Secret Sounds Touring Shakes Things Up With New GM, Promoter & More

Esteemed Aussie artist-touring company Secret Sounds Touring is undergoing a period of change and renewal, with the organisation announcing a three-pronged shake-up to its ranks today, with new Promoter, General Manager and Artist Development agent roles being filled and announced today.

Marc Sousley — who joined Secret Sounds back in 2013 as General Manager — will step up into the senior role of Promoter, "actively seeking and promoting international talent for Australasian touring opportunities". His time at Secret Sounds has seen him care for artists such as Father John Misty and The 1975, as well as being involved in Splendour In The Grass and Falls Festival's SXSW showcase.

Sousley's promotion, thus, left a hole to be filled in the GM role, which will now be more than capably handled by fellow Secret Sounds staffer Sam Shaw, whose career with the company has followed a similar trajectory to his predecessor's, having also joined in 2013 and progressed from Tour Co-ordinator to Operations Manager. Having also spent time as an event manager, Shaw brings a wealth of experience with some of Sydney's finest venues, as well as artists such as Blur, Mark Ronson and London Grammar, to the role.

Finally, Secret Sounds has welcomed Blake Rayner to the fold to handle Artist Development. As with his fellow new appointees, Rayner has an encyclopaedic knowledge of his area of specialty, having spent half a decade as a music manager before, in 2011, joining Dew Process and Create/Control as A&R Manager and International Licensing Manager. His career trajectory has brought him into close working contact with London Grammar, Circa Waves, Tkay Maidza, Little May and companies such as Downtown Records and Mute Records — to name but a few — and he'll continue doing the good work for Secret Sounds out of their Sydney office.

With a wider view at potential flow-on effects of the new appointments, the company's statement advises that its present tour co-ordinator (Laura Hillier) and marketing manager (Jo Hickey), as well as LA-based production manager (Tim Peterson) and artist development agent (Tim Manton), remain unaffected by the change.

For more information about the changes at Secret Sounds, and what's on its plate over the next few months, head to the company's website.