Power 50 - #38: Owen Orford

After expanding operations to Brisbane in 2016, CEO Owen Orford said the move would give New World Artists “unparalleled eyes and ears on the ground which will benefit our entire roster”.

If 2017 for the booking agency’s artists is anything to go by he wasn’t wrong. After stealing the day with her surprise Splendour appearance with Client Liaison, Tina Arena’s keynote speech addressing age and gender bias in the music industry was possibly the biggest event at BIGSOUND - as well as the starting pistol for a massive, sold-out national tour.

Spiderbait had to double the number of dates on their Ivy And Big Apples run to meet demand, while the original 27 dates of Grinspoon’s 20 Years Of Guide To Better Living tour proved insufficient and quickly multiplied. Throughout the year Luca Brasi, Dead Letter Circus, Slumberjack, In Hearts Wake, The Hard Aches, Thy Art Is Murder, Hands Like Houses, Make Them Suffer, Sarah McLeod and British India all performed around the country to rave reviews and ecstatic fans.

Mallrat and Allday also climbed in the tour van before climbing the ranks of the Hottest 100, while Tired Lion were WAMAwards’ Best Rock Act and Northlane’s Mesmer snagged the ARIA for Best Hard Rock/ Heavy Metal Album.

Mammal reunited after seven years to sell out their first show in less than two hours and beloved Brisbane hip hop act Butterfingers signed to the New World Artists roster after a full decade off the scene. Hip hop collective One Day DJs - comprised of Joyride, Adit (Horrorshow), Raph (Jackie Onassis) and Nick Lupi (Spit Syndicate) - also joined Orford’s team, saying they were “thrilled to be working with New World Artists to grow the events and bookings side of our business”. Equally exciting were the additions of Melbourne buzz acts Jade Imagine and Saatsuma and Perth rapper Arno Faraji.