The global music industry is growing, rapidly changing. The trick is to be agile as new technology, new models and new value creation come to the fore.
It is assuring then that some Australian executives have remained in Billboard’s annual Global Power Players list, while more have marked their presence in 2026.
Michael Coppel – Chairman, Live Nation Australia and New Zealand
All set for a career in law and winning a scholarship to a US college, a friend asked him to help out “for a few weeks” in his music store. From there he set up Michael Coppel Presents whose ticket sales put it at second largest promoter at the time.
In 2012, Live Nation asked him to run its Australian and New Zealand operations. Since then it has sold over 35 million tickets, establishing Pink as its biggest market shifting 3.1 million over six tours.
In the last financial year, Live Nation ANZ was the most successful promoter, shifting 2.7 million tickets and with four of the five biggest tours, led by Coldplay grossing US $85.9 million and selling close to 724,000 seats, followed by Pearl Jam, Travis Scott, and The Weeknd.
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LN continues to expand its venue and festival portfolio, with Northbridge Musical Hall in Perth next in line. In New Zealand it bought out Christchurch’s Electric Avenue which this year had 45,000 at each of its two days – a fraction of the 200,000 who tried to buy tickets for 53 acts including Split Enz and Dom Dolla.
Matt Gudinski – Chief Executive, Mushroom Group
Since taking as CEO of Mushroom Group since the passing in March 2021 of his father Michael, Matt Gudinski has expanded the company to an empire that Billboard described to its international readership as “span(ning) recording, publishing, touring and booking agencies, merchandise and marketing services, venues, exhibition and events production, neighbouring rights, branding, talent management and more.”
Its flagship Frontier Touring’s partnership with AEG Presents, second largest promoter in the world, has seen gain a global focus. The younger Gudinski was already recognised by international executives for bringing to Australia the likes of Drake, Bruno Mars, 50 Cent, and Usher when they were relatively unknown.
Last spring, the Fridayz Live touring festival made the international trade publications. Through the group’s independent promoter MG Live, it brought the event back after a hiatus with Mariah Carey and Pitbull headlining and went on to sell 160,000 tickets.
Acts signed to various divisions in the group are making their presence felt internationally. Gudinski told this writer, “Supporting and developing and exposing the Australian market remains a priority. Dad didn’t get that Number One in America but it’s still a goal. On his behalf I’d like to achieve that.”
Dan Rosen – President, Warner Music Australasia & Southeast Asia
Aside from overseeing responsibility for Warner Music Group’s recorded music and music publishing businesses in Australia and New Zealand, last October, Dan Rosen also had his role expanded to lead the recorded music businesses in Southeast Asia – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Some of Warner’s biggest international acts generated one third of their total streams in this region with a combined population of 550 million. Younger music fans are strongly aligned with social media and streams.
Rosen’s promotion came at a time when Warner was investing in pan-regional marketing, working at getting Australian and New Zealand acts like Balu Brigada, Boy Soda, Budjerah, Kita Alexander, and Thelma Plum a global audience, and touring Vietnam act Vũ.
Rosen said: “Our mission has always been to find dynamic ways to help our local artists go global, and for our global artists to grow passionate local fanbases.”
Geoff Jones – Chairman, Ticketek Entertainment Group (TEG)
Until March 2025, Geoff Jones was CEO of TEG before moving up to Chairman. For 14 years he built the company’s tour promotion, Ticketek ticketing, technology, and a data analytics service which even rivals applauded for its accuracy.
The military-like strategies he employed were attributed to his 16 years in the Australian Defence Force, where he climbed to Lieutenant-Colonel. From there, he joined Ticketek as CEO and then sports and entertainment firm SEL where he was a Partner and Director.
It now has 30 businesses, including divisions in Europe, Asia, and North America, with seven offices, and covering music, sport, family entertainment, esports, and exhibitions. These move over two million a year in Australia and New Zealand alone.
“The heart of what we do is to identify exciting new talent, which our team has proven to be very good at.”
The company includes TEG Live, TEG Sport, TEG Rugby Live, TEG Experiences. TEG Europe, TEG Live USA and Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena. It also bought into companies run by promoters Paul Dainty and Gary Van Egmond as well as Laneway, Handsome Tours, SXSW Sydney (which recently suffered a blow when the NSW Government pulled its support).
In 2026, the touring business TEG Live evolved into a platform that brought in promoters and entrepreneurial talent to help them deliver. The company explained: “The model is designed to accelerate growth across established and emerging genres and back the next generation of live entertainment leaders.”
An office in Nashville USA was set up. “It will focus on artist relationships, touring partnerships and long-term pipeline development, strengthening the connection between the US and Australian markets and positioning TEG Live as a key international player in Country touring.”
New appointments were made to drive the music strategy globally, to expand its presence in country music in Australia and New Zealand, and to tap into the EDM market through Asia, as well as in hard rock and Asia Pop. Meanwhile, Laneway had its best figures ever this year (210,000) while Gold Coast EDM festival OUT2LUNCH went national.
Rachel Newman – Co-Head, Apple Music
Rachel Newman joined the ranks of powerful Australian music executives in May 2025, when she was promoted to Co-Head of Apple Music, based in Los Angeles.
She shares the role with Ole Obermann, former Global Head of Music Business Development of ByteDance.
In Australia, she worked from 2006 to 2009 as Program Director at Foxtel’s XYZ Networks, which ran Channel [V], MAX and the Country Music Channel before it was closed in 2012.
Newman started at Apple Music as the iTunes Australia and New Zealand manager in 2009, before taking on the position of Global Head of Content and Editorial in 2011.
Apple reported: “Apple Music had its best year ever in 2025, breaking records across both listenership and new subscribers.”
New Apple Music features in 2025 included Lyrics Translation and Pronunciation, AutoMix, Library Pins, and in-app Replay stats. Apple Music Sing allowed users to turn their iPhones into a mic that pushed their voices through the TV.
This week Apple Music and TikTok introduced Play Full Song, which allowed subscribers who discover songs on TikTok to hear the full track on Apple Music and save it to their libraries.
Kim Frankiewicz – Executive Vice President of International A&R, Concord Music Publishing
This month (March 25), the Australian-hailed London-based Kim Frankiewicz will be lauded at Musexpo in Los Angeles as recipient of the third annual Seymour Stein – Global A&R Award.
In her role, award organisers said, “Kim has shaped the creative vision and culture of Concord, leading a global team across Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Nashville, Berlin, London, and Melbourne, as the company has expanded into one of the world’s leading independent music publishers.”
Its roster includes emerging names Tyla and Omar Apollo alongside hitmakers as A. G. Cook, J Hus, Fraser T. Smith, Jin Jin, Amy Wadge, all while the catalogue has grown to nearly one million copyrights.
Frankiewicz began her career in Australia at INXS and Models manager Chris Murphy’s MMA Management. She then joined Universal Music Publishing in New York and later London.
As Managing Director at Imagem Publishing, she signed and developed Daft Punk, Kaiser Chiefs, Mark Ronson, Cathy Dennis, and Justin Parker, while securing catalogue deals with Pink Floyd and Phil Collins/Genesis.
In 2018, following Concord’s acquisition of Imagem, Frankiewicz was named Executive VP of Worldwide Creative for Concord’s publishing division with her team growing to nearly 30 A&R professionals globally.
Sean Warner – President, Universal Music Australia & New Zealand
Sean Warner took over as President of Universal Music Australia & New Zealand on January 1, 2023.
Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group (UMG) said at the time, “Sean’s deep understanding of the Australian market combined with his operational experience and the respect he has earned from his UMG colleagues and artists—both domestic and international—makes him the ideal executive to take on the role of President.”
After stints at BMG Interactive, Sony PlayStation, DMX Music, and Foxtel, Warner joined UMA in 2007 as National Sales Manager.
As Senior Vice President of Commercial, he oversaw its digital development. Over 15 years he developed the ANZ division’s move to streaming as well as the commercial strategy of the Southeast Asian operations.
He launched Bravado’s Merchandise and licensing operations in ANZ and developed UMA’s eCommerce business.
As head of the country’s largest recorded music company with a radio market share of over 40%, Warner revamped the company culture, and saw investment in Paul Kelly, Baker Boy, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Paul Dempsey, Hilltop Hoods, Royel Otis, Bella Mackenzie, and Rachael Fahim pay off. Deals with Coca-Cola, Cotton On and Campari increased income for local artists, as have global catalogue interest in INXS, Empire Of The Sun, and Killing Heidi.
Dion Brant – CEO, Frontier Touring; President/CEO, AEG Presents Asia Pacific
Based in Melbourne, Dion Brant started out marketing and programming in commercial radio. He then moved into the live sector, heading ticketing agency Ticketek.
His reputation as a skilled strategist and ability to forge relationships in sports and music, saw Michael Gudinski bring him into the Mushroom Group in 2013 to head up strategy and development. A year later he moved into Frontier, playing a major role in its 2019 partnership with US-based global AEG Presents.
It gave Frontier an edge in securing major and new acts, to the point where in one year, Frontier was ranked by Pollstar as the third largest promoter in the world. After Gudinski’s passing (2021), AEG took a controlling interest in Frontier and Brant was named CEO.
Under Brant, Frontier underwent a cultural change. It resulted in emerging acts such as Gracie Abrams, Benson Boone, and Teddy Swims blowing up in the market, leaping to arena status at astonishing speed.
“We have these artists who have this powerful connection with their audiences, and making them feel a real part of the show. It’s fascinating to watch. It also shows that our team is two or three steps ahead of the game.”
Last year, AEG expanded his role to become its President and CEO of its Asia Pacific operations, saying “he’s a steady hand capable of guiding our business into the future.”
Paul Dainty – President/CEO, TEG Dainty
Billboard once ranked Paul Dainty as fifth largest promoter in the world. Born in the UK and setting up shop in Australia in the early ‘70s after spotting its potential, Dainty used his overseas contacts from his time in a London music agency to his advantage.
The Dainty Group and Dainty Corporation brought out monster tours as Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, ABBA, David Bowie, U2, Prince, Jackson 5, Neil Diamond, Cat Stevens, Guns N’ Roses, Duran Duran, Diana Ross, Michael Bublé, George Michael, Katy Perry, Eminem (drawing 257,542 fans on one tour), Phil Collins, and Hugh Jackman. Moves into theatre productions and wrestling were also big scale.
In 2016, the Dainty Company was acquired by TEG. He continued to make his presence felt as a promoter who staged shows across ANZ, the US, the UK, Southeast Asia, and South Africa. Among them, he took Eminem and Lionel Richie to South Africa and South East Asia, and Michael Bublé across Asia.
He began financing global musicals as TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, and Neil Diamond’s Beautiful Noise (the singer is a godfather to one of Dainty’s children), and last year set up a management company with his son Sam to look after acts who had a worldwide appeal.
Meagan Walker – Group Director Of Arena Operations For Asia Pacific, Legends Global
Meagan Walker started 2001 at entertainment and sports precinct Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust, overseeing Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena.
Her commercial acumen, negotiating skills, developing best practice ticketing and relationships with international live music, sports and government sectors saw her promoted to arena contract and site ticketing manager five years later.
She added concert procurement and contracting at AAMI Park to responsibilities 2011.
As General Manager of Rod Laver Arena, she took a lead in negotiation of the Commonwealth Games 2006 and FINA 2007, and delivery of the Australian Open.
A board member of Venue Management Association, she took on mentor status, lecturing for 13 years at the Venue Management School in negotiation, booking & scheduling, and retailing & merchandising.
Taking over as Group Director of Arena Operation from October 2024 for ASM Global APAC venues (now known as Legends Global after their merger finalised in September 2025), her responsibilities included Suncorp Stadium, ICC Sydney, Optus Stadium, Qudos Bank Arena, Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Cairns Convention Centre, Newcastle Entertainment Centre and RAC Arena.
She said in 2025, “Over the past year, we’ve focused on tailoring our events and environments to meet and exceed the expectations of our audience at every stage of the experience.”
That included revamping merchandise operations, updating menus to align with the demographic, introducing new chill spaces and expanded back of house for crew comfort. More recently there were moves to expand content diversity and explore greater sustainability.
Her role also includes supporting other arena venues in the region with a focus on event acquisition, operational planning for best practice patron experience and event delivery.
Nathan McLay – Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand, Virgin Music Group
When DJ Nathan McLay and Chad Gillard set up Future Classic in Australia in 2004, it was inevitable that it would soon end up a global entity. From the start it was Eurocentric, to distance itself from other local EDM labels.
Before you knew it, Flume, Chet Faker, Flight Facilities, Jagwar Ma, and Ta-Ku were internationally known, and McLay was a well known executive around the planet with a reputation who had the smarts to get the work done.
So not surprisingly in 2023 when Virgin Music underwent an international makeover, McLay was made Managing Director for Australia & New Zealand.
His brief was to build up Peking Duk, Larissa Lambert, Stand Atlantic, dust., and Ruel. He also extended his influence as a member of the Music Australia Council at Creative Australia, helping to inform its strategy and direction.
Jaime Gough – Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand, Concord
Jaime Gough began as the Managing Director of Concord Music Publishing ANZ after the global publisher acquired Native Tongue (for an eight figure sum) which had been founded by his father Chris Gough in 2003.
The two Goughs had built the company to be a proactive one, breaking into the K-Pop market before it became a phenomenon, and found success with syncs. At one time, Jamie had relocated to London to be in a position to land lucrative catalogues and got Prince, as well as Imagem which was home to Phil Collins, Pink Floyd, and Rodgers & Hammerstein.
In the Concord era, that proactive element remains. Apart from working with emerging hot names as The Belair Lip Bombs and Lithe, the company set up songwriting camps along the East Coast and funded the first songwriting camp with the Black Music Alliance, with writers from Australia and Africa.
The Concord ANZ catalogue includes Dave Dobbyn, The Amity Affliction, Courtney Barnett, The Black Seeds, Shapeshifter, M-Phazes, Jon Hume, The Waifs, Meg Mac, Coterie, Holy Holy, Stuart Crichton, Tia Gostelow, Don McGlashan, Aldous Harding, Luude, Ashli, SACHI, Richard Clapton, JessB, Delaney Davidson, Kingswood, Fanny Lumsden, and Marlon Williams.
More recently added to the list were NZ’s The Beths and the first South East Asian publishing deal with Thai songwriter and producer WIM.
A statement with the latter signing confirmed there’d be more signings from the region “with strong international potential.”
Simon Moor – Managing Director of Asia-Pacific, Kobalt
Simon Moor established Kobalt Music Publishing in Australia and New Zealand in 2010, helping launch the global careers of Gotye, Flume (Future Classic), and Dean Lewis. Today, the roster includes Royel Otis, Tim Minchin, John Williamson, Kev Carmody, G Flip, Spacey Jane, Parkway Drive, Fat Freddy’s Drop, and Tash Sultana.
In 2016, Simon expanded Kobalt’s reach by founding Kobalt Music Publishing Asia in Hong Kong, striking partnerships with high profile players Tencent Music Entertainment, NetEase Cloud Music.
In January it struck a deal with India’s Madverse Music Group, a tech-driven music distribution and marketing company supporting over 150,000 independent artists and labels across India and South Asia. Kobalt will provide royalty collection, metadata accuracy and access to sync opportunities in over 180 territories.
Moor has also helped build up the publishing sector on the boards of APRA, AMCOS and AMPAL.
Max Thomas – Head of Marketing & Campaigns for APAC, Secretly Distribution
Based in Sydney, Max Thomas was in charge of Secretly Group’s APAC marketing and strategy for four years before being promoted when the company set up an Asia-Pacific office last September to service acts and labels. These included Australia’s Chapter Music and Spinning Top, and New Zealand’s Lil’ Chief Records and Flying Nun.
Thomas had run album campaigns in Australia, New Zealand and Asia for artists including Mitski, Bon Iver, Bright Eyes, Faye Webster, Folk Bitch Trio, Japanese Breakfast, and Sharon Van Etten.
Secretly Distribution recently reported that 2025 was its “biggest year yet”, with thousands of releases from more than 100 record labels and businesses, and achieving a “multitude” of Gold and Platinum certifications.”
The company also signed new or renewed deals with Third Man Records, Org Music, Ubiquity, Asthmatic Kitty Records, Invada Records, and Ipecac Recordings.
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
