Jessica Ducrou Leaves Secret Sounds: 'It Has Been An Epic Journey'

Jessica Ducrou, the founder of Australian music festival Splendour In The Grass and co-CEO of tour promoters Secret Sounds, has departed the role eight years after helping create the company.

Secret Sounds Group, a subsidiary of Live Nation, has become one of Australia’s most successful music groups. It represents Splendour, Adelaide’s Harvest Rock and Falls Festival, Secret Sounds Touring, the Village Sounds booking agency, and Secret Sounds Connect.

It hasn’t been the easiest time for Secret Sounds, with this year’s Splendour In The Grass festival getting cancelled and Falls taking a hiatus in 2023.

Ducrou is set to take a break from the hectic nature of working in music. She mentions that she’s “well due” for an overseas holiday and plans to read a book from start to finish before embarking on the next step of her journey. Ducrou will spend more time with her children and continue her roles as Chair of SoundNSW and Deputy Chair of the Australian Festivals Association.

In a statement, Ducrou recalled the “many memorable moments” at Secret Sounds and the “wild ride” she’d experienced over the years.

“I’m well due for an overseas summer holiday, so it’s a good time to take a break before I embark on my next chapter,” Ducrou said.

“It has been an epic journey that has been truly inspiring and an opportunity to collaborate with the best in the business. It would not have been as rewarding, possible or enjoyable if it weren’t for the people I have worked alongside of.”

Lending a shoutout to her business partner of over 30 years, Paul Piticco, Ducrou added that the pair will continue their friendship long into the future.

Her statement continued, “The Secret Sounds team, notably Elise Huntley and the festivals gang, are the absolute best; I will miss working with the awesome individuals who inspired me every single day. I wish all at Secret Sounds and Live Nation the very best success in their future endeavours.”

In 1996, Ducrou founded Homebake in partnership with International Music Concepts (IMC) and established the booking agency Village Sounds in 1999, while Piticco launched Secret Service Artist Management around the same time.

In 2001, they started Splendour In The Grass together, with Piticco 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.

Ducrou and Piticco landed at #4 on The Music’s Power 50 list shared in 2020. You can find out more about their achievements here.