For the Mushroom Records company from Canada, see Mushroom Records (Canada), for the company that used to be Mushroom's operations in the United Kingdom see A&E Records

Mushroom Records was an Australian record company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. As of 2006 it is a one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros. Records. It is internationally known as WEA International Inc. Michael Solomon Gudinski AM (born August 22, 1950) is a Melbourne-based entrepreneur and businessman who is a leading figure in the Australian music industry, mostly known for forming the highly successful Australian record company Mushroom Records in 1972 through whom Gudinski signed several generations of Australian musicians and performers... // Music is an art form consisting of sound and silence expressed through time. ... A stilt-walker entertaining shoppers at a shopping centre in Swindon, England Entertainment is an event, performance, or activity designed to give pleasure or relaxation to an audience (although, for example, in the case of a computer game the audience may be only one person). ... // Music is an art form consisting of sound and silence expressed through time. ... A stilt-walker entertaining shoppers at a shopping centre in Swindon, England Entertainment is an event, performance, or activity designed to give pleasure or relaxation to an audience (although, for example, in the case of a computer game the audience may be only one person). ... A holding company is a company that owns part, all, or a majority of other companies outstanding stock. ... Warner Bros. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... Mushroom Records was a recording label company based in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada, founded by Shelly Siegel. ... A&E Records is a sub-unit of the Warner Music Group, which began life as Mushroom UK. This label was set up in 1993 by Korda Marshall, as an offshoot of the Australian label Mushroom Records, mainly to serve the UK with Australian musical imports. ... The record industry (or recording industry) is the industry that manufactures and distributes mechanical recordings of music. ... Michael Solomon Gudinski AM (born August 22, 1950) is a Melbourne-based entrepreneur and businessman who is a leading figure in the Australian music industry, mostly known for forming the highly successful Australian record company Mushroom Records in 1972 through whom Gudinski signed several generations of Australian musicians and performers... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Mushroom Records is an Australian record company. ... Warner Bros. ...

History

Mushroom Records had its beginnings when Micheal Gudinski was managing the band Healing Force who had the single Golden Miles released in July 1971. It shot to the top of the charts, but their record company at the time had already stopped producing the record as they didnt have faith in the record, so copies ran out. Micheal Gudinski formed Mushroom Records to make sure that would never happen again.^[1]

The label's inaugural release was an ambitious triple LP recording of the 1973 Sunbury Festival, and over the next few years they signed a number of important Australian acts of the period including Madder Lake and Mackenzie Theory. Mushroom struggled to survive for its first two years and reportedly came close to folding on several occasions, but the label was dramatically pushed to the forefront of the Australian music scene in early 1975 following the massive success of Skyhooks, whose debut album became the biggest-selling Australian LP ever released up to that time. Around the same time, Gudinksi was convinced to sign expatriate New Zealand band Split Enz, who had recently relocated to Australia. Although they had only moderate success for the first few years, Split Enz scored huge success in 1980 with the release of their album True Colours and the hit single "I Got You", which marked the emergence of Neil Finn. Skyhooks was an Australian rock band of the 1970s, sometimes classified as a glam rock band, although this is mainly the result of the bands flamboyant costumes and makeup. ... Split Enz was a successful New Zealand band during the late 1970s and the early 1980s featuring brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. ... Neil Mullane Finn OBE (born May 27, 1958 in Te Awamutu, New Zealand) is a singer and songwriter and one of New Zealands foremost musicians. ...

Mushroom entered the international scene by setting up an International division in London headed by Korda Marshall of Infectious Records and formally RCA. The Australian label had some international success before then by signing The Saints, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan in the eighties. However the last two were released internationally through PWL. In the 1990s, Mushroom missed out on what could have been one of its biggest signings, and although the label was reportedly in the front-running to sign rising new Australian band Silverchair; the group opted to sign with the Sony label instead. Infectious Records is a record label whose bands include Ash, Seafood, and The Subways. ... RCA, formerly an acronym for the Radio Corporation of America, is now a trademark owned by Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson. ... The Saints are an influential Australian rock and roll band, formed in Brisbane in 1972 (see 1972 in music). ... Kylie Ann Minogue (born 28 May 1968) is a Grammy Award winning Australian dance-pop singer-songwriter and occasional actress. ... Jason Sean Donovan (born June 1, 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. ... PWL (Pete Waterman Ltd) is the production company and one-time record label owned by pop mogul Pete Waterman. ... For the C. S. Lewis novel, see The Silver Chair. ... Sony Corporation ) is a Japanese multinational corporation and one of the worlds largest media conglomerates with revenue of $66. ...

After selling 49% of the company to News Corporation in 1993, Garbage signed to the label via Marshall's UK operation, followed by Pop Will Eat Itself, Ash and Peter André. 1211 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), where News Corporation is based News Corporation (abbreviated to News Corp) (NYSE: NWS, NYSE: NWSa, ASX: NWS, LSE: NCRA) is one of the worlds largest media conglomerates. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Pop Will Eat Itself (also known as PWEI or the Poppies) were an English band formed in Stourbridge, with band members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. ... Ash are an alternative rock band that formed in Downpatrick (Northern Ireland) in 1992. ... André on stage Peter André (born 27 February 1973) is a pop singer-songwriter and television personality. ...

Gudinski sold the remaining 51% share of the label to News Corporation in 1998 for a sum reported to have been around AU$40 million. However, the sale of Australia's last major independent label to a multinational engendered some adverse publicity, with Gudinski controversially claiming that he had sold the label as a protest at the federal government's changes to the regulations governing the parallel importation of recordings.

Gudinski maintained control of most other Mushroom Group companies (including interests in music publishing, film production, band booking, national touring and venue management) and the name Mushroom Records. When Mushroom was merged with News Corporations's record label Festival Records to form Festival Mushroom Records in 1998, Gudinksi relaunched Liberation Music. This article deals with contemporary popular music publishing. ... Festival Records was an Australian music recording and publishing company which was founded in Sydney in 1952 and operated until 2005. ... Mushroom Records is an Australian record company. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... For the similarly named American record company, see Liberation Records. ...

In October 2005 Festival Mushroom Records was sold to the Australian division of the Warner Music Group for $AU10 million. The company's other major asset, Festival Music Publishing, was sold to Michael Gudinksi a month later for an undisclosed sum. Mushroom Records is an Australian record company. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

A&E Records

With the reorganisation into Festival Mushroom Records, a number of international operations and joint ventures were either shut down or sold. In the United Kingdom, the British arm of the company (including Infectious and Perfecto Records) was reorganised as A&E Records and sold on to the Warner Music Group when Korda Marshall took a position within that company. Mushroom Records is an Australian record company. ... Infectious Records is a record label whose bands include Ash, Seafood, and The Subways. ... Perfecto Records is a label founded by famed trance DJ Paul Oakenfold in 1989. ... A&E Records is a sub-unit of the Warner Music Group, which began life as Mushroom UK. This label was set up in 1993 by Korda Marshall, as an offshoot of the Australian label Mushroom Records, mainly to serve the UK with Australian musical imports. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Selective list of Mushroom/Festival Records signings

• Renée Geyer
• Madder Lake
• Mackenzie Theory
• Skyhooks
• The Dingoes
• Split Enz
• Scandal'us
• Paul Kelly
• Models
• The Saints
• Kylie Minogue
• Garbage
• Jimmy Barnes
• Muse
• Chain

Renée Geyer. ... Skyhooks was an Australian rock band of the 1970s, sometimes classified as a glam rock band, although this is mainly the result of the bands flamboyant costumes and makeup. ... The Dingoes were an Australian rock band from 1973 to 1979. ... Split Enz was a successful New Zealand band during the late 1970s and the early 1980s featuring brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. ... Scandalus (or ScandalUs) are the winners of the Australian Popstars 2 in 2001 (successors of Bardot, the winners of the first Australian Popstars in 2000). ... Paul Maurice Kelly (born 13 January 1955 in Adelaide, South Australia) is an Australian singer-songwriter and is recognised as an icon of Australian popular music as a member of the ARIA Hall of Fame. ... Models were an alternative rock group from Melbourne, Australia, formed in August 1978 and splitting in 1987. ... {{Infobox_band | band_name = The Saints | image = | years_active = 1974–present | origin = Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | status = On tour, promoting their new album Imperious Delirium music_genre = Punk Alternative rock | record_label = Harvest Records Sire Mushroom Records | current_members = Chris Bailey Caspar Wijnberg Peter Wilkinson<br The Saints are an influential Australian punk band, formed in Brisbane... Kylie Ann Minogue (born 28 May 1968) is a Grammy Award winning Australian dance-pop singer-songwriter and occasional actress. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Jimmy Barnes is a popular Australian rock singer. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... A broad metal chain made of torus-shaped links. ...

See also

• List of record labels
• Festival Mushroom Records
• List of current Festival Mushroom Records artists
• List of past Festival Mushroom Records artists
  • Festival Records
  • Warner Bros. Records
  • Liberation Records
• A&E Records/Warner Music Group
  • Infectious Records
  • Perfecto Records
  • Taste Media

This is a list of record labels. ... Mushroom Records is an Australian record company. ... Festival Records was an Australian music recording and publishing company which was founded in Sydney in 1952 and operated until 2005. ... Warner Bros. ... A&E Records is a sub-unit of the Warner Music Group, which began life as Mushroom UK. This label was set up in 1993 by Korda Marshall, as an offshoot of the Australian label Mushroom Records, mainly to serve the UK with Australian musical imports. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Infectious Records is a record label whose bands include Ash, Seafood, and The Subways. ... Perfecto Records is a label founded by famed trance DJ Paul Oakenfold in 1989. ... Taste Media is a record label and production company that has featured the bands Muse and Shed Seven. ...

References

External links

• Mushroom Records
• Mushroom Music Publishers

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