australian Radio Network, Campbell is picked to be the leader who moves the company in front of competitors Austereo and Nova.

Craig Bruce – Group Content Director, Southern Cross Austereo
Craig Bruce is at the helm of the broadcast media industry as a part of a company who produce more hours of live content a day than any other broadcast media.

Tim Kelly- General Manager, Marketing at Universal Music Group
From five years as Director Marketing with Sony Music Entertainment to seven years with Universal, Tim Kelly’s experience in taking part in the growth of the industry puts him at the centre of future change.

Gavin Parry – Executive Vice President Digital and Business Development, Asia and ANZ at Sony Music Entertainment
Gavin Parry is responsible for developing new and existing digital music services. He also works extensively with brands and other industries to develop new music related opportunities.

Emmanuel Candi – GM, human resources and business strategy, SME
Gaining his musical roots as Executive Director of ARIA, Emmanuel Candi’s senior executive role with Sony Music Entertainment allows him to guide the Australian recording industry.

Nicole Hart – Revolutions Per Minute –
Working closely with MCM Media, Live Nation, ARIA, and a handful of Australian artists, Nicole Hart is at the forefront of the music industry.

Nathan McClay- Founder & Managing Director at Future Classic
This Sydney-based record label, touring agency and music publishing company just keeps getting more powerful. A great example of the new music industry model.

Joe Segreto – Homebake promoter, IMC
The man behind Homebake, Segreto also works closely with a number of the country’s top acts, through his company IMC.

David Chitty- Managing Director & Promoter, Sunset Events
The WA company operate out of a tiny shed in Fremantle, but think big: Southbound, the West Coast Blues ’n’ Roots Festival and One Movement For Music Perth were all events Chitty and co. successfully steered.

Simon Crean – Minister for the Arts
Minister for the Arts!

Tim McGee – CEO at Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound Australia was started in 1999 by McGee, and has been the leading dance label in the country ever since.

Kate Dundas- Director of Radio, ABC.
Dundas was appointed Director of Radio in 2009, a fairly vital role considering the pull ABC’s many radio stations have in the industry.

Christie Eliezer– Senior Industry Correspondent, The Music Network
Eliezer is a stalwart of the music industry, currently writing the weekly Industrial Strength column for TMN. Eliezer has written for Billboard,Juke, Rolling Stone Australia, NME, New York Post, GQ and the list goes on…

Lars Brandle – Senior Writer with The Music Network, and Australian Correspondent for Billboard Magazine.
Being the Australian correspondent for Billboard, and the Senior Writer for TMN, means that Brandle wrote the word ‘Gotye’ more than any other journalist last year.