News
REGISTRATION REMINDER FOR SONGWRITERS – 26TH ANNUAL USA SONGWRITING COMPETITION 0
Enrolment deadline for the 26th Annual USA Songwriting Competition is fast approaching (May 28th). Songwriters and Composers vie for a chance to win a top prize of $50,000 worth of cash and merchandise such as music gear. Winning songs will be receiving radio airplay. Songwriters can enter in 15 different song categories such as: Pop, Rock/Alt, Folk, R&B, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Instrumental, etc.
USA Songwriting Competition is sponsored by: Audio-Tecnica, PreSonus, GHS Strings, New Music Weekly, Loggins Promotion, Airplay Access, Acoustic Guitar magazine, Sonoma Wire Works, Sound Theory, FL Studio, Discmakers, School of Rock, Sound Radix, Singer Express, Songcraft, Klevgr, OekSound, Pearl Snap Studios, Berklee College of Music, etc.
CURRENT WINNERS
Andrew Jannakos (see picture above) won the top award (Overall Grand Prize) as well as Best Country Song award at the 25th Annual USA Songwriting Competition. Singer-songwriter Andrew Jannakos teamed up with co-writer Michael O’Neal Smith.
“I was so shocked that my song got selected winner of the top prize in the USA Songwriting competition, I hope I can continue to make music that you all enjoy. It’s amazing because I’ve also recently been signed to Sony Music Nashville Records” said Andrew Jannakos.
Past winners have gotten recording contracts, getting their songs on film, TV as well as getting cuts with major artists. Our 2018 winner has been receiving airplay for his winning song. The 2020, 2019 and 2018 top winners have been receiving radio air play for their winning songs. A 2020 finalist won a Grammy award in the recent 2021 Grammy Awards. The 2017 Top winner has her song recorded by Ariana Grande and hit #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts. The 2013 Top winner hit #1 on the Billboard Charts and went Double Platinum, selling over 2 million copies! The 2007 winner hit Top 10 on the Billboard charts with his winning song. The 2005 Winner of the Country category had his winning song cut by Country Superstar Faith Hill. The 2005 winner of the Pop category was signed by Interscope Records. Our 2008 winner appeared on David Letterman TV show and got signed to a record label!
*DEADLINE: Enter by May 28th or earlier. Hurry, enter online here:
- Dom DiSisto
BLUES ON BROADBEACH GETS GO AHEAD WHILE BLUESFEST COUNTS COSTS OF LOSS 0
In a crucial step forward for the return of multi-award-winning Blues on Broadbeach in 2021, the festival’s COVID Safe Plan has been approved! Great news to all involved. However Byron Bay’s Bluesfest which was cancelled for the second year in a row is still counting the cost and has just released an impact list.
Featuring a wonderful line-up including Grammy Award-winning Aussie rock legends Wolfmother, critically acclaimed Christine Anu, Blues icon C.W. Stoneking and Kiwi roots reggae outfit The Black Seeds, Blues on Broadbeach 2021 will see a re-imagined and innovative COVID safe festival design come to life in Broadbeach on May 20-23.
Festival Director Mark Duckworth can’t wait for the return of live music to the Gold Coast. “It was fantastic news for the Blues on Broadbeach’s COVID Safe Plan to be given the tick of approval, as the planning for 2021 has been a totally new experience for us.”
“It is a credit to the whole team. We had so much support from the fans and artists to keep at it. We’re so excited to share it with you. I know it’s going to be a special event.”
With the support of the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative, the event will return safely for attendees and artists, featuring a combination of Park Stages, Dine & Watch precincts and partnered venues. The Park Stages will be enclosed and daily check in and wrist banding will be required prior to entry. Park Stages will have limited seating available, food and licensed bar areas, and a dedicated entry and exit.
The Dine & Watch precincts will see restaurants and bars extending out onto Surf Parade and Oracle Boulevard to ramp up the Blues on Broadbeach celebrations. COVID check-in and requirements will be specific to each venue’s COVID plan.
Visit the Blues on Broadbeach website for more information on the Blues on Broadbeach COVID Safe Plan.
Blues on Broadbeach May 20-23. https://bluesonbroadbeach.com/
Meanwhile, Peter Noble’s Byron Bay Bluesfest has released an impact list, outlining the loss in numbers after it was cancelled by NSW Health due to a single Covid case a day before the festival was due to open:
BUILDING THE SITE
2,500 workers, 140+ trucks and flatbeds, 80+ semi-trailers, 72 lighting towers, 42 generators…
CHAIRS
19,500 chairs were trucked in and laid out… then re-packed and trucked out.
LANTERNS
500 lanterns & 10km of wiring… all strung by hand. They were stringing the very last lantern when told Bluesfest had been closed down.
WASTE
With already 500+ campers checked in and on-site, as well as over 2000+ team workers… our waste management was already in full swing! Our team sift through every piece – sorting between food, recycling and landfill. We are proud of the legends that are in our waste team… and the amazing job they do sorting through every bin.
So, next time you see a choice of bins… help the hidden legends out – choose the right bin and make their job so much easier.
STALLHOLDERS
79 stallholders were loaded in and ready to serve 5 days worth of festival-goers! Be sure to follow, like and share all our amazing Bluesfest 2021 stallholders’ pages www.bluesfest.com.au/stalls-vendors
CATERING
Our back of house caterers were armed and ready (over $30K worth of food prepped)… feeding the hundreds of site workers each day (with about 4000+ meals already served). But, despite the cancellation and their early kitchen close-down, no food went to waste. Food was still prepared for our site workers over the weekend while the site was loaded out… and ALL the excess food was donated to charities.
MEDIA
200+ media personnel, including 40+ photographers from around the country, representing over 100 different local or national media outlets, radio stations, newspapers or TV programs, were ready to capture the action, talk to the Bluesfest artists and enjoy the five days of the festival.
Australian Musician had photographer Jason Rosewarne in Byron ready to roll too and he had to simply turn around a day later and come home. And poor old Rhythms magazine printed thousands of copies of a Bluesfest special edition that had been shipped to the venue. You can do them a favour by subscribing at http://subscribe.rhythms.com.au/
Bluesfest organisers have asked that you hold onto your tickets for now and await news on rescheduled dates.
- Dom DiSisto
MATT GUDINSKI ASSUMES ROLE OF CEO MUSHROOM GROUP 0
Mushroom Group today announced that Matt Gudinski will assume the role of CEO of the Mushroom Group, effective immediately.
Matt moves into the role following the sudden passing of his father, Michael Gudinski, on March 2 this year. Matt most recently held the role of Executive Director, Mushroom Group from 2013. In the eight years following, Matt and Michael worked side by side at the helm of Australia’s most powerful independent entertainment group, overseeing over 250 employees and two dozen companies.
Formed in 1972, the Mushroom Group encompasses touring and events, record labels and artist services, publishing, merchandising, booking agencies, film and television production, talent management, venues, creative services and a brand agency.
In 2013 Matt spearheaded a public relaunch of the Group where he was named as Michael’s successor.
Matt Gudinski said “This isn’t a role that I expected to assume yet, but I am determined to honour the great legacy my father left. Mushroom Group is in its strongest position ever and as we fast approach our 50th year I know that our incredibly talented Mushroom family will help me deliver the vision Dad and I had for the next 50 years of our business.”
While Matt was literally born into the business, he officially joined Mushroom Group in 2003 at age 17. Since then, he has been hands on with all aspects of the Group, helping grow its label and touring divisions while overseeing change in music publishing and artist management amongst many other things, driving Mushroom’s evolution, diversification and vision to be a global leader.
- Dom DiSisto
BLUESFEST IS CANCELLED FOR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW 0
After consultations with NSW Health and the NSW Minister for Health, Brad Hazzard, sadly they have arrived at the decision that it is in the interests of the safety of everyone the festival be cancelled over the Easter period and re-scheduled to a later date.
The Minister for Health has signed a health order cancelling Bluesfest. Bluesfest was due to open the gates on Thursday April 1st and close on Monday April 5th, 2021. Australian Musician’s team was already in town, ready to cover the first day of the festival.
Bluesfest was scheduled to return after being cancelled in 2020 by a public health order and had worked diligently to present the event in 2021. We are heartbroken that COVID-19 has spread into our local community.
Organisers are getting the message out as quickly as possible so that those traveling to the event can make alternate arrangements.
It’s understandable that many of the artists, crew, stallholders and music fans have been angered by the NSW Government’s decision to shutdown Bluesfest the day before it was due to open. A large amount of people had already made the trek to Byron Bay. Incredibly it only took two unknowingly infected people to attend a hens party in the area to bring a huge music event to its knees. Was the decision to shutdown too hasty? Could the decision have waited another day? These are some of the questions currently being asked. In the end public health was deemed more important than commercial considerations and public inconvenience.
As a result, it’s not only another kick in the guts to the Bluesfest organisers and all associated with the event but it’s a hit to the confidence of everyone in the music business. Will punters now be reluctant to a buy a ticket to any music festival in the foreseeable future? Will event organisers want to present a music festival when it’s near impossible to get insurance cover in a pandemic.
Without the security of JobKeeper assistance or any other government support that the industry has been calling for, festivals of all sizes are taking large gambles to operate in such an uncertain environment.
“We were devastated to hear of another festival, Bluesfest in Byron Bay, cancelling due to necessary health precautions from the latest COVID-19 outbreak. While the health risks are too great, the financial burden may become just as impossible for some festival operators.” said Julia Robinson, General Manager of the Australian Festival Association.
In a recent independent report from Ernst & Young commissioned by the Live Entertainment Industry Forum, ticketed Festival output and employment fell by 86% in 2020 compared with the previous year.
“If we had been operating at higher capacities like the Sporting Industry by now, blows like this would be more manageable and less catastrophic for the entire ecosystem.
We have been calling for a Business Interruption Fund (essentially an insurance fund for affected creative businesses to access in case of emergency) for situations exactly like this. We also need to get our touring routes back up and running between states and internationally. We welcome the additional RISE funding but if that is the targeted industry support that we are getting, we need it flowing now before there’s no industry left to support.”
Bluesfest was to have been the first major festival to occur in Australia and possibly the world since the summer of 2019/20. It had a capacity of 16,500 people daily over its five days, with three performance stages, plus camping – operating at approximately 50 percent of normal capacity and production.
The Bluesfest team has worked day and night for a year to achieve the approved COVID-19 Safety Plan – the first of its kind in the music industry and have been told by the NSW Health that it exceeded other major sporting events in its depth and ability to protect the public.
Peter Noble, Bluesfest Director says “This is one of the most difficult statements I have ever had to make. We really wanted to be at the forefront of the return of live music at Pre-COVID-19 level.
We feel deeply for everybody affected, the fans, the artists, and the hard-working Bluesfest team. But in the end, the health of our community must come first.
We will be having discussions regarding Bluesfest postponement and will update everybody soon. However, this weekend we will be packing down the event that was cancelled within 24 hours of gates due to open.
Please do not come to the festival site.
To all ticket buyers and music fans, we are hoping that you will support the festival and hold tickets to the rescheduled event.
All patrons will be contacted by Moshtix directly once we have an update on how to proceed.
- Dom DiSisto
MICHAEL GUDINSKI FAREWELLED IN GRAND STYLE AT STATE MEMORIAL 0
The Australian Music Association and Australian Musician Magazine were represented at the State Memorial for the late Michael Gudinski AM on Wednesday night, in what was a most fitting tribute to a man that has meant so much to the music and culture of Australia. He was remembered as an icon, a fearless entrepreneur, a visionary and someone who loved the artists that he nurtured, promoted and took chances on. Mostly he was remembered as a Dad by his children Matt and Kate, a loyal family man by all who spoke and a father-figure to Ed Sheeran who struggled to ride the emotional rollercoaster and sing a song he had especially written since Michael’s passing.
The quality of artist and performance was testament to a life’s work well done. Jimmy Barnes, Kylie Minogue, Paul Kelly, Mark Seymour and many others. So many people expressed their indebtedness to him for their careers, prosperity and well-being. Michael’s influence was felt far and wide as shown by the extensive list of international stars such as Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, Elton John, Billy Joel, Dave Grohl, Shirley Manson, Josh Homme and more, who lined up to express both their gratitude and condolences via video.
A lot of the guests referred to the fact that Michael loved musicians in the Mushroom family so much and worked tirelessly for them. He made people strive to be better and believe in themselves.
The Rabbi who spoke at the end, said if all the thousands who were here tonight, went and helped one other person to be better, we would honour the man ten-thousand fold, a man that himself had helped thousands along the way.
Vale Michel Gudinski. Irreplaceable in the music industry – there will never be another like him.
Photos courtesy: Mushroom Group
- Dom DiSisto
CHEAP TRICK’S RICK NIELSEN TALKS NEW ALBUM AND AUSTRALIAN TOUR 0
Much-loved and respected American rockers Cheap Trick will soon be on their way to Australia to headline the Under The Southern Stars lineup alongside Stone Temple Pilots, Bush, Rose Tattoo, and Electric Mary, beginning on April 30 in Wollongong. They also have a new album ‘In Another World’ coming out on April 9 (while they’ll be in the air en route to Australia).
Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips caught up with Cheap Trick’s guitar legend Rick Nielsen in a zoom interview to discuss the upcoming 2021 Under The Southern Stars Australian tour, the new ‘In Another World’ album, and we learned that Rick is heavily involved in a new album by Paul Revere and The Raiders (6os band) singer Mark Lindsay. Rick also shows us the correct way to play Surrender and tells us that John Lennon preferred Rick’s guitar contributions in the studio over Eric Clapton’s because Eric “choked up”!
Cheap Trick are back with another blistering single, “Boys & Girls & Rock N Roll,” in anticipation of the release of their 20th studio album, In Another World, out via BMG on April 9.
In Another World – which marks Cheap Trick’s first new LP since 2017’s double-header of We’re All Right! and Christmas Christmas, further showcases Cheap Trick at their most eclectic, touching on a myriad of distinct sounds and song approaches, from the swampy Chicago blues number, “Final Days” (featuring fiery harmonica from GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer and Wet Willie frontman Jimmy Hall) to a timely rendition of John Lennon’s still-relevant “Gimme Some Truth,” originally released for Record Store Day Black Friday 2019 and featuring the instantly recognisable guitar sound of erstwhile Sex Pistol Steve Jones. As irresistible and immediate as anything in their already awesome catalog, In Another World is Cheap Trick at their irrepressible best, infinitely entertaining and utterly unstoppable.
Founded in 1974, Cheap Trick are an indisputable American institution, beloved around the globe for their instantly identifiable, hugely influential, brand of pop rock ‘n’ roll. The band – Robin Zander (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick Nielsen (lead guitar), Tom Peterson (bass guitar) – are true pioneers with an unparalleled streak of certifiably classic tunes, from “He’s A Whore,” “California Man” and “Dream Police” to “Surrender,” “I Want You To Want Me,” and the worldwide #1 hit single, “The Flame.” 2016 saw Cheap Trick inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a long overdue acknowledgement of a nearly five decade career that has earned them more than 40 international gold and platinum certifications, myriad awards and industry honors, featured appearances on over 20 movie soundtracks, and total record sales well in excess of 20 million.
Pre-orders for In Another World are available now https://cheaptrick.lnk.to/InAnotherWorld
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Cheap Trick will be in Australia this April and May! The band join Bush and the Stone Temple Pilots for Under The Southern Stars
UNDER THE SOUTHERN STARS: APRIL – MAY 2021
Friday, April 30: WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong NSW
Saturday, May 1: Camp Shortland Field, Newcastle NSW
Sunday, May 2: The Entertainment Grounds, Gosford NSW
Wednesday, May 5: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney NSW
Friday, May 7: Bonython Park, Adelaide SA
Saturday, May 8: Foreshore Reserve, Hastings VIC
Sunday, May 9: Showgrounds, Yarrawonga VIC
Wednesday, May 12: The Timber Yard, Port Melbourne VIC
Friday, May 14: Kings Beach Amphitheatre, Caloundra QLD
Saturday, May 15: Southport Sharks, Gold Coast QLD
Sunday, May 16: Riverstage, Brisbane QLD
- Dom DiSisto
