Bondi Wave Speaker Focus: Niriko McLure

Organisation: Wonder Management & 1825 Records — General Manager
 

How did you first become involved in the music business and how did you end up where you are today? After seven years working at a heavy earthmoving equipment finance broker - yes, you heard that right - and while driving my friends' band up and down the highway, selling their merch and organising their MySpace Top Eight, I met a manager at a random show who said that this was their full-time job. Realising I could actually do what I loved full-time instead of just on the weekends, I handed in my notice and enrolled in Music Business at Tafe to understand more of the industry. That year I spent volunteering everywhere, including Frontier Touring, Modular, Fuzzy, basically anything I could do to meet people. One of my unpaid jobs was organising schedules for a recording studio in Five Dock where I met Snob Scrilla and eventually worked my way into his management team, becoming his manager alongside the studio owners. After two years working with Snob, I was fortunate to meet Rebekah Campbell who got me involved in the fan engagement site Posse. This ultimately led me to meet Matt Emsell and join his company Wonder Management, who represented Matt Corby and 5 Seconds of Summer. Over the past five years together, we have grown the roster (we now also manage R.W. Grace, Lakyn, Taj Ralph, Morgan Bain), and have launched the label 1825 Records with UNFD.

What do you think will be the biggest issue affecting the music industry in the next 12 months and why? It's probably one of the most exciting times to be involved in the music industry, and although there will always be challenges, something I feel needs to be recognised is the lack of mental health support in place. Although that could potentially be said of all businesses, very few industries are exposed to the same stresses and pressures of touring, performance and time away from home. Thankfully times have changed and there is less stigma attached to artists for speaking out, but as an industry there could be more support for those behind the scenes. It's not quite as acceptable to have managers or label employees telling their stories, but I know a lot of wonderful people are working hard to support us.
 

What advice would you give young practitioners in your area starting out today? Work out what your strengths are and play to them - if you are into people and crowds, go out and meet contacts at industry events and shows. If you aren't, then don't feel that it's what you need to do to get ahead. Write for blogs, put together marketing plans for friend's bands and execute them yourself. There is no right or wrong answer, and often what has worked for others might not work for you. Waiting for the job to come to you won't happen, so get out there and do something. 
 

What will you be primarily discussing during your appearance at Bondi Wave? The afternoon music panel is an opportunity for musicians to play their songs and receive feedback. I will probably be saying it doesn't sound quite enough like Avril Lavigne for me… but in all seriousness, having a forum for artists to get feedback and gather opinions, I think, takes a lot of courage. Anybody who creates music or art knows how intense that process can be so I'm looking forward to understanding why the musicians have made the decisions they have, along with giving my feedback.  
 

What are you hoping that people will be able to learn from your panel/interview? That it's great to ask people's opinions - I still do this all the time in my business life - but it's also important to trust yourself. It's your art, it's your vision, so take the criticism and adapt if you agree, but only if you agree. If not, have the faith to keep going your own way. There is a lot that enthusiasm and blind faith can achieve.
 

When and where is your panel/interview? 23 Jun, Bondi Pavillion Theatre. 2-3pm with Matt Mason from the DMA's and Phillip Mortlock from Origin Music.