This year marks '50 years of making noise' for the Mushroom Group, Australia's most iconic music company.
"It's something that everyone who has been part of the company is really proud of," Mushroom Group CEO Matt Gudinski says of the momentous anniversary."For an independent music entertainment business – there's not a lot that are still standing and successful after 50 years – it's something that we're really proud of and excited to celebrate."
An Australian Legacy
The Gudinskis are the first family of Australian music and the Mushroom Group its vast kingdom. In 1972, Matt's father Michael Gudinski founded independent label Mushroom Records with a singular drive and purpose: to bring Australian artists and their music to the world."What my dad set out to build in the early '70s was not only create a platform to support and invest in Australian artists, but I think Mushroom have been such a key part of growing the Australian music industry as a whole," Matt says.
Michael Gudinkski (top right) and Mushroom crew with Kylie Minogue 1994
"So that's something else that again we're really grateful to be part of that journey and I think it just shows the hard work that my dad did to ensure Australian music was on the global map."
Even as Australia's largest independent music and entertainment company, Mushroom remains at its heart a family business. Matt says loyalty is one of the key values Michael instilled in the corporate philosophy from the very beginning.
"Obviously, being a family-driven business and a business that is very big on loyalty, the most important thing to us is not only working with great artists but having amazing people be part of the company.
"There are so many people that have been part of the Mushroom journey for 10, 20, 30 years – some even 40 years," he says.
"For any company to survive 50 years, but especially in an industry like ours, reputation is really important. It takes a long time to build a reputation, but a short time to break a reputation and we've always been big on sticking to our values to ensure that we have a good reputation out there."
Mushroom: The Next Generation
Mushroom's 50th also marks an important milestone for Matt within the company, having been made Executive Director in 2013, and serving as CEO since his father's passing in 2021.Surrounded by music his entire life, Matt's career journey at Mushroom began in 2002, right after he left high school. While he may have followed his father into the family business, Matt worked hard to make his own distinctive mark as an astute creative strategist.
Like father like son, Matt's ears and interests were always primed for the next big thing in Australian music. As Aussie hip hop exploded in the early-mid 2000s, Matt was instrumental in the modernisation of Mushroom's roster through his label imprint Illusive Sounds by signing acts like Bliss N Eso.
"Ensuring you're a leader, not a follower, and you're always looking for the next thing – not today's thing – has been something that's been key to the Mushroom Group growing and evolving over a 50-year period," Matt says.
"There are not many industries that have changed as much as the music industry over the past 50 years, whether it be through the way people were buying and consuming music to what music people liked.
"You look back to when I first started, there were people that liked hip hop, people that liked rock and people that liked electronic music. I guess the diversity in music consumers' tastes now is something that makes the industry as strong as it is.
"I think we've constantly been evolving to work in all genres of music, and with great artists and great people."
Michael Gudinski: The Man, The Legend
Michael Gudinski was as much of a rock star in his own right as he was a rock promoter. Legendary for his larger-than-life energy, Michael implanted himself as one of the most influential and powerful figures in the Australian music industry.There is a cult of personality about Michael, the way he conducted himself and his business that has forged its own place in 20th Century music lore. Esteemed Australian music journalist Stuart Coupe has referred to Michael as "the only record company executive whose name is known by the general public".
The son of Jewish-Russian immigrants, Michael was born and raised in Melbourne where he began his career in the music business as a teenager, promoting local dance hall shows. Partnering with Ray Evans, Gudinski formed Mushroom Records in 1972, followed by Mushroom Music Publishing and Premier Artists booking agency in 1973.
Michael Gudinski at Dundas Lane 1985
Mushroom's first major success came in 1975 with Skyhooks when their debut album 'Living In The '70s' became the highest-selling Australian album of its time. It would be the first of many grand achievements for Michael as he paved the way for Australian artists to bring their music to a global audience.
Mushroom in its early days was built on the strength of Australian rock, in which Michael saw the highest potential to be a global musical force.
However, as the rock-oriented '70s gave way to the emerging pop sensibilities of the '80s, driven by the rise of electronic instrumentation, Mushroom was forced to evolve if it wanted to survive.
"Mushroom started as a rock label and moved into a lot more pop music when we signed artists like Kylie Minogue and other artists," Matt says.
"Then over the last 20 years we've done a lot more across hip hop, electronic, country music and all genres. You've got to have that diverse spread of artists to really be successful in the current day."
While bringing Australian music to the world, Michael also brought the world of music to Australia via Frontier Touring, formed in 1979 as an off-shoot enterprise of Mushroom. Beginning with the UK's Squeeze in 1980, Frontier has brought innumerable international artists to our shores and made Australia a premier destination on the global touring circuit.
The legacy of Michael Gudinski, his inimitable charisma and how he built the Mushroom empire from fledging beginnings has been remembered fondly in the documentary 'Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story'.
"To be able to put together and release 'Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story' is something that everyone involved with inside Mushroom and outside Mushroom, myself and my family are just so proud of," Matt says.
"It's a really special film celebrating the life of my dad both as a person and his work life. It's a really powerful story."
Two years on from Michael's passing, Matt is the sole heir to Mushroom, guiding the company in a balance of his father's original vision and managing its prospects in a volatile musical landscape.
"Music is our life, so when you run your own business, and a business with so many parts to it, every part of your life is connected to it," Matt says.
"My dad and I not only had an amazing work relationship, but we also had a very strong father-son personal relationship. I often say the reason we loved what we did so much was because we did it together and that made us strive to be more successful and do more things.
"We had a very strong bond and we're a family business. My dad was an amazing father to my sister and I, and husband to my mum. There'd rarely be a time when something we were doing didn't connect back to work but being a family company, that's the way we all liked it."
Michael & Matt Gudinski
The Celebrations
Over the past year, Mushroom has been celebrating its 50th anniversary with a series of events, along with special collaborations involving its expansive and enviable roster of artists.The Australian Music Vault in Melbourne has been hosting an archival display of Mushroom memorabilia collected from the past 50 years as well as the immersive audio-visual experience '50 Years Of Making Noise'.
The past year has also seen the release of classic Mushroom singles re-imagined by its contemporary artists, such as The Temper Trap ('Under The Milky Way' by The Church) Alex Lahey ('Ego Is Not A Dirty Word' by Skyhooks), The Rubens ('One Step Ahead' by Split Enz) and Gordi ('Covered In Chrome' by Violent Soho) among others.
"We've been able to have so many artists re-imagine some of the classic Mushroom songs over the year, which has been great to see different generations of artists doing their own take on some of the great Mushroom songs," Matt says.
Currently, Mushroom is gearing up for the pièce de resistance of their golden jubilee, the Mushroom 50 Live concert spectacular, featuring some of the country's biggest and most beloved artists performing hand-selected classic songs from the Mushroom catalogue – which will be staged in Melbourne (and broadcast exclusively on Channel 7 and 7Plus.
"We're really most excited about the upcoming Mushroom 50 Live concert," Matt says. "It's going to celebrate 50 of the greatest songs of Mushroom's time and there's so many great songs there. To have over 35 artists on the night to perform these 50 songs is going to be a real special celebration."
The Mushroom 50 Live concert features anthems like 'Working Class Man', 'Holy Grail', 'Sweet Disposition', 'Riptide', 'Hoops', 'It's Only the Beginning', 'Before Too Long', and 'Living In The '70s', celebrating the musical moments that have made Mushroom an Australian icon.
"We wanted to make the concert as much about the artists, but more about the great music that Mushroom has been a part of; it's been a soundtrack to so many peoples' live across that journey," Matt says.
"Going through the catalogue, it's been a special time to look back and listen to the various Mushroom music and how much of an influence it's had on the Australian music scene and culture."
The Next 50 Years
At the 50-year mark and as celebrations subside, thoughts inevitably turn to what's next for Mushroom. Now at the helm of the Mushroom Group, Matt is responsible for the company's direction as it embarks on what he hopes to be the next 50 years of Mushroom, though exactly what the Mushroom Group looks like at 100 remains to be seen."With how much our industry keeps evolving, who knows?" Matt says, "but it's my job to lead the way to ensure the company stays as strong as ever.
"Like my dad laid the foundations for the company to be here after 50 years, I'm determined to ensure we build upon those foundations to make sure we're here at 100 years."
Michael Gudinski left an indelible mark on the Australian music industry that can never be replicated or replaced. For Matt, his role in the Mushroom Group moving forward is less about competing with his father's legacy as it is preserving and building upon it.
"I think it's just growing upon the legacy that my dad did leave in ensuring we do all we can to have a really healthy and successful Australian music industry on a global scale," he says.
"I really hope and have strong ambition for Mushroom to have even greater international success as we move into a second 50 years of the company.
"My dad always wanted to crack that number one album in the US or number one global album and missed out, very close, a number of times, so I think if I can achieve that it would be a great legacy to leave for myself, my family and the Mushroom company."
Mushroom 50 Live takes place at Rod Laver Arena (Melbourne) on 26 November. The concert will also be broadcast across Australia exclusively on Channel 7 and 7plus from 7pm.
Mushroom 50 Live Line-up
Amy SharkBirds Of Tokyo
Bliss N Eso
Christine Anu
Dan Sultan
Deborah Conway & Willy Zygier
Diesel
DMA'S
Fred Loneragan (Machinations)
Frente
Goanna
Gordi
Hunters & Collectors
Ian Moss
Jimmy Barnes
Kate Ceberano
Logan
Lotte Gallagher
Merci, Mercy
Missy Higgins
Paul Kelly
Ross Wilson
The Rubens
The Temper Trap
The Teskey Brothers
Vika & Linda
WILSN
Plus special broadcasted performances:
alt-J
Ed Sheeran
Garbage
Youth Group with Budjerah, Mia Wray & Sam Smith
