Festival Records

Festival Records was an Australian recording and music-publishing company established in Sydney in 1952. It grew from a small record-pressing operation into one of the most important locally based music companies in Australia, releasing domestic recordings, manufacturing physical media, distributing independent labels and licensing international repertoire. The company ceased operating as an independent brand in 2005 after a period under the ownership of News Limited and a later merger with Mushroom Records. The business originated with Mainguard, an investment company founded by entrepreneur and former Australian army officer Paul Cullen. Mainguard acquired Microgroove Australia, an early Australian producer of vinyl microgroove discs, and Casper Precision Engineering. The two businesses were reorganised as Festival Records on 21 October 1952. Les Welch became the label's first artists-and-repertoire manager, and early staff included Bruce Gyngell, who later became associated with the launch of Australian commercial television. Festival's breakthrough came in 1955 when it secured the Australian rights to Bill Haley and His Comets' "Rock Around the Clock." The recording had initially been rejected by EMI's Australian operation, but its appearance in the film Blackboard Jungle helped turn it into an international phenomenon. Festival's release became the biggest-selling record in Australia up to that point and gave the young company a national profile. The label then expanded into Australian rock and popular music, signing or releasing records by Johnny O'Keefe and the Dee Jays, Col Joye and the Joy Boys, and Dig Richards and the R'Jays. Johnny O'Keefe's "Wild One," released as "Real Wild Child" in some markets, became one of the label's early landmark local hits. Mainguard's financial difficulties led to a sale of Festival to property entrepreneur L. J. Hooker in 1957. Although the company achieved chart successes, it continued to suffer from weak management and a limited international roster. Rupert Murdoch's News Limited acquired it in 1961. During the 1960s Festival benefited from both domestic talent and international licensing. The Australian success of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass helped it obtain a distribution relationship with A&M Records, bringing commercially important American releases, including records by the Carpenters, into its Australian catalogue. Under chairman Alan Hely, Festival became a leading Australasian pop company. It combined its own recordings with pressing and distribution arrangements for independent labels such as Sunshine, Kommotion, Spin, Clarion and, later, Mushroom. Its roster and associated catalogue included artists such as the Bee Gees, Olivia Newton-John, Billy Thorpe, Jimmy Little, Reg Lindsay, Noeleen Batley, Johnny Young, Jeff St John and many others. Festival also maintained relationships with overseas companies including Island, Chrysalis, Arista and A&M, although these arrangements later weakened as international labels established their own Australian subsidiaries or were absorbed by larger music groups. In 1971 Festival created the progressive-music imprint Infinity Records. Infinity released material by acts including Kahvas Jute, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, Blackfeather, Sherbet and Richard Clapton. Festival also achieved an unexpected international success in 1974 with Sister Janet Mead's rock arrangement of "The Lord's Prayer," which reached the upper reaches of the Australian and United States charts and became the first Australian recording reported to sell more than one million copies in the United States. The transition from vinyl and cassette to compact disc exposed structural weaknesses in Festival's manufacturing business. The company lacked a comparable CD-pressing capability, while the loss of major international distribution agreements reduced revenue. The reported extraction of substantial profits by News Limited further limited the funds available for plant investment, artist development and catalogue expansion. A leadership change in the mid-1990s brought James Murdoch to the chairmanship, with Alan Hely initially remaining to advise him. Roger Grierson later became managing director and pursued a reconstruction based on Australian independent labels and new international licensing agreements. In 1999 Festival acquired Mushroom Records founder Michael Gudinski's controlling interest in Mushroom. The businesses were merged and renamed Festival Mushroom Records. FMR subsequently handled recordings and licences connected with acts including Motor Ace, 28 Days, George, Amiel and Kylie Minogue, while also distributing or licensing repertoire associated with Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears and Britney Spears-related catalogue partners, among others. The soundtrack to Moulin Rouge! was the company's highest-selling album of 2002, and FMR reported a strong run of number-one singles and albums that year. Festival marked its fiftieth anniversary in 2002 with an exhibition and commemorative releases. The company ultimately operated until 2005, when the Festival Mushroom business and catalogue were absorbed through a transaction involving Warner Music Australia. Festival's historical importance rests on its role in building an Australian popular-music infrastructure: it recorded local artists, provided a platform for independent labels, pressed and distributed physical records, and connected Australian audiences with overseas repertoire.

Festival Records began in Sydney in 1952 after Mainguard, founded by Paul Cullen, combined the record-pressing business Microgroove Australia with Casper Precision Engineering. The new company was formally incorporated on 21 October 1952. Les Welch served as its first A&R manager, and the organisation initially operated across recording, pressing and distribution rather than as a narrowly focused artist label. Its first decisive success arrived in 1955, when Festival obtained Australian release rights for Bill Haley and His Comets' "Rock Around the Clock." The record's use in Blackboard Jungle helped create demand, and Festival's release became the largest-selling Australian record to that date. The result established the company as a serious competitor in the domestic market. Festival followed this achievement by signing Australian rock-and-roll performers including Johnny O'Keefe, Col Joye and Dig Richards. O'Keefe's "Wild One" became an early local landmark, while Col Joye and the Joy Boys produced several number-one records in 1959. Mainguard's financial problems resulted in the sale of Festival to L. J. Hooker in 1957. Hooker took a personal interest in the business and operated the Rex imprint, but Festival's financial position remained difficult. News Limited acquired the company in 1961. A second period of growth followed after Festival released successful recordings by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass and gained access to an A&M Records distribution relationship. This helped Festival bring high-profile American acts, including the Carpenters, to the Australian market. Chairman Alan Hely developed Festival into a broad music enterprise. It built a domestic roster while pressing and distributing recordings for independent companies such as Sunshine, Kommotion, Spin and Clarion. Festival also handled important overseas licences, including relationships with Island, Chrysalis, Arista and A&M. Its associated and distributed repertoire included Australian performers from pop, rock and country music, among them the Bee Gees, Olivia Newton-John, Billy Thorpe, Jimmy Little, Reg Lindsay, Johnny Young and Jeff St John. Producer Pat Aulton was a major contributor to the company's late-1960s pop output, later followed in that role by Richard Batchens and Mark Moffatt. Festival created Infinity Records in January 1971 to focus on progressive music. The imprint released acts such as Kahvas Jute, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, Blackfeather, Sherbet and Richard Clapton. Festival also enjoyed a major crossover success with Sister Janet Mead's 1973 recording of "The Lord's Prayer," which became a substantial Australian and American hit in 1974. Through the late 1970s and 1980s the company remained a leading local competitor, benefiting from links with Mushroom Records and Regular Records and from releases by acts including Icehouse and Mental As Anything. The industry's move from vinyl and cassette to compact disc weakened Festival's traditional manufacturing base. It did not have a comparable CD manufacturing capability, and several international licensing relationships ended when overseas labels opened local operations or were acquired by major music corporations. These changes reduced both distribution income and catalogue leverage. The company also faced criticism of its ownership structure because News Limited was reported to have withdrawn much of Festival's profit, limiting reinvestment in equipment and new talent. In 1995 James Murdoch became chairman, with Alan Hely remaining temporarily as an adviser. Bill Eeg served as managing director for a short period, followed by Roger Grierson. Beginning in 1997, Grierson pursued a strategy centred on partnerships with Australian independent labels and a new set of international licences. Festival worked with labels including W.Minc, Half a Cow, Reliant, Global, Clan Analogue and Psy-Harmonics, as well as international catalogues connected with TVT, Disney/Hollywood/Mammoth, Palm Pictures and V2. Festival acquired Michael Gudinski's controlling 51 percent interest in Mushroom Records in 1999. The combined operation became Festival Mushroom Records. It expanded its executive team, developed the Whammo online music service and secured chart success through recordings and licences involving Australian artists and international performers. Its 2002 anniversary year included a museum exhibition and commemorative compact discs. The Moulin Rouge! soundtrack was its highest-selling album of that year, and the business reported more number-one singles and albums than any other Australian music company in 2002. Festival Mushroom Records operated until 2005, when the business was absorbed through a transaction involving Warner Music Australia. The company is therefore defunct as an independent operating brand, although its recordings, publishing interests and historical catalogue remain significant parts of Australia's recorded-music history.

• 2005

  Operations end

  [1]Festival Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Festival Mushroom Records ceased independent operation following absorption involving Warner Music Australia.

• 2002

  Fiftieth anniversary

  [1]Festival Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Festival commemorated fifty years with an exhibition and a series of catalogue releases.

• 1999

  Mushroom Records is brought into Festival

  [1]Festival Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Festival acquired Michael Gudinski's controlling interest in Mushroom Records and formed Festival Mushroom Records.

• 1971

  Infinity Records is launched

  [1]Festival Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Festival established a progressive-music imprint.

• 1961

  Acquisition by News Limited

  [1]Festival Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  News Limited acquired Festival, beginning a period of ownership that lasted until the business's final independent operations.

• 1957

  Sale to L. J. Hooker

  [1]Festival Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Mainguard sold Festival to property entrepreneur L. J. Hooker.

• 1955

  Breakthrough with Rock Around the Clock

  [1]Festival Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Festival's Australian release of Bill Haley and His Comets' hit established the company as a significant popular-music label.

• 1952

  Festival Records is founded

  [1]Festival Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Mainguard combined Microgroove Australia and Casper Precision Engineering and incorporated Festival Records in Sydney.

A major Australian independent-rooted record company that combined local artist development, physical-record manufacturing, publishing, catalogue ownership and domestic distribution of international repertoire.

• Recorded music catalogue · 1952

  Festival Records catalogue

  The core Festival catalogue comprised Australian and licensed international singles, albums, compilations and soundtracks. It covered pop, rock, country, progressive music and related commercial genres, and included recordings released through Festival's own labels and partner labels.

• Record label imprint · 1971

  Infinity Records

  Launched in 1971, Infinity was Festival's progressive-music imprint. Its releases included work by Kahvas Jute, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, Blackfeather, Sherbet and Richard Clapton.

• Soundtrack album · 2001

  Moulin Rouge! soundtrack

  The soundtrack associated with Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! became Festival Mushroom Records' highest-selling album in 2002 and one of the defining commercial releases of its final period.

• Online music service

  Whammo

  Whammo was an online music initiative offering CD sales and an online version of Ian McFarlane's Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. It represented Festival's attempt to extend its retail and reference activities into the internet era.

• Reported extraction of Festival profits by News Limited

  Reference material reports that a very large share of Festival's annual profits was transferred by Rupert Murdoch to subsidise other media ventures. The reported practice was criticised because it reduced the funds available for equipment, new artists and label development.

  Source

Read more

• 2002Festival fiftieth-anniversary programme

  Australia

  Festival marked its fiftieth year with a museum exhibition and commemorative compact-disc releases highlighting its catalogue and role in Australian popular music.

  Outcome. The anniversary programme reinforced Festival's historical identity shortly before the business ended as an independent operation.

  Source
• 1955Rock Around the Clock Australian release

  Australia

  Festival obtained Australian rights to Bill Haley and His Comets' recording after it had been rejected locally by EMI. Its exposure through Blackboard Jungle helped Festival market the release as a major youth-culture record.

  Outcome. The single became the biggest-selling record released in Australia up to that time and established Festival as a national label.

  Source

• 2005

  Absorption into Warner Music AustraliaM&A

  Background

  Festival Mushroom Records had reached the end of its independent corporate life after prolonged structural pressure in the recorded-music market.

  Action taken

  The Festival Mushroom business and catalogue were absorbed through a transaction involving Warner Music Australia.

  Aftermath

  Festival ceased operating as an independent company and became a legacy catalogue rather than an active record label.

  Source

• 1999

  Acquisition of Mushroom's controlling interestM&A

  Background

  Festival aimed to strengthen its Australian repertoire and consolidate its position alongside a prominent independent label.

  Action taken

  Festival acquired Michael Gudinski's 51 percent controlling interest in Mushroom Records and merged the businesses.

  Aftermath

  The combined company operated as Festival Mushroom Records and expanded its local and international licensing activities.

  Source

• 1971

  Creation of Infinity RecordsProduct launch

  Background

  Festival sought a dedicated home for progressive and album-oriented Australian music.

  Action taken

  It launched Infinity Records as a new imprint and signed or released progressive-rock acts.

  Aftermath

  The imprint became associated with releases by Sherbet, Richard Clapton, Billy Thorpe and other Australian performers.

  Source

1. 1Festival Recordsen.wikipedia.org