Roadshow Music, the record label arm of entertainment company Village Roadshow Limited, that released titles by Savage Garden, Killing Heidi, and The Butterfly Effect, will be closing this month.
The imprint’s label manager, Katrina Ross, has confirmed that she no longer works for Village Roadshow, with a representative of Roadshow Music confirming that the music label would be wound-up in May, as TheMusic reports
Ross, whose CV includes tenures at ABC Music, Mercury Records, and Universal, wrote in her LinkedIn profile that “unfortunately Roadshow Music ceased operations in May 2013.” The official website at Village Roadshow has already been removed, with only an old Australian placeholder site showing any online presence for the independent label.
There was writing on the wall for Roadshow Music however back in March, when Village Roadshow sold off the Concord Music Group in order to streamline its companies, using the proceeds from the sale to reduce financial debts and focus on film production, as reported by IF.com.au.
Concord’s independent catalogue included Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and more and was acquired by Wood Creek Capital Management, reported Billboard. Katrina Ross wrote in her LinkedIn profile that “unfortunately Roadshow Music ceased operations in May 2013.”
Activity from the label had also slowed considerably in recent years, with Katrina Ross telling PPCA in a 2010 interview that they had recently signed singer-songwriter Danielle Spencer, releasing the Tony Visconti-produced Calling All Magicians, as well as forthcoming releases from Axle Whitehead and The Butterfly Effect, that never eventuated.
Roadshow Music was founded in 1994 with an aim of licensing, promoting, and marketing Australian recording artists, and during this period found its greatest success, releasing the likes of Savage Garden and Killing Heidi, who found huge success domestically for their debut album from 2000, Reflector.
In more recent years, Roadshow Music had expanded its roster with alternative metal band The Butterfly Effect, RnB maverick Jade MacRae, crooner Axle Whitehead, Sick Puppies, and KSSR. All Roadshow Music product was distributed by Sony BMG.
In 2008, the ARIA Award-winning compilation from radio personalities Hamish & Andy, Unessential Listening, marked another big release for Roadshow Music, shipping over 103,000 units and awarded Platinum sales.
Roadshow Music’s biggest success however was Savage Garden, who found international fame with their eponymous 1997 album which eventually led to over 23 million album sales worldwide and attained multi-platinum sales and awards in Australian and New Zealand. In 2005, Roadshow Music celebrated the band’s career with Truly, Madly, Completely, a career-spanning retrospective that shifted over 85,000 units and soon awarded Platinum status.
