Basil Cook Departs ABC Music

Basil Cook has announced he’s resigning as the Senior Label Manager at ABC Music, ending a tenure that’s spanned nearly 15 years.

The announcement came in a post shared to Cook’s LinkedIn page this morning (July 22), describing his time at the public broadcaster as “an amazing ride” and noting that he’s felt “so fortunate to enjoy a long list of career highlights working for the label”.

Cook’s statement continued: “I have had the privilege to work with some truly amazing bands, artists, managers, and staff over the years, and I'm going to miss many things departing soon, but I feel right now that I need to take a risk and see what happens!

“To everyone along the road, thanks for your involvement in my working life – see you in the pit!”

Cook’s final day at ABC Music will be this coming Friday (July 26). His replacement has not yet been announced.

Cook started working for ABC Music in January 2010, first as a Digital Music & Strategy Manager, before being promoted to Senior Label Manager in September 2013.

According to his LinkedIn, Cook supervised the labels team across triple j, country, children’s and alternative releases, led “the management of new and existing artists regarding contract signing and negotiation”, assisted in coordinating release schedules and campaigns, and handled “content creation and management of digital exploitation in addition to the secondary digital exploitation of existing back catalogue product”.

Separate from his responsibilities at ABC Music, Cook has worked as the Board Treasurer for the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR) since 2014, and as the self-employed director of the Sydney Ramen Festival since 2021. The latter event ran from June 17 to July 29 for its 2023 edition, but has not (yet) been confirmed to return for 2024.