APRA Pays Tribute to Michael Gudinski With Songhubs Program

MELBOURNE, Australia — Michael Gudinski, the late, great Australian independent music champion, will be saluted with a new songwriting program.

APRA AMCOS’s flagship collaborative songwriting initiative SongHubs announces the first-ever Gudinski SongHubs in Melbourne, the hometown of the Mushroom Group founder.

Spanning four days, the gathering is curated by The Temper Trap, one of the many bands signed and nurtured by Mushroom Group, with songwriters from Baker’s Eddy, Middle Kids, Telenova and more.

The program, reads a statement, issued today (Feb. 19), “celebrates the collaborative spirit and bold vision that helped shape the rise of The Temper Trap,” a band that held dedicated writing sessions at Gudinski’s Mount Macedon home while developing their debut album Conditions.

“Michael Gudinski was such an important part of the Temper Trap story, and it’s a real privilege to be a part of the first SongHubs in his name,” comments Toby Dundas, drummer with The Temper Trap. “MG was a real champion of young Australian bands and with APRA AMCOS turning the success of the SongHubs camps towards a more band-focused format, it will be a great platform for the next generation of artists.”

Adds Mushroom Group CEO Matt Gudinski: “It’s no secret my dad loved Australian music and always gave artists the space to take risks and be bold. Working with APRA AMCOS on SongHubs has been a pleasure. This initiative reflects his unwavering drive to support and collaborate with songwriters, providing a platform and culture for artists to thrive.”

Since its launch in 2013, SongHubs has provided opportunities for over 2,000 Australian and New Zealand songwriters across over 30 locations worldwide, pairing them with local, national and global creatives in a collaborative, professional studio setting.

More than 6,000 tracks have been produced through it, from collaborators including Briggs, Chaii, Courtney Barnett, GFlip, Lindsay Rimes, Sarah Aarons and Troye Sivan.

The Gudinski SongHubs is unveiled as APRA marks its 100^th anniversary. As previously reported, those year-long birthday festivities include the launch of a new “hall of fame-style” event in November, along with the “biggest ever” APRA Music Awards in Sydney in April and Silver Scroll Awards/Kaitito Kaiaka in New Zealand this October.

“As we celebrate APRA’s 100th year of supporting songwriters, composers and music publishers, it seemed a fitting tribute to honor one of Australian music’s most influential people by launching the Gudinski SongHubs,” says Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS.

“Michael was such a passionate supporter of Aussie songwriters, and it’s been wonderful working with Matt Gudinski and (Mushroom Music co-CEO) Linda Bosidis in making this happen in our 100th year. We can’t wait to hear what comes out of it.”

Gudinski passed away on March 2, 2021, aged 68. His death triggered an outpouring of grief from the global music industry and artist community, with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Ed Sheeran, Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Kylie Minogue and many others paying their respects. Springsteen and Sheeran took their admiration one step further, by dedicating songs to the late entrepreneur, with the Brit flying to Melbourne, during the pandemic (and enduring a lengthy stay in isolation), to perform at a state memorial for Gudinski.

Also, the legendary music man was posthumously recognized as Billboard’s International Power Player of 2021; labels body ARIA paid tribute to MG by renaming the Breakthrough Artist ARIA Award in his honor, starting with the 2021 ceremony; and a life-size statue of Gudinski was erected outside of Rod Laver Arena, a spot where the impresario produced countless concerts during his lifetime.

The four-day Gudinski Songhubs program will take place from Feb. 24-27 Melbourne’s Bakehouse Studios, featuring such artists and producers as Angeline Armstrong (Telenova), Ciarann Babbington (Baker’s Eddy), Hannah Joy (Middle Kids), Ross James, Selve and Sunsick Daisy.