WHO ARE WE?
MUSHROOM MUSIC PUBLISHING AN INTEGRAL COMPONENT OF MICHAEL GUDINSKI'S MUSHROOM GROUP OF COMPANIES
Michael Gudinski is widely recognised as one of the most important figures in the history of the Australian music industry. At the age of seven he showed early signs of entrepreneurial success selling parking spaces to race goers. Today he is known as Australia’s most successful music industry entrepreneur.
Michael entered the music business in 1972 with the creation of Mushroom Records, the largest independent record label in Australia, and Mushroom Music, which continues to be the largest Australian independent publishing company and number one publisher of Australian music. In 1998 Michael sold Mushroom Records to News Limited Group while retaining the Mushroom Group name, and ownership of all other entities within the Group, including Mushroom Music Publishing. He founded The Frontier Touring Company in 1979 which has been responsible for bringing some of the greatest music acts in the world to Australia. Frontier has been repeatedly ranked as Australia’s #1 promoter by both Billboard Boxscores and Pollstar’s World Top Promoters.
Other successful companies co-founded by Michael include: record label - Liberation Music; Australian Tour Merchandising; major booking agencies – Melbourne’s Premier Artists and Sydney’s The Harbour Agency; A Day On The Green and Mushroom Pictures. In 2000, Michael bought into MCM Entertainment - Australia‘s largest radio production and syndication company.
Michael has been the recipient of many awards throughout his successful 35 years in the industry. In June 2006, he was awarded a Member of The Order of Australia in recognition of his significant contribution to the Australian music industry. In the same month he was listed in the prestigious Australian business magazine, The Bulletin’s 100 Most Influential Australians of all time.
Mushroom Music Publishing is lead by our Managing Director Ian James, who has been with Mushroom for over 22 years. Ian recently celebrated thirty years as a specialist in the music industry. Unlike many of his contemporaries, that time has been spent in just two jobs. Firstly, as Licensing Manager at APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association) which expanded to running the Southern Region office, and from 1986 as Managing Director of Mushroom Music Publishing.
Ian also holds board positions with Australia’s two major music rights societies; Deputy Chairman of APRA (the music industry’s royalty collection agency for the performance and broadcasting royalties which includes concert promoters, arts festivals, dance companies and a wide range of general users from large clubs and hotels to jeans shops) and Chairman of AMCOS (The Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society. AMCOS collects royalties from record labels, television blanket licences, ringtones and the most important new revenue stream, digital downloads.) As Chairman of AMCOS he is closely involved in setting standards in the new digital era, which extends well beyond the simple act of downloading a song.
Always at the forefront of music’s changing landscape, Ian spends considerable time at international conferences such as Midem in Cannes, France and South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. In January 2008, Ian was awarded a Midem Masters. Each year, 10 music industry executives from across the globe receive a MIDEM Masters award. Each year’s list highlights top calibre executives from every sector of the music industry. These music business leaders are all regarded as industry leaders who have achieved incredible success. Ian’s intimate knowledge of the mechanisms of the publishing sector of our business is second to none in Australia.
Mushroom Music Publishing has a depth of staff amongst the major components of Music Publishing – A&R and Creative, Licensing, Administration and International. Our key staff members have a strong history within Mushroom’s structure, or extensive industry experience. In an industry where employees often change organisations within months, we have a number of key staff members who have worked with us for well over a decade. That stability and experience is reflected in the many long-term working relationships that we have with the local and international composers and catalogues that we are proud to represent.
WHAT DOES MUSHROOM MUSIC DO FOR A SONGWRITER?
To summarise, Mushroom Music acts as a complete support network for its writers and its services include all that is listed and more, depending on the specific needs of the writers and bands. It aims to generate income from any source available creating greater income for the writer. Having a publisher on board increases the opportunities for writers to pursue their craft as songwriters. Efficient administration then ensures that this income is properly collected and divided amongst the particular members.
ADMINISTRATION
COLLECTION OF INCOME
* Income from single and album sales
* Performance income
* Foreign income
* Licensing/synchronisation income
* Print income
* Miscellaneous income (i.e. lyric reprint)
* Cross checking income against charts/sales
REGISTRATION OF MATERIAL
* World-wide registration of songs written including correct writer splits
SUB-PUBLISHING WORLDWIDE
* Collecting income from all overseas releases
* Collecting performance income from film and television screenings and foreign tours
* Negotiation of full length sub-publishing deals for various territories
* Specialised, independent advice on each territory’s music market
OTHER FUNCTIONS
A&R
* A&R advice on demos, recording, touring and general representation of writers interests
* International tour support and networking contacts when travelling and working overseas
* Samplers created for overseas to generate international music industry interest
MUSIC LICENSING
* Our Licensing Department works specifically to increase the use of our music in film and television, advertising, corporate videos, etc (at the writers discretion)
* Unlike any other publisher we have licensing departments in Melbourne and Auckland.
* Samplers created for overseas and local use
CREATIVE
* Arranging co-writes, covers and our various writers workshops
* Pitching your songs to both local and overseas artists and labels
* Source of ideas and suggestions for ways to exploit the writers songs which are sympathetic to their needs
* Advice on where to/how to/what to demo
ADVANCES
* Potential financial assistance for touring, equipment, promotion and demos by way of recoupable advances
GENERAL SUPPORT
* An extra point of contact working in conjunction with the record company
