2026 IMPACT International: Australia/New Zealand Next-Gen: Sasha Chifura

Sasha Chifura
Director & Artist Manager | AGE: 29
Foreign Echo / Mushroom Group

PLAYAS GON’ PLAY: “Play infinite games. It sounds simple but it’s genuinely changed how I think about most decisions. Optimise for the career, not the moment. Build the right relationships, not transactions.”

When Sasha Chifura launched artist management and development firm Foreign Echo in 2019, he had a guiding principle.

“You don’t need massive streaming numbers or a huge social following to build a real live business,” he notes. “If the live experience is strong and people genuinely connect with the culture around a project, touring can become the thing that drives everything else.”

The approach worked effectively enough that two years later he joined the Mushroom Group to expand quicker.
The best case study was management client Skin On Skin, a South Sudan-born Brisbane-based jacking techno-classic producer and DJ.

Following the underground hit “Multiply,” Chifura moved him from 100-capacity clubs to his first national headline tour, selling 10,000 tickets in three hours to 5,000- to 6,000-capacity venues.

Chifura’s 2026 highlight was Skin On Skin’s appearance at the Vivid festival in Sydney.

“Not having done a headline show in Sydney since 2021, where we sold around 1,500 tickets, and coming back five years later to comfortably sell out 5,500+ felt like a real statement.

“It’s one thing to grow as an artist. It’s another to scale a live show without saturating the market in the process.”

With different pathways, he also built SWIM, Tobiahs, Heartholder and Ecca Vandal up to sell-out tours.

Inspiration For Working In The Live Biz
“There wasn’t one specific show or moment. It was more of a slow realization. “I’ve always been drawn to the communities that form around artists.
“There’s something about live music specifically; the fact that people choose to physically show up and be in a room together around something they care about is inspiring.”

Up Next
“Continuing to develop our existing artists internationally and investing in the next generation of artists at the same time.

“A lot of our focus is on scaling touring across multiple territories and keeping venue progression moving. But I’m also increasingly interested in building cultural platforms that give artists a way to stay connected with audiences beyond traditional release and touring cycles. The artists I’m most excited about are the ones who give people a reason to participate year-round, not just when they have new music out. That’s something we’re putting a lot of energy into right now.”