Kirsty Rivers Appointed Industry Relations Director At Sound Story

Kirsty Rivers has joined strategic public relations and communications agency Sound Story as the Industrial Relations Director, a newly-created role at the company founded last year.

Jake Challenor, Rolling Stone AU/NZ’s former print editor and Variety Australia’s founding editor, founded the company last year, and today, Sound Story expands with the edition of Rivers. She joins new additions, Senior Communications Specialist Vivienne Kelly and Maddie Koczanowski, the agency’s Communications & Culture Specialist.

Sound Story works with numerous clients in the Australian entertainment industry, including “media companies, live entertainment groups, leaders in advertising, tech trailblazers, and startups transforming the future”, per the company’s website.

The agency launched with a number of influential clients under its belt, including The Brag Media, Cedar Mill Group and UNIFIED Music Group. Sound Story has expanded further, also working with Spotify and Vinyl Group.

With the addition of Rivers, Sound Story has gained more than 35 years of experience in government and the entertainment industry. For the last three and a half years, Rivers has served as the Head of Music at Creative Australia, a tenure that followed 17 years as National Manager for Writer Services at APRA AMCOS.

Last year, Rivers was inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame for her contribution to the Victorian Government’s Music Works program and additional advocacy within the Australian music industry.

In a statement, Rivers said about joining Sound Story, “It’s an exciting time to be joining Sound Story and supporting the team's vision to tell the stories of forward-thinking brands disrupting the music, media, advertising and tech industries. Inspired by Jake and the team's unique outlook and global perspective, I'm thrilled to use my expertise in industry and government to realise actions and ideas at this incredibly exciting and pivotal time for Australian creativity.”

Challenor added, “Kirsty’s reputation as a fierce advocate and champion for the Australian music ecosystem within industry and government is of enormous value to Sound Story’s incredible partners.

“As our clients grow, so too does Sound Story. Our mission is to help ambitious brands to launch, grow, and manage their reputations on the world stage — we do this through strategic storytelling, and Kirsty is one of the best in the business.”