Sydney Booking Agency Folds After Con Artist Allegations

A Sydney-based booking and touring agency has been the subject of remarkable allegations today which claim that its founder has used an alias to deceive artists, staff and the wider music industry.

This morning it has been alleged to theMusic.com.au that Harrison O’Connor – or ‘Harry’ – of Paramount Agency & Touring is actually Dene Broadbelt (also known as Dene Mussillon, spelt both Mussillon and Musillon by different sources, and Dene Morgan) who is responsible for the “scam” Infinity Music Festival in Darwin, a messy financial dispute following Goulburn’s Eagle FM Mini Day Out and a number of allegedly unpaid invoices relating to the music industry.

• 'Harry' believed to be founder of the Paramount Agency
• Three sources have identified him as Dene Broadbelt/Mussillon to theMusic.com.au
• Artists, staff, industry in "shock"
• UPDATE: Music Agency Scam Spreads Across Aus: "I Was Crushed", Says SA Victim

Paramount employee Emma Grace and the company’s roster of artists have raised the alarm after recognising ‘Harry’ as the Dene Broadbelt in articles investigating previous dealings.

This morning she recognised Dene Mussillon/Broadbelt as the ‘Harrison O’Connor’ she had been working alongside.

Grace was employed by ‘Harry’, aged 21 or 22, two weeks ago after applying for a job through a reputable and well-known online job site, she told theMusic.com.au. Based in Sydney, she said she had spent most of the past two weeks with him at meetings, many of which were with potential clients. She has been paid for the work.

This morning she was alerted to reports from the NT News and the Goulburn Post and recognised Mussillon/Broadbelt as the ‘Harrison O’Connor’ she had been working alongside. While Grace’s photo is on the company’s website, Harry’s photo is the back of someone’s head.

After alerting artists on the roster, one of which confronted Harry on Facebook regarding it, Harry’s personal Facebook and the Paramount Agency page have both been taken down.

It is alleged that Harry has racked up significant debts under the Paramount company name, through transactions such as purchasing ads with media according to Grace, but no artists are believed to be out of pocket.

According to those who worked with him at Paramount or were on his roster, Harry was based on the South Coast somewhere in the Ulladulla area. Calls and emails to Harry by theMusic.com.au have not be returned. His phone appears to have now been disconnected.

Central Coast-based 18-year-old producer Imanti, real name Curtis Turner (pictured left), told theMusic.com.au today that the situation was a “Dead set joke. It’s a complete rip-off and waste of time.”

Turner had signed with Paramount approximately one month ago, after inquiring about the agency through their now-removed Facebook page. Harry had sent him a contract, under the name Harrison O’Connor, which Turner had checked over by his parents and relatives before signing.

After being sent a link to a story about the issues regarding the Infinity Music Festival Turner sent it around the other artists on the roster – which also includes DJs Bonka, Garry Sheba, Skarlett Feaver, Radical Jaay and others.

“I had my suspicions because he’d never put his face online, or post his personal details anywhere,” Turner said.

Not out of pocket currently – gigs Turner organised and played while on the roster he invoiced himself – the young producer said Harry had previously mentioned he would be invoicing him for time spent in Sydney’s 301 Studios.

A representative for 301 in Sydney told theMusic.com.au today that the studio time had not yet been paid for and they strongly believed the man who went by the name Harry O’Connor, and spent a lot of the time in the studio, to be the same man identified as Dene Broadbelt/Mussillon in other news reports. Police are investigating the matter.

Turner (pictured left) said that his parents were “pretty shocked at the whole thing, but they’re happy that I found out about it.”

“I had my suspicions because he’d never put his face online, or post his personal details anywhere."

Also appearing on Paramount webpage as being involved with the agency are David Petrovic and Stevie Knight of Electric Sun. Their work with artists like Tonight Alive, Kerser and Short Stack are used as selling points for new artists, but they are not believed to have anything to do with Paramount.

“They made no contribution to this whatsoever,” Grace told theMusic.com.au.

Having tried to confront Harry today but not being able to get in contact with him, Grace is now about to start looking for a new job. Grace said that she was now “making sure all the artists know and they’re OK.” She believed that none of the roster – confirmed before she began working at the company – had been left out of pocket, but they’d “all lost an agency”.

The road to paramount

Prior to Paramount’s formation, believed to have occurred around July, Mussillon/Broadbelt was at the centre of a scandal in Darwin in March. The Infinity Music Festival – which is still selling tickets for $95 – is not expected to be taking place 11 October, with other regional legs of the tour (Wagga Wagga, Coffs Harbour and more) believed to be cancelled and the line-up regularly changed. The former publicist alleged to the NT News that the event was a “scam” and that he didn’t expect that ticketholders would ever got their money back.

Darwin Council had indicated that the promoter – a Dene Mussillon in this case – had not paid a deposit to use Darwin’s Botanic Gardens, despite tickets being on sale and the event announced. Web designers, embroiderers and tour managers all came forward to the paper to allege that were owed money.

In March 2013 Dene ‘Bradbelt’ had allegedly struck deals with artists to play Goulburn’s Eagle FM Mini Day Out festival on behalf of employer Radio Goulburn’s Eagle FM, where he was the Program Director. He allegedly invoiced artist fees to the station, which they claim he had no right to do. Under the station’s understanding they had no financial involvement in the festival, but had naming rights in return for promotion.

After settling accounts with artists and a photographer, Radio Goulburn’s Gail Bowdern told the Goulburn Post, “It was a Goulburn Mulwaree Council event and a Youth Council event. It was not an Eagle FM event other than we were supporting it. It was not held by, funded by or managed by Eagle FM. We had naming rights but we weren’t financially responsible.

“Dene Broadbelt engaged these services without the permission of Goulburn Radio or Eagle FM but we just want to make sure these artists get what they are owed because they did it in good faith with our program director. So we’re making payment today.”

An article for the Daily Liberal in 2012 championed Broadbelt for being the “youngest program director of a radio station in the country”, but online mentions of him since then have been less flattering.

In November last year Burswood Car Rentals in Perth tweeted that Broadbelt had “stolen” a car from them, while there are many reports from within the radio industry of unpaid bills and impersonation.

New South Wales Police have not yet responded to theMusic.com.au request for comment today. Grace said she had spoken to police today but would not be taking the matter further at this stage as she herself has not been the victim of fraud.

Electric Sun: 'We were never involved'

UPDATE 22/07/14 9.30am: Electric Sun Studios’ engineer Stevie Knight have issued a statement confirming that they have “no professional or commercial affiliation” with the Paramount Agency or ‘Harry’.

Knight and fellow Electric Sun engineer David Petrovic had appeared on the company’s website – which it emerges had plagiarised large portions of text from other sites – as if they were a part of the agency.

Full statement below:

“At roughly 5pm on the 21 July 2014, I was made aware of the allegations made against Dene Broadbelt or Harrison O’Connor, as I know him. This statement is in response to the article posted by The Music 3:48pm on the 21 July 2014, which has been made on behalf of myself and Electric Sun Studios, where I work as a freelance music producer/audio engineer.

Firstly, Electric Sun Studios and I have no professional or commercial affiliation with Harrison O’Connor or his fraudulent business, Paramount Agency and Touring.

Myself and fellow Electric Sun Studio audio engineer David Petrovic were approached mid July by Harrison O’Connor for use of studio facilities for the artists he was “signing”. He enquired about the artists that had previously recorded at Electric Sun Studios and after seeming confident in the calibre of the portfolio, he stated he would like to work with us and utilise our services for artists on his roster.

"It perturbs me that there are people who prey on independent artists"

There was never a commercial or legal contract/agreement. The team and I at Electric Sun Studios pride ourselves on supporting up and coming and established artists for over 15 years. We’re shocked to hear of the news but are glad that to date, there seems to be no financial loses for any artists he approached.

Having worked in the industry and being a musician myself, it perturbs me that there are people who prey on independent artists and give the professional management services industry a bad name. The team and I at the studio are at ease knowing that the police are investigating this issue and that he will have no affiliation with the studio going forward.

Electric Sun Studios continue to work with local and national artists and are currently booked through to September."