The Power 50: #4 - Jessica Ducrou & Paul Piticco

Fortuitously Paul Piticco and Jessica Ducrou met in a Byron Bay pub while Ducrou was taking a break from her accounts role at Rolling Stone magazine. Piticco at the time was managing up-and-comers Powderfinger. Ducrou would soon after become the group’s booking agent. In 1996, she founded Homebake in partnership with International Music Concepts (IMC) and established booking agency Village Sounds in 1999, while Piticco had launched Secret Service Artist Management around the same time. They started Splendour In The Grass together in 2001, with Piticco then launching his Dew Process label in 2002, Dew Process Publishing in 2008 and a second label, Create/Control, in 2012. The pair announced their involvement in Falls Festival the same year. In 2016, Ducrou and Piticco’s respective companies merged under the Secret Sounds banner.

2019 kicked off with the end of another huge Falls Festival circuit for Ducrou and Piticco - Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Catfish & The Bottlemen, First Aid Kit, Ocean Alley, Soccer Mommy, Toto, Interpol and more featured on the line-up. 

This was just the start of another impressive year of touring and festivals for Secret Sounds. In January there was the launch of the Grow Your Own festival, a collaboration with artist Holly Rankin (Jack River) and her company Hopeless Utopian. “As the driving force behind so many iconic Australian festivals and music businesses, Jess was a guiding figure in my career all along,” said Rankin when the partnership was announced. “To work alongside her and her team now is deeply exciting.” Tours from acts like Liam Gallagher, Mark Ronson, SZA, The 1975, Bishop Briggs and more followed from Secret Sounds throughout the year, as well as festivals like Download Australia (returning for its second year) and Spin Off (which sold 21,000 tickets, making it one of Adelaide's biggest gigs).

In March, after extensive campaigning from the pair, the North Byron Parklands was approved for a permanent license, meaning security for the future of live music events like Splendour In The Grass and Falls Festival at the grounds.

July saw the opening of The Fortitude Music Hall, a $40 million project from Piticco, Hutchinson Builders and former Powderfinger bass player and The Triffid owner John "JC" Collins. The month was certainly a busy one for Piticco, Ducrou and their near-80 full time staff members with their keystone Splendour In The Grass also taking place. The event saw Childish Gambino make his long-awaited return, joining fellow headliner Tame Impala. When previous headliner Chance The Rapper pulled out of the festival due to illness just a day before he was due to perform, Ducrou and Piticco swiftly brought in Aussie hip hop legends Hilltop Hoods to close the Sunday set - to turn that around in 24 hours highlights their pulling power.

On the label side, Dew Process picked up an ARIA Award nomination with Tkay Maidza’s Awake featuring JPEGMAFIA for Best Hip Hop Release. There were releases from WAAX, Tyne-James Organ, Little May, Sam Fender, Sahara Beck and more, and signees for the year included Perth act Sly Withers. Brisbane’s Mallrat expanded her work with Dew Process, signing a global publishing deal in January. 2019 was a great one for Mallrat, picking up #3 on triple j’s Hottest 100 with Charlie.

Piticco: "Sorry but it is a three way tie! Opening The Fortitude Music Hall which was a $40M project, that was a test. Go JC! Mallrat’s #3 in the Hottest 100. Go Grace! Watching our amazing team put together the Make It Rain Fire Fundraisers whilst at the same time dealing with Falls Festival and its fire related challenges. Go team!"

Ducrou: "North Byron Parklands is finally approved after 13 years! This was probably my most satisfying professional highlight. Ever! Such a huge effort from so many people, our very talented team who worked tirelessly for years, incredible support from the music industry, some brave pollies and great family and friends who all contributed to its success. I hope it’s there for decades to come, being used by all and benefiting the local community as it should. Bloody ace!"