Power 50 - #40: Damian Costin

BACKGROUND CHECK

When Damian Costin abandoned his drum kit after eight years playing in Motor Ace, he moved into the business side of the music industry and worked at Premier Artists for the next five years. Costin then founded 123 Agency, his own booking and management agency, in 2013, before co-founding Creative Entertainment Agency in 2017. 2018 also saw Costin launching VVV MGMT.

THE YEAR THAT WAS

Costin expanded 123 Agency in 2018, joining forces with Sony Music Entertainment to form a new label, 123 Music. With over 70 in-demand acts on their roster, some of the agency's 2018 highlights included Tash Sultana continuing to dominate on stages all over the world, and Ocean Alley's song Confidence topping triple j's Hottest 100. Costin also launched VVV MGMT with Tom Larkin, drummer for Shihad (who are represented by 123 Agency), in July 2018 and their roster includes Kingswood, The Vanns, Sweater Curse and Dear Seattle, who recently finished off their debut album, the band's 2018 singles Maybe and Daytime TV promising great things.