VINYL TAP - Inside the Music Industry

Jan Skubiszewski is somewhat of a journeyman producer. I first met Jan when he was cutting his production teeth at Marlon Studios in Prahran, Melbourne some 20 odd years ago. At the time, he was working with a slew of up and coming soul and urban acts and making ground breaking music with the likes of Daniel Merriweather (who went on to sign to Mark Ronson) and pioneering local MC, Phrase. Fast fo...

Put simply, Anna Laverty is one of Australia's leading music producers. She is a straight shooter but humble, a great talker but measured and, above all, she talks and walks it. In this new episode of The Producers, I talk to Anna about everything from cutting her teeth in London (having worked under uber producers Paul Epworth and Ben Hillier) to mental health and to her appreciation of classic s...

Season 4 kicks off today with a new series; THE PRODUCERS. And the first supernova cab to leave the rank is a revered and celebrated giant of the Australian music production landscape. Francois Tetaz is arguably one of the most successful producers in our history. His work with Gotye alone- which has amassed millions upon millions of streams/sales & every award imaginable (including 3 Grammy A...

Welcome to the second instalment of Vinyl Tap's live panel sessions as part of the BIG THINKERS series. In this fresh episode , we didn't ask a question as such but my special guests and I discussed the state of the live music industry in Australia. Joining me on the panel on the night were; Travis Banko from Laneway Festival (and co-manager of Baker Boy) , Bec Young from Collective Artists, Nic G...

Paul Wiltshire is somewhat of a music maverick, in the most positive ways of course. He started his music career as a pop writer and music producer amassing an impressive 12 Number One hits and a further 28 Top 20 hits with the likes of Delta Goodrem, Vanessa Amorossi, Human Nature and The Backstreet Boys. Even more impressive is the fact that he has made an album with Engelbert Humperdinck, but I...

Colin Daniels has been around and around and around some more in the music business. Starting off his music journey as a fresh faced DJ in the very early 90's, he has operated under many guises over the years. He has co-owned a dance label in Vicious Records, was responsible for importing some of the biggest dance records via his role at Mushroom Distribution Services in the 90's and then flew the...

It's both frightening and heartwarming to know that I've known Cath Haridy for 25 years. She began working with me firstly at Warner Music as my assistant before we both moved over to Festival Mushroom in the late 90's to start a new label imprint called SPUTNIK. From very early on is those formative years I could tell that Cath was a 'stayer' in this business. She cut her teeth and excelled in al...

Week 4 of the Big Thinkers series and what better way to celebrate it but by bringing in FIVE of the best music industry minds in the business to wax lyrical , in a live setting, about a simple but pertinent question; Do you need a record deal (in 2024)? And what a star studded line up it was; the no nonsense Ms Cath Haridy from Cath Haridy Management, the girl with the best rock name in Australia...

It's a case of Double Delight on Vinyl Tap this week with two of the brightest and best young female music executives in the country right now! Sarah Hamilton is a veteran of the digital music space. As an early adopter of digital music, Sarah started at Myspace at a time when no one really cared that much about it before ending up at DITTO where she ran the show for a considerable amount of time....

As far as balancing acts go, Danny Rogers has got his down to a fine art. He is both a prestigious artist manager on the one hand and a music festival co-founder on the other. You only need to look at his management CV to appreciate that he been responsible for some of the biggest international breakthroughs in our pop culture history; Gotye and The Temper Trap. Then there's the Laneway Festival w...

Season 3 kicks off with my BIG THINKERS series and the first duck in the pond is Josh Simons, the CEO of Vinyl Group. Josh started his music career as a professional musician. His band 'Buchanan' had considerable success but it was while he was contemplating his long term future for his band that he came up with the idea for Vampr - think Linkedin for music creatives! His quest for success with Va...

Richard Bron comes from Rock Royal stock in the UK. His grandfather was one of the UK's first music publishers and his father Gerry signed and recorded some of the most seminal British bands of all time- Uriah Heap, The Damned and the legendary Motorhead to name a key few. Richard himself has done the hard yards having first moved to New York as a 16 year old to head up Bronze Records. a JV he est...

When I think of the world's biggest and most successful agents , it's hard to go past Emma Banks. As Co-Head of CAA UK, Emma is responsible for a roster that includes Muse, Katy Perry, Arcade Fire, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lorde, Green Day and our very own Kylie Minogue. And for all the wonderful and well deserved awards that she has earned over the years (She's a 10 x winner of Poll Stars UK Ag...

Korda Marshall is an A&R King amongst Kings in the UK and a long term player in the global music industry. He has owned his own label (Infectious), run other indie labels (Mushroom UK) as well as a major label (Warner Music UK) and along the way has had major success at every step. His ethos is imbedded in a punk rock style attitude in that he has always defied convention and the so called rul...

It's scary to think I've known Kim Frankiewicz for near on 30 years. She was a formidable force back then, let alone what she has become now. Kim is one of the most respected executives in the world of music publishing. She got her start working with INXS and then the Models before she was wittingly pushed in to music publishing by her long time mentor Chris Murphy, the man who guided the INXS jug...

We look back at some of the most interesting, funniest and inspiring moments from Vinyl Tap to date, all the way back from season 1 until now. Michael also reveals a UK podcast tour, where he's set to interview some of the UK music scene's biggest movers and shakers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While many of you listeners may not have heard the name before, Roger Grierson can rightfully be regarded as a stalwart of the alternative music scene in Australia. Roger is a product of the global punk era of the 1970's! That's when he started his journey, first as an artist then as a manager then going on to be a tour promoter, a music publishing honcho and, ultimately a chairman of Australia's...

She is an Australian Icon who currently sits in her own prestigious lane. Tina Arena has been in the music industry for near on 50 years. She is decorated and she's adored. The awards and achievements are plentiful- Member of The Order Of Australia, ARIA Hall of Fame, French National Order of National Merit and I could go on- but what is most tangible and credible is the fact that she remains a pa...

When I look at my 'favourite records of all time' list, it appears that Nick Launay has his magic fingerprints all over them. Whether it's 'Sound Affects' by The Jam (as an assistant engineer) or 'Release the Bats' by The Birthday Party or '10,9, 8, 7.." by Midnight Oil or even 'Diorama' by silverchair, they all have a timeless, transcendental quality. Put simply, Nick is one of the best ever reco...

In terms of concert promoters in this country and, arguably, the world over, you don't get much bigger than Michael Chugg. 'Chuggi' as he is known on every corner of the globe really is one in a million. You know that old cliche about 'the mould being smashed when they made him', well it rings true for Chuggi. He has been in the touring game for 59 long years and in that time he worked with so man...

Fifa Riccobono is a LIVING LEGEND! As one of their first female CEO's of a known record company in the world, Fifa was one of the driving forces of the world renown ALBERTS Music label. Best known for turning the world of rock music on it's head, Alberts boasts a roster that is second to none. From AC-DC to Rose Tattoo and from The Angels to The Easybeats, Alberts was the envy of many and the pave...

Welcome to the third instalment of Vinyl Tap's 'Living Legends' Series where we take a trip down the EDM highway and into the world of esteemed Dance Music promoter Richie McNeill. Richie is a giant of the game, a proper pioneer of the dance scene in Australia. At heart, Richie is still a starry-eyed music fan and in essence, he has had (and continues to have ) a major impact on Dance culture. His...

Welcome to the second instalment of my 'LIVING LEGENDS' series. It gives me great pleasure to welcome one of the best pioneering festival promoters and current tour promoters in Australia Sahara Herald to the VINYL TAP chair. Sahara is a tour de force (pardon the pun) and a fantastic role model for women in the music industry the world over. She made her mark as an integral cog of Australia's firs...

Welcome back to VINYL TAP: Inside The Music Industry, the 2024 Edition! For the next 10 weeks, I'll be talking to 'LIVING LEGENDS'- those people who have or continue to leave their footprint on the both the local and international music industry. Episode 1 needed to be special and it gives me great pleasure to kick it off with a gentleman who has helped shape and influence pop culture both here an...

Part 2 of Tales from the Melbourne Underground sees the tables turn somewhat! Esteemed music broadcaster Jane Gazzo and Michael Parisi interview each other about growing up as Italian migrants in the Melbourne and Australian Music scene. They discuss everything from their music education to their favourite memories of venues, live shows and artists. This interview was recorded live on Dec 4th 2023...