Liberation Music is a boutique, independent Australasian record company, started in 1999 by Michael Gudinski

Michael Gudinski

Michael Solomon Gudinski, AM is an Australian entrepreneur and businessman currently based in Melbourne who is a leading figure in the Australian music industry...

 and Warren Costello. Its stated aim is to find, nurture and then to develop new talent for a world market while remaining independent in the process. This is somewhat ironic in that Liberation is distributed by Universal Music, the largest record company in the world.

History

Following the 1998 sale of Gudinski's Mushroom Records

Mushroom Records

Mushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros...

 to Festival Records

Festival Records (Australia)

Festival Records was an Australian music recording and publishing company which was founded in Sydney in 1952 and operated until 2005....

, Liberation Music was formed to continue to satisfy Michael Gudinksi's desire to promote and develop Australian Music . Effective September 2008, Liberation is distributed by the Universal Music group in Australia after leaving Warner Music Australia. Festival Mushroom Records is the affiliate for Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...

 and Warner Music Australia.

Liberation Records existed from 1985 onwards as the licensing arm of Mushroom for international artists.

Associated labels

Liberation Music is closely linked with different arms of the Mushroom Group of Companies and is often known as the parent label of other Mushroom associated labels. These include Liberation Blue which represents music from the past, including artists such as Jimmy Barnes

Jimmy Barnes

James Dixon Swan , better known as Jimmy Barnes, is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer-songwriter. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. It was actually John who had encouraged and taught Jim how to sing as he wasn't really interested at...

, Hunters and Collectors, and The Triffids

The Triffids

The Triffids were a seminal Australian alternative rock and pop band formed in Perth, Western Australia, in May 1978 with charismatic, David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist. They achieved negligible success in Australia, but greater success in the U.K...

 , as well as Ivy League Records

Ivy League Records

For other uses of the term Ivy League see Ivy League Ivy League Records is a record label based in Sydney, Australia.Associated with the music management company Winterman & Goldstein and Ivy League Music publishing, Ivy League is the creation of Cameron Emerson-Elliot , Peter Lusty and James Roden...

 who are involved in an equity relationship with Michael Gudinski

Michael Gudinski

Michael Solomon Gudinski, AM is an Australian entrepreneur and businessman currently based in Melbourne who is a leading figure in the Australian music industry...

 and the Mushroom Companies, and Liberator Music which is the Mushroom label for international artists in Australia including The Kaiser Chiefs, Tupac Shakur

Tupac Shakur

Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...

, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers are an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. They were formed in 1976 by Tom Petty , Mike Campbell , Benmont Tench , , Ron Blair and Stan Lynch...

 and The Black Ghosts

The Black Ghosts

The Black Ghosts are a United Kingdom-based electronic music duo composed of Theo Keating and Simon William Lord, formed in 2006. They are currently signed to Southern Fried Records in the UK and IAMSOUND Records in North America. Keating and Lord had previously been in the bands The Wiseguys and...

 .

• Ivy League Records
  Ivy League Records
  For other uses of the term Ivy League see Ivy League Ivy League Records is a record label based in Sydney, Australia.Associated with the music management company Winterman & Goldstein and Ivy League Music publishing, Ivy League is the creation of Cameron Emerson-Elliot , Peter Lusty and James Roden...
  
  
• Illusive Sounds
• Liberation Blue
• Liberator
  Liberator
  -In literature:* The Liberator , a Bible re-telling by Rob Lacey* The Liberators , a book by Victor Suvorov-In film:*Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II, a 1992 documentary film...
  
  

The company has offices in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Sydney and Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

.

Artists

• Liberation Music
  • Custom Kings
    Custom Kings
    Custom Kings is a Melbourne folk-pop band started in 2002 as solo project for Nick Vorrath . After three critically acclaimed EPs they released their debut album, At Sea in 2007 and it was followed up with a second, Great Escape, in 2010...
    
    
  • The Holidays
    The Holidays
    The Holidays are an Australian indie pop/soul band. Formed in Sydney in 2006, the band consists of Simon Jones, Will Magnus, Alex Kortt and Andrew Kerridge...
    
    
  • The Hot Lies
    The Hot Lies
    The Hot Lies were an alternative rock band based in Australia. The band formed in Adelaide, Australia, in 2004. Their line-up consisted of lead vocalist Pete Wood, rhythm guitarist Benjamin Pix, drummer Jared Brown, lead guitarist Luke Szabo and former I Killed the Prom Queen bassist Leaton Rose...
    
    
  • Howling Bells
    Howling Bells
    Howling Bells are an indie rock band that formed in Sydney in 2004. The band obtained moderate popularity in the United Kingdom following the release of its 2006 self-titled debut album...
    
    
  • Liam Finn
    Liam Finn
    Liam Mullane Finn is a New Zealand musician and songwriter. Born in Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child...
    
    
  • Little Red
    Little Red
    Little Red is a rock band from Melbourne, Australia consisting of Adrian Beltrame , Dominic Byrne , Quang Dinh , Tom Hartney and Taka Honda .-Biography:...
    
    
  • The Temper Trap
    The Temper Trap
    The Temper Trap is an Australian indie rock band which formed in 2005. The core members are Jonathon Aherne on bass guitar and vocals, Toby Dundas on drums and programming, Dougy Mandagi on vocals and guitar, and Lorenzo Sillitto on guitar, keyboards and vocals. They are supplemented on tours with...
    
    
  • Peter Urlich
    Peter Urlich
    Peter Urlich is a New Zealand musician. He is one of the few NZ musicians who has managed to successfully cross the rock/house genre divide, performing successfully in both.-Early years:...
    
    
  • Matt Joe Gow and the Dead Leaves
    Matt Joe Gow and the Dead Leaves
    The Dead Leaves formerly known as Matt Joe Gow and The Dead Leaves are an Australian Alternative / rock band. The band formed in 2009, and their line up consists of vocalist, guitarist Matt Joe Gow, guitarist Andrew Pollock, bassist Cameron Grindrod and drummer Joel Witenberg...
    
    

• Illusive Sounds
  Illusive Sounds
  Illusive Group is an independent Australian record label & touring company that represents a number of acts including Bliss n Eso, Lowrider, Paris Wells, Downsyde, Metals, True Live, Diafrix and X&Hell.-History:...
  
  
  • Bliss n Eso
    Bliss n Eso
    Bliss n Eso are an ARIA Award-winning Australian hip hop band based in Sydney, and were originally known as Bliss N' Esoterikizm for their debut EP The Arrival...
    
    
  • DJ Flagrant
  • Lowrider
    Lowrider
    ]A lowrider is a style of car originated by Chicano communities that sits lower to the ground than most other cars. Many lowriders have their suspension systems modified so that their ride can change height at the flip of a switch...
    
    
  • Paris Wells
    Paris Wells
    Paris Wells is an Australian singer songwriter based in Melbourne. She has released two albums and one EP. Wells has played at festivals such as Falls Festival, Big Day Out, Meredith and Sydney Music Festival...
    
    
  • Weapon X & Ken Hell
  • Xzibit
    Xzibit
    Alvin Nathaniel Joiner , better known by his stage name Xzibit , is an American rapper, actor, and television host. He is known as the host of the MTV show Pimp My Ride, which brought him mainstream success...
    
    

• Liberation Blue
  • The Angels
    The Angels (Australian band)
    The Angels are a hard rock band that formed in Adelaide, Australia in 1970. The band later relocated from Adelaide to Sydney and enjoyed huge local success until well into the 1990s. For the purposes of international release, their records were released under the names Angel City and later The...
    
    
  • Boom Crash Opera
    Boom Crash Opera
    Boom Crash Opera are a pop-rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1985. Initially based around the songwriting partnership of Richard Pleasance and Peter Farnan Boom Crash Opera also includes Dale Ryder , Peter 'Maz' Maslen , Greg O'Connor and Ian Tilley Boom Crash Opera are a pop-rock band...
    
    
  • The Church
    The Church (band)
    The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...
    
    
  • Daddy Cool
    Daddy Cool (band)
    Daddy Cool is an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1970 with the original line-up of Wayne Duncan , Ross Hannaford , Ross Wilson and Gary Young . Their debut single "Eagle Rock" was released in May 1971 and stayed at number 1 on the Australian singles chart for ten weeks...
    
    
  • Hunters & Collectors
    Hunters & Collectors
    Hunters & Collectors were an Australian rock music band formed in Melbourne in 1981, fronted by singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour, they developed a blend of pub rock and art-funk...
    
    
  • Jimmy Barnes
    Jimmy Barnes
    James Dixon Swan , better known as Jimmy Barnes, is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer-songwriter. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. It was actually John who had encouraged and taught Jim how to sing as he wasn't really interested at...
    
    
  • Joe Cocker
    Joe Cocker
    John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
    
    
  • Diesel
    Johnny Diesel
    Johnny Diesel is an Australian musician, who has released material as leader of Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, under his birth name, or by the epithet Diesel...
    
    
  • Marcia Hines
    Marcia Hines
    Marcia Elaine Hines, AM is a vocalist, actress and TV personality who achieved success in her adopted homeland of Australia. Hines made her debut, at the age of sixteen, in the Australian version of the stage musical Hair and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar...
    
    
  • Mark Seymour
    Mark Seymour
    Mark Seymour is an Australian musician and vocalist best known for his work as the frontman and songwriter of rock band Hunters & Collectors...
    
    
  • My Friend the Chocolate Cake
    My Friend The Chocolate Cake
    My Friend The Chocolate Cake is an Australian musical group based in Melbourne. They have recorded seven albums since being founded in 1989 by David Bridie and Helen Mountfort, members of Not Drowning, Waving...
    
    
  • The Saints
    The Saints (band)
    The Saints are an Australian rock band, which formed in Brisbane in 1974 as punk rockers. Founders were Chris Bailey , Ivor Hay , and Ed Kuepper . Alongside mainstay Bailey, the group has had numerous line-ups...
    
    
  • Sherbet
    Sherbet (band)
    Sherbet was one of the most prominent and successful Australian rock bands of the 1970s. Their biggest singles were "Summer Love" and "Howzat" , both reaching number one in Australia. "Howzat" was also a top 5 hit in the UK. Though the band's success in the U.S...
    
    
  • Split Enz
    Split Enz
    Split Enz were a New Zealand band of the 1970s and early 1980s featuring Phil Judd and brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. They achieved chart success in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada during the early 1980s ‒ most notably with the single "I Got You", and built a cult following elsewhere...
    
    
  • The Triffids
    The Triffids
    The Triffids were a seminal Australian alternative rock and pop band formed in Perth, Western Australia, in May 1978 with charismatic, David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist. They achieved negligible success in Australia, but greater success in the U.K...
    
    

• Ivy League Records
  Ivy League Records
  For other uses of the term Ivy League see Ivy League Ivy League Records is a record label based in Sydney, Australia.Associated with the music management company Winterman & Goldstein and Ivy League Music publishing, Ivy League is the creation of Cameron Emerson-Elliot , Peter Lusty and James Roden...
  
  
  • 78 Saab
  • Josh Pyke
    Josh Pyke
    Josh Pyke is an Australian singer-songwriting musician.-Beginnings and Feeding the Wolves :Josh Pyke was in his first band by age 12 and played his first performance in front of 650 parents and students at his primary school graduation. Playing guitar and initial song writing efforts came aged 14...
    
    
  • Red Riders
    Red Riders
    Red Riders were an indie rock band from Sydney, Australia. After releasing two EPs and a single, the band released their debut album, Replica Replica in October 2006. The band announced that they would be splitting up via their Facebook page on 5 April....
    
    
  • The City Lights
  • The Vines
    The Vines
    https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Special:LandingCheck?landing_page=L11_1121_WMUK_Jimmy_DDOptimised&utm_medium=sitenotice&utm_campaign=C11_1121_WMUK_DDvOneOff&utm_source=B11_1121_WMUK_Jimmy&language=en&country=GB...
    
    
  • Bridezilla
    Bridezilla (band)
    Bridezilla are a five-piece indie band from Sydney, Australia that began playing together in 2005.The band - Holiday Sidewinder, , who also plays rhythm guitar on most tracks, Pia May, the band's guitarist, Millie Hall, plays both the Saxophone and the keyboard, Daisy Tulley, plays the violin, and...
    
    
  • The Mess Hall
    The Mess Hall
    The Mess Hall are a two-piece drums and guitar combo based in Sydney, Australia specialising in "raw, edgy bluesy rock." The band consists of Jed Kurzel and Cec Condon ....
    
    
  • Sparkadia
    Sparkadia
    Sparkadia is the project of alternative pop musician Alexander Burnett. Originally a band, Sparkadia formed in Sydney, Australia, in 2004. Up until 2009, Sparkadia was a four-piece band.-History:...
    
    

• Liberator Music
  • Armand Van Helden
    Armand Van Helden
    Armand Van Helden is a record producer, DJ and remixer whose biggest commercial successes came from his remixes of the 1996 Tori Amos song "Professional Widow" , which reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1997, and his own track "U Don't Know Me ", which went to number 1...
    
    
  • The Black Ghosts
    The Black Ghosts
    The Black Ghosts are a United Kingdom-based electronic music duo composed of Theo Keating and Simon William Lord, formed in 2006. They are currently signed to Southern Fried Records in the UK and IAMSOUND Records in North America. Keating and Lord had previously been in the bands The Wiseguys and...
    
    
  • Dinosaur Jr.
  • The Futureheads
    The Futureheads
    The Futureheads are an English post-punk band from Sunderland. consisting of Ross Millard , Barry Hyde and David "Jaff" Craig...
    
    
  • Garbage
    Garbage (band)
    Garbage are an alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. The group consists of Scottish singer Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson , Steve Marker and Butch Vig . All four members are involved in songwriting and production...
    
    
  • The Game
    The Game (rapper)
    Jayceon Terrell Taylor , better known by his stage name Game, formerly The Game, is an American rapper and actor. As a member of G-Unit, he rose to fame in 2005 with the success of his debut album, The Documentary, which earned him two Grammy Award nominations...
    
    
  • Jealousy
  • Kaiser Chiefs
    Kaiser Chiefs
    Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 1996. They were named after the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs....
    
    
  • Krafty Kuts
    Krafty Kuts
    Krafty Kuts is an English electronic music, dance music and breakbeat producer and DJ.His Debut album - Freakshow was released in 2006 on his Against The Grain label and contains guest artists Tim Deluxe and Ashley Slater from the UK band Freak Power...
    
    
  • Lady Sovereign
    Lady Sovereign
    Louise Amanda Harman , better known by the stage name Lady Sovereign, is an English rapper & grime artist. She is noted for her professional success in performing styles of music generally dominated by males...
    
    
  • Life After Death
    Life After Death
    Life After Death is the second and final studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released March 25, 1997 on Bad Boy Records. A double album, it was released posthumously following his death on March 9, 1997 and serves as his final studio album...
    
    
  • Loaded
    Loaded (band)
    Loaded is an American hard rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1999. Since 2001, the band's line-up has included vocalist and rhythm guitarist Duff McKagan , lead guitarist Mike Squires and bassist Jeff Rouse Loaded (also known as Duff McKagan's Loaded) is an American hard rock band...
    
    
  • Michael Franti & Spearhead
  • Michael Gray
    Michael Gray (DJ)
    Michael Gray is a British DJ and house music producer. He is also half of the dance music production/remixing duo Full Intention.-Career:Gray began his career as a British house DJ in the 1990s, and became in demand as a remixer, often with Jon Pearn under the name Full Intention, providing house...
    
    
  • Moloko
    Moloko
    Moloko were an Anglo-Irish electronic/pop duo consisting of Róisín Murphy from Wicklow, Ireland and Mark Brydon, from Sunderland, England.- Origin of band name :...
    
    
  • Morcheeba
    Morcheeba
    Morcheeba are a British band, mixing influences from trip hop, rock, R&B, and pop.They have produced 7 albums since 1995, two of which reached the UK top ten.-Biography:...
    
    
  • Nizlopi
    Nizlopi
    Nizlopi were a two-piece band, from 1993–2010, with Luke Concannon on vocals, guitar, and bodhrán, and John Parker on double bass, human beatbox, and providing backing vocals. They were based in Leamington Spa, England. Prior to attending Trinity Catholic Technology College, Luke and John...
    
    
  • Paul Van Dyk
    Paul van Dyk
    Matthias Paul, better known by his stage name Paul van Dyk is a German Grammy Award-winning Electronic Dance Music DJ, musician and record producer...
    
    
  • Simply Red
    Simply Red
    Simply Red were a British soul band that sold more than 50 million albums over a 25-year career. Their style drew influences from blue-eyed soul, new romantic, rock, reggae and jazz...
    
    
  • Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
  • Tupac Shakur
    Tupac Shakur
    Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
    
    
  • The Whip
    The Whip (band)
    The Whip are a band whose founding members Bruce Carter and Danny Saville come from Oldham, Greater Manchester, England formed in 2006. The rhythm section is Nathan Sudders and Fiona "Li'l Fee" Daniel , who was previously in Colne based band Earl....
    
    
  • World Party
    World Party
    World Party is a British pop/alternative rock band, which is essentially the solo project of its sole member, Karl Wallinger. He started the band in 1986 in London after leaving The Waterboys.-Career:...