SGC Media acquires TheMusic.com.au

TheMusic.com.au has a new owner.

Brisbane-based publisher and music company SGC Media has purchased the music and entertainment website from incumbent Handshake Media.

SGC Media is part pf the SGC Group which includes PR and digital marketing arms. The company has worked with the likes of Fire Fight Australia, BIGSOUND, Amazon Music, MJR TEG, Lauv, Sheppard and Gurrumul. In 2020, it acquired electronic and youth title Purple Sneakers and created country music website Countrytown.com.au.

The Music, meanwhile, was created from the amalgamation of Sydney’s Drum Media, Melbourne’s Inpress, Brisbane’s Time Off and Perth’s Drum Perth in 2013.

The print magazine has been placed on hold during the COVID-19 outbreak, and an announcement about the sale also noted the publication had been weathering the very same difficult conditions faced in recent years by the music industry.

SGC and Handshake Media will work together on the transition over the coming months, with new editorial and commercial appointments to be announced alongside existing staffer Daniel Cribb.

Andrew Mast and Tiana Speter will remain with Handshake Media’s ThePodcasts.com.au, which includes titles such as The Green Room, Rewind, That Sucks! and The Take with Willie Mason. 

SGC Media CEO Stephen Green noted the vast amount of change facing the sector

“The last two years have been a cultural and economic reckoning, and the music industry that emerges on the other side will be a different place. That place will need the stories of Australian musicians and events told and our titles will be leading the charge to pioneer content that connects people to musicians and their stories,” he said.

“We feel the responsibility of being the custodians of these iconic brands, and are pleased to secure their past, present and future.”

Handshake Media CEO Leigh Treweek said the sale should help the publication thrive for many years to come.

“When you have spent over 20 years of your lives building a business you hope that, when you do decide to your time is done, that those when take it on have the same ethos as you do,” Treweek said. “We are both so happy that The Music is going to Stephen and his team who share the same values to create strong independent quality content. Their ideas, passion and respect for the brands point to an exciting future. With their experience across the digital medium and their respect for journalism, with the support of the industry, we look forward to seeing the publication thrive for another 30 years and beyond.

“It’s no secret that the music industry is hurting right now, but as things return to a new normal next year, I urge the industry to support independent, Australian music media.”