Mushroom Group
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| Entertainment group | |
| Industry | Music & Entertainment |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia |
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Key people
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Michael Gudinski Founder Matt Gudinski Executive Director |
| Products | Music & Entertainment |
| Website | http://mushroomgroup.com |
Mushroom Group is the largest independent music and entertainment company in Australia. It comprises almost two dozen companies. It has offices in Melbourne, Sydney, and Auckland with over 200 employees.
The Mushroom Group was founded in 1972 in Melbourne by a 20-year-old Michael Gudinski with the formation of Mushroom Records, followed shortly afterwards with the addition of Mushroom Music Publishing and Premier Artists booking agency in 1973.
In 1978, the Group expanded to include The Harbour Agency, a Sydney-based booking agency which was Mushroom’s first foray into the city. As of 2013, Mushroom has an office in Sydney with over 100 employees across all subsidiaries.
1979 saw the launch of Mushroom’s flagship touring company, The Frontier Touring Company. Its inaugural tours were UK Squeeze and The Police in 1980. It has now grown to become Australasia’s biggest tour promoter. Frontier celebrated their 500th tour in 2010 with Tom Jones.
In 1983, Mushroom launched Australian Touring Merchandise (ATM) which went on to become the largest music merchandise producer and distributor in the country. It merged with Love Police in 2010 to create Love Police ATM, which remains part of the Mushroom Group.
After a massively successful period in the mid-‘80s, especially through Mushroom Records act Kylie Minogue, Mushroom launched Mushroom Distribution Services which distributed their own product alongside a catalogue which included Flying Nun amongst others. In the same period, Michael Gudinski also created Michael Gudinski Management which signed Jimmy Barnes as its flagship artist.
1995 marked the beginning of Mushroom Records expansion into the UK with the opening of a London office. In the same year, Mushroom Pictures was introduced as the Group’s film arm. Productions include 3 hits Chopper and Wolf Creek and the highly acclaimed Great Australian Albums television series.
1998 was an especially significant year for the Group, when Mushroom Records celebrated its 25th anniversary with a record-breaking concert at Melbourne’s MCG. In the same year, the catalogue was bought by Warner Music for an undisclosed sum.
A year afterwards, Mushroom launched its first post-Mushroom Records label, Liberation Music. Since the sale of Mushroom Records, Liberation has become the flagship Mushroom label and the one Michael Gudinski has worked most closely with. Artists signed to the label include The Temper Trap, Dan Sultan, Adalita and Vance Joy.
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