Big Scary, Jagwar Ma Among Shortlist For $30,000 Australian Music Prize
The 43-strong longlist for the coveted $30,000 Australian Music Prize has been culled to a final batch of nine artists, with the winner of the 9th Coopers AMP to be announced on 5th March. The nine album releases up for the $30k prize are: Beaches – She Beats, Big Scary – Not Art, Cloud Control – Dream Cave, Dialectrix – The Cold Light Of Day, Horrorshow – King Amongst Many, Jagwar Ma – Howlin’, Jen Cloher – In Blood Memory, Jimblah – Phoenix, Kirin J Callinan – Embracism. The nine nominees were officially revealed at Shortlisted! – a free Australia Day concert at Mebourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl featuring live performances from AMP nominees Kirin J Callinan, Beaches, Dialectrix, and Jen Cloher, alongside last year’s AMP winners Hermitude.
Secret Service Public Relations & Two Fish Out Of Water Merge
Two major Australian music PR services have announced that they are joining forces, with news that Secret Service and Two Fish Out Of Water are merging. The new deal sees Two Fish’s Stacey Piggott leading the new-look Secret Service, the publicity company belonging to Paul Piticco. A co-promoter for Splendour In The Grass and Falls Festival, Piticco is also the head of Dew Process, Create/Control and Secret Sounds Touring and has also managed the likes of Powderfinger, Bernard Fanning and The Grates and has been involved in campaigns for Mumford & Sons, London Grammar, Sarah Blasko, London Grammar, and Lana Del Rey.
Stacey Piggott is a similar industry powerhouse, international manager of The Drones and managing director of Two Fish Out Of Water for 15 years, whose clients have included the Falls and Dig It Up! festivals, Henry Rollins, Bon Iver, The Jezabels, The Growl, The Beasts of Bourbon, and many more.
The new partnership will see Piggott leading the new merged team of five publicists, but also the departure of Two Fish senior publicist Kathleen Hore, who “will be sorely missed from the Secret Service PR team,” says Piticco; “her work on Dew Process artist campaigns like Mumford & Sons and London Grammar of late has been masterful and I wish her all the best in new pursuits outside the music business.”
Piggot added, “Paul is an entrepreneur of the purest nature, and a pioneer at the forefront of so many areas of the industry. I have always admired and respected his creative and passionate approach, and the opportunity to join forces with Secret Service is something I am excited to embrace.” (via Two Fish Out Of Water)
Inertia Announce International Label Partnership
Inertia has inked a new partnership with iconic American independent record label, Fat Possum Records, whose roster has featured the likes of Spiritualized, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, R.L. Burnside, The Black Keys and more. The deal will see Indertia distributing local releases for Fat Possum for Australian and New Zealand. Upcoming releases as part of the new partnership will include records from The Districts, Solids, and Water Liars. The Sydney label will also become the Aussie home for four more labels as pat of the Fat Possum deal, including Other Music Recording Company (Mutual Benefit, Ex-Cops), Lefse Records (How To Dress Well, Neon Indian), Big Legal Mess (Water Liars, Leo Welch) and Hi Records (Al Green, Willie Mitchell).
UNFD Signs Sydney Metal Band Stories To Roster
Hailing from the Northern Beaches of Sydney, metal outfit Stories have signed to UNFD, joining an enviable hard and heavy roster that includes The Amity Affliction, Dead Letter Circus, Dream On Dreamer and Northlane. The deal also sees Stories joining the Unified management roster, alongside artists like Vance Joy and Violent Soho, with the band being co-managed by Luke Logemann and Northlane guitarist Josh Smith. The news arrives as the five-piece are set to drop the animated video for new single ‘Dreamwork’ on 30th January via the UNFD YouTube Channel, prefacing a headline tour of the East Coast in February and March. Tickets and full tour dates and details available here.
Aussie Artists Sign With Kobalt
Two big-name Australian artists have signed with London’s Kobalt Neighbouring Rights to help enable them collecting rights and royalties income internationally. Award-snaffling Sydney producer Flume and Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker are among a mass signing of 18 international acts to Kobalt Neighbouring Rights, alongside Neil Finn, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Beck, QOTSA’s Josh Homme, Icona Pop, Taio Cruz, Charli XCX, John Newman, Ben Howard, Ella Eyre, Family Of The Year, Jessie Ware, Paloma Faith, Paul Epworth and Zedd. (via The Music Network)
