Australasia News: Mushroom Group’s New Agency; Coldplay’s $8M Exclusive; NZ: Christchurch Stadium Naming

AUSTRALIA

Mushroom Expands With New Agency

The Mushroom Group launched a new talent management and partnership agency. It has two dozen specialist companies across six divisions.

Mushroom Connect, set up by Mushroom Group chief executive Matt Gudinski and talent manager Kirsty Kassabis, focuses on influencer talent – including musicians, comedians, TV names and bloggers – for link-ups with brands.

Musicians include DMA’S, Peking Duk and Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers, singer/songwriter Vera Blue, and First Nations hip-hop group 3%.

Listed in its portfolio partnerships are Disney, Google, Netflix, Maybelline, Kathmandu, Jetstar, Paramount, Amazon, McDonald’s and Swisse.

Mushroom Connect director Kassabis, who will lead the division, said: “Traditional marketing methods alone don’t really cut it anymore. Audiences are savvier and more diverse than ever before. This is why talent-led digital content has become a real game changer.”

Gudinski revealed Connect will tap into Mushroom’s events, creative studio production, management and touring, giving “our specialist team unparalleled access across the music, events, and entertainment industries to bring brand ideas to life and deliver world-class partnerships with top influencer talent.”

Coldplay Paid $8M For State-Sponsored Shows

It seems the Western Australia government paid Live Nation $8 million (US$5.42 million)) to get Coldplay for two exclusive shows in November 2023 at Perth’s 60,000-seat Optus Stadium.

Hailed as a “major tourism coup” by the government, the fee was kept confidential for eight months until revealed by The Guardian newspaper from leaked official documents.
Coldplay diverted from the southeast Asia leg of its “Music of The Spheres World Tour” with the five hour flight from Singapore.

With 40% of the audience from interstate or abroad staying further than four days due to tourism packages, the benefit to the state exceeded the original A$68 million ($46.1 million) forecast. They created 495 full-time equivalent jobs in WA.

A Tourism Council WA survey two weeks after the shows showed 67% of respondents agreed with the investment. The government is thought to have made a similar pitch for Taylor Swift this year but a tight schedule saw the singer restricted to Melbourne and Sydney.

Her three shows in Melbourne reportedly had an economic boost of A$174 million ($117.9 million), and four in Sydney created A$113 million ($76.6 million), from hospitality, retail, travel and dining.

Tourism investment in exclusive shows is successful. Visit Victoria’s partnership with Frontier Touring for a Billy Joel one-off at the Melbourne Cricket Ground drew 76,300 and a A$30 million ($20.3 million) boost for the state.

Executive Moves

Former Frontier Touring and Melbourne & Olympic Parks entertainment precinct staffer Psyche Payne became CEO at ALWAYS LIVE, a partnership between Frontier and the Victorian state government to bring acts to the state.

Rachel Healy begins as CEO of Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) in Brisbane Dec. 11, as it celebrates its 40th anniversary and opening of its new (and fifth) 1,500-seat theatre. She held senior roles at Sydney Opera House, and the Adelaide and Vivid festivals.

NEW ZEALAND

Christchurch Stadium Gets Named

Christchurch’s still-under-construction Te Kaha Stadium will open for concerts, sports and events in 2026 as One New Zealand Stadium.

The deal with the telco One New Zealand is for 10 years. The roofed venue with 36,000 seats, in the center of the city, will be managed by Christchurch City Council’s venue and event division Venues Ōtautahi.

Its CEO Caroline Harvie-Teare said: “This partnership is a testament to our shared commitment to creating a venue reflecting the best of our community.”

Terry Davies Resigns Dual Positions

Terry Davies, dual chief executive of Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium and Dunedin Venues in New Zealand, resigned after 10 years.

He was based in Australia to better secure music and sports events. The stadium made a NZ$53 million ($32.4 million) economic boost last year, with P!NK’s March 2024 date a $16.6 million ($10.1 million) lift after 72% of her 36,000 crowd came from outside the city.