Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil Manager John Watson Named AAM Legacy Award Winner

John Watson, one of Australia’s leading artist managers who’s represented the likes of Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil, and Missy Higgins, will receive the Legacy Award at this year’s AAM Awards. He’s also been instrumental in driving Michael’s Rule advocacy with the AAM.

Presented by Frontier, the Legacy Award honours an individual who has made enduring contributions to the Australian music industry and artist management landscape. Other recipients of the Legacy Award include Jodie Regan (Tame Impala, Pond, Haiku Hands), Michael McMartin (Hoodoo Gurus and Michael’s Rule trailblazer), and Correne Wilke (The Cat Empire).

Watson has played in bands, worked at record stores, written for magazines, and worked in A&R. In 1994, he jointly signed Silverchair for their first recording deal and founded John Watson Management a year later.

Along with General Manager Melissa Chenery and CFO Skye Nevin, JWM has represented Cold Chisel (co-managed with John O’Donnell), Birds Of Tokyo, Missy Higgins, Midnight Oil, Gotye, and The Presets. Watson is also the President of the independent record label Eleven, which has released the entire Missy Higgins catalogue.

Watson played a pivotal role in creating the AAM and has been a Patron of the organisation for years. He completes a decade on the board of Support Act this year and recently joined the board of The Australia Institute.

Watson will be presented with the Legacy Award at this year’s AAM Awards, held at Melbourne’s Northcote Social Club on Wednesday, 30 April. He said of the achievement, “2024 was a special year for our artists and ourselves, so thank you to the AAM for this award, which I obviously share with our whole team, particularly our GM, Melissa Chenery, and our CFO, Skye Nevin.

“We’ve been managing artists for 30 years now, and it’s never been more critical to keep advocating for more Australian songs on our stages, on our airwaves, and on the multinational platforms through which most people discover music. The AAM is a key voice in this advocacy, and I’m very proud to be a part of it.”

Nominations for the other AAM Awards, Manager of the Year, Breakthrough Manager of the Year, Emerging Manager of the Year, Community Engagement Award, and Patrons Gift, will close on Monday, 3 March. The Lighthouse Award, established in honour of Linda Gebar, will also be given out. Women and gender-diverse artist managers are encouraged to apply for the Lighthouse Award here.

You can nominate yourself or another individual in the music industry for the other award categories here.