Liberator Music was a record label owned by the Mushroom Group. It was founded in 2006 by Nick Dunshea and Michael Gudinski in Melbourne.[1] The label was the international recording division of the company[2] and is home to artists such as Childish Gambino, CHVRCHES, alt-J, Andy Grammer, FIDLAR, Steve Aoki, Garbage, AJR, We The Kings, Wolf Alice, Kylie Minogue, Gengahr, Faith No More, Day Wave, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Fontaines D.C., and IDLES.
| Liberator Music | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Mushroom Group |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founder | Nick Dunshea Michael Gudinski |
| Defunct | 2024 |
| Distributor(s) | Universal Music Australia |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Location | Melbourne, Australia |
| Official website | liberatormusic |
Liberator Music was merged into Mushroom Music in 2024.
History
editLiberator Music was founded in March 2006 by ex-Shock Records employee, Nick Dunshea, and Mushroom Group founder & chairman, Michael Gudinski as the international recording division of the Mushroom Group.[1]
Liberator Music went on to set up joint ventures and distribution deals with international labels such as [PIAS], Glassnote Records,[3] Infectious Music,[3] S-Curve,[3] Norman Cook's Southern Fried Records,[3] Partisan Records,[4] as well as direct artist signings (for Australia & New Zealand) such as CHVRCHES,[5][6] Garbage,[7][8] Dizzee Rascal,[9] Kaiser Chiefs[10] and Childish Gambino[11]
As part of a restructure of the Mushroom Group in July 2024, Liberator Music and other labels were consolidated into a new division called Mushroom Music.[12]
[PIAS] joint venture
editIn 2007, the company entered into a 50/50 joint venture deal with European record company, [PIAS].[13] In early 2013, [PIAS] acquired Cooperative Music (and the Coop-owned V2 Records label) from Universal Music Group, forming the new business division [PIAS] Cooperative[14] thus giving Liberator Music the exclusive rights to the catalogue in Australia & New Zealand. After almost 10 years, [PIAS] and Liberator Music's partnership came to an end on 23 January 2017 when [PIAS] acquired Australian record label, Inertia Music.[15]
The return of Garbage to Mushroom
editGarbage had originally signed to Gudinski's Mushroom Records for the release of their debut single, "Vow" in 1995, and subsequent albums.[16] In 2003, Mushroom Records was sold to Warner Music and absorbed by the label East West, which was headed up by former Mushroom Records executive, Korda Marshall.[17] With the sale, Warner Music also gained the rights to Garbage's catalogue.[18] On 18 November 2011, after an "indefinite hiatus",[19] the band tweeted that they had "Just signed in Australia with Liberator Music. Our career started in Oz. Twenty years on we are still loving Michael Gudinski."[20] With this deal, Liberator Music took control of the band's catalogue, as well as future recordings. The first album of new material released via Liberator Music was Not Your Kind Of People.
Childish Gambino
editOn 15 November 2011, Liberator Music released Childish Gambino's debut album Camp.[21] This was the start of a long-standing and successful collaboration between Liberator Music and Childish Gambino. Childish Gambino released his second album, because the internet on 10 December 2013, once again via Liberator Music in Australia/New Zealand.[21] On 2 October, he released a mixtape titled STN MTN and the following day an EP titled Kauai.[22] 2 December 2016 saw the release of "Awaken, My Love!".[23] [22]
References
edit- ^ a b Eliezer, Christie (8 March 2006). "Gudinski Sets Up Liberator To Tap Global Acts". Billboard. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- ^ "Liberator". Mushroom Group. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Licensing Copyright Owners" (PDF). ARIA. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ "Liberator Music announces partnership with Partisan Records", The Music Network (24 June 2020). Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ Newstead, Al (1 June 2018). "Love Is Dead: Chvrches are a cathartic pop beacon in confusing times". triple j. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ "2018, English, Sound, Recorded music edition: Love is dead / Chvrches". National Library Of Australia. 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ "Garbage to self-release comeback album on new label". Digital Spy. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ "Garbage Unveil Track List, Artwork & Release Details For Sixth Studio Album". The Music. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ "Frontier Touring, The Bump, Take 40, Channel [V], Scene, Music Feeds & Spotify Present DIZZEE RASCAL Headlining Tour & Album Announcement!". Oztix. 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ Langlands, Alex (27 March 2012). "Kaiser Chiefs Releasing Greatest Hits Compilation". Music Feeds. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (22 May 2018). "Childish Gambino Earns First No. 1 on Australia's Singles Chart With 'This Is America'". Billboard. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (25 July 2024). "Chris Maund, Linda Bosidis Talk Mushroom Music (EXCLUSIVE)". The Music Network. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ Eliezer, Christie (21 April 2007). "PIAS Sets Up Down Under". Billboard. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "PIAS buyout of Co-Op cleared by EC regulators", Music Week (25 March 2013). Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ Ingham, Tim (23 January 2017). "[PIAS] ACQUIRES INERTIA MUSIC IN AUSTRALIA". Billboard. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ White, Adam (14 September 1996). "With Murdoch's Stake, A Changing Mushroom Grows". Billboard. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ "Marshall builds for future as East West absorbs Mushroom". Music Week. 19 May 2003. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ "Warner acquires Mushroom Records UK". Garbage Disco. 15 June 2003. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ "Dear worried and confused". Garbage.com. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
- ^ "Garbage sign record deal down under". Garbage Disco. 18 November 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Niche & Live Nation present Childish Gambino's only Australian headline show". All Aussie Hip Hop. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ a b "CHILDISH GAMBINO Reveals 'Redbone' 2nd Song From "Awaken, My Love!"". Scenezine. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ Strauss, Matthew (10 November 2016). "Donald Glover Details New Childish Gambino Album "Awaken, My Love!"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 December 2016.