Australasia News: Hoodoo Gurus Manager Michael Martin Dies; Festival Inquiry; Execs On The Move

AUSTRALIA

Hoodoo Gurus Manager Michael McMartin Dies At 79

Michael McMartin, soft-spoken manager of the Hoodoo Gurus for 41 years, died in Sydney March 31 after a battle with cancer. He was 79.

In 2015 he was awarded the prestigious Medal of the Order Of Australia (OAM) for “services to the performing arts, especially music” for his contribution to artist and management rights.

He was instrumental in the set up of the Music Managers Forum (MMF) and the Association of Artist Managers (AAM) in Australia, and served as chairman and then executive director of the International Music Managers’ Forum (IMMF) which represented managers from 24 countries.

McMartin was born on Vancouver Island in Canada March 12, 1945. He gained his BA in political science at Loyola College in Montreal.

After marrying an Australian, he moved to Sydney in 1971. Within a few years he and producer Charles Fisher set up Trafalgar Records, a recording and publishing independent which launched the careers of Radio Birdman, Robyn Archer, 1927 and Gyan.

In 1985 he set up Melody Management and signed the globally acclaimed Hoodoo Gurus.
Recognition awards included patron of AAM, lifetime member of the MMF, a lifetime achievement from the Australasian Performing Right Association in 2007, and inducted to the ARIA hall of fame two years later.

He was a board member of business charity Support Act and had 18 years experience in mediation and conflict management and a member of the mediation association LEADR.

When he resigned as manager of the Gurus in late February, band member Dave Faulkner added, “In one way or another, Michael has been by our side every step of the way throughout our career, and it goes without saying his role in our success has been pivotal.”

Govt. Launches Festival Inquiry, Hints At Survival Package

The Australian government launched an inquiry into challenges for music festivals and the wider live sector and hinted at a survival package.

It will be conducted by the standing committee on communications and the arts, with its chair Brian Mitchell asking submissions due April 30 cover “barriers to industry growth, including to export, the impact of current grant and support programs, and capacity building in the sector.”

In the wake of six festival axings this year, the announcement was made March 25, at the start of a tumultuous week.

Byron Bay’s Splendour In The Grass canceled due to “unexpected events,” the inaugural Pandemonium Rocks downsized, and the 46-year-old regional Castlemaine State Festival entered voluntary administration.

Wound up the same week were Sydney’s NYE In The Park, Mark Spillane’s Unbreakable Touring after action by tax authorities, and independent artist-run merchandise company Versus Merch.

The week ended with the start of the 35th Bluesfest in Byron Bay, March 28-April 1, to an estimated 80,000 and included federal arts minister Tony Burke among politician guests.

Bluesfest director Peter Noble told politicians that given the cancellations and general chaos in the live sector, a greater priority was for the government to come up with an emergency grant or loan to tide the sector in the meantime.

Noble told Pollstar festivals employed thousands of workers, injected millions of dollars into local and regional economies, and as such were deserving of help from a government which kept the interest rate at 4.3% to rein in spending.

Burke hinted at an assistance package announcement mid-April but declined to comment if it would include the industry’s call for an indemnity scheme to underwrite ticket sales.

Executive Moves: Orvis, Wilson & More

Pop singer-songwriter and “The Voice Australia” judge Delta Goodrem parted ways after 11 years with Tina Kennedy of Azoff Music Management.

In a joint statement, they said: “It is with shared pride, admiration and dedication that we have worked alongside each other, achieving so many professional goals, milestones and success.”

Goodrem, discovered in her teens by the late Glenn Wheatley, recently performed in the UK following radio airplay there, and split from Sony Music in August 2023 to set up her own ATLED Records.

Andrew Orvis quit as director of Queenscliff Music Festival after 10 years, during which time he booked 1,000 acts and drew 100,000 patrons.

Sarah Wilson, Live Nation Australasia’s director of tour marketing, shifted over to ticketing firm TodayTix Australia as marketing director.

NEW ZEALAND

Two Winter Stops From L.A.B

L.A.B will play two winter shows in its home country behind the electro-reggae act’s fourth chart-topping album L.A.B VI.

The shows, through management company Loop, are at Hamilton Globox Arena June 29 and Christchurch Town Hall July 6.

The NZ stops come off a 13-date run through the United States, including the California Roots Festival, and sellouts in Hawaii and Australia.