Power 50 - #24: Brett Murrihy

It was back in 2015 that US juggernaut William Morris Endeavour IMG acquired local booking agency Artist Voice, the blossoming company founded by Brett Murrihy and Matt Gudinski as part of the Mushroom group in 2010. Murrihy made a move then too, shifting from CEO at Artist Voice to Head Of Asia Paci c For Music at WME.

Murrihy’s expertise shows in what WME was able to achieve in the Asia Pacific sector for 2017. Aussie legend Paul Kelly secured his first-ever ARIA Album Chart #1 with Life Is Fine, which saw him journey out onto his biggest national tour to date, take home four ARIA awards and sell out the Sidney Myer Music Bowl for the Making Gravy special event show, with Gang Of Youths, Meg Mac and Gretta Ray in December.

WME’s presence with international acts was certainly felt in 2017. LCD Soundsystem reunited and returned to Australia to headline Splendour In The Grass and play two sideshows. Bryson Tiller took hip hop to the Sydney Opera House, while Goldfrapp headlined VIVID LIVE. The Killers wowed at the AFL Grand Final before announcing their 2018 Australian tour, as did Macklemore at the NFL Grand Final before announcing his.

Meg Mac, The Rubens, Dope Lemon, Angus & Julia Stone and Gang Of Youths were among the most successful Aussies on Murrihy’s roster, with a slew of massive tours and albums between them. A total of 19 WME artists were featured across 25 tracks on the 2017 triple j Hottest 100, with three of their artists - Gang Of Youths, Angus & Julia Stone and Kendrick Lamar - taking out four of the top five places.

Expectations for Murrihy and WME are big in 2018, with the team set to put their considerable powers behind fresh signees DREAMS, Ruel, Angie McMahon, Gretta Ray, Grace Carter and more.