Warner Music Australasia
Encyclopedia
Warner Music Australasia is the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n division of the Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...

. The company's operations also include distribution to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

History

In 1969, 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...

 decided to branch out and WEA International was born.

The first territory established was Canada, the second was Australia.

Paul Turner began the company with five staff members in July 1970, the official opening happening at the Menzies Hotel, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 on 1 October 1970. The company was then based in Riley Street, Darlinghurst and had three major labels, Warner Bros. Records, Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....

 and Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

.

A year later Warner Bros. Records worldwide (including Australia) changed names to Kinney Music. The monopoly laws in America at the time did not allow the three labels to trade as one, and so the 'umbrella' name of Kinney Music came into being.

For these first two years, the Australian Record Company (ARC), now known as Sony Music handled the Australian distribution.

Paul Turner's first year budget was one million dollars. This was achieved in seven months, with the first year's sales coming in at just under two million dollars.

By 1 October 1972, US monopoly laws had also changed and WEA (the first initial of each of the three main labels) Records was born. From this time, WEA Records Australia had its own sales and distribution arm. Adding a warehouse to the offices forced a location change to George Place, Artarmon, New South Wales.

WEA Records went on to become a major player in the Australian recording industry, through international successes of artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin and the Doors.

The company was renamed Warner Music Australia in 1990, and split into two divisions - WEA Records and East West Records. More focus was being placed on domestic signings, and phenomenal success was achieved by INXS, Cold Chisel, 1927 and Jenny Morris, to name a few.

Warner Music also invested in Brisbane bands Regurgitator and Pretty Violet Stain during the wave of Brisbane music becoming more commercially acceptable in the mid to late 1990s. Regurgitator became Warner Music's first direct signing and remained with the company until 2004. In 2005, Sire Records invested in Brisbane band The Veronicas who went straight to number 2 with their debut single "4 Ever" and album "The Secret Life Of The Veronicas". Later that year, Warner Music Australia bought out the ailing Festival-Mushroom Records for only $12 million and closed the label down but retaining the use of the Mushroom label for a couple of acts like Eskimo Joe and Gabriella Cilmi (who subsequently got signed to Island Records in the UK, one of the first Australian acts to do so).

As of 2010, the company continues to thrive with artists like Lisa Mitchell, Evermore (the New Zealand band), Kylie Minogue, and newly signed Brisbane act Dead Letter Circus.

Artists

This list contains artists signed directly to Warner Music Australia.
  • Cold Chisel
    Cold Chisel
    Cold Chisel is a rock band that originated in Adelaide, Australia. It is one of the most acclaimed Australian rock bands of all time, with a string of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s and huge sales that continue to this day, although its success and acclaim was almost completely restricted to...

  • Evermore
  • Gyroscope
    Gyroscope (band)
    Gyroscope is an Australian rock band from Perth, Western Australia, formed in 1997. The band comprises vocalist and guitarist Daniel Sanders, guitarist and back up vocalist Zoran Trivic, bassist and back up vocalist Brad Campbell and drummer Rob Nassif....

  • Lisa Mitchell
    Lisa Mitchell
    Lisa Helen Mitchell is an Australian singer-songwriter who grew up in Albury, New South Wales. Her debut EP, Said One To The Other topped iTunes in Australia and this success brought her to the attention of boutique London-based publisher, Little Victories , a subsidiary of Sony/ATV, with whom she...

  • Magic Dirt
    Magic Dirt
    Magic Dirt are an Australian rock band, which formed in 1991 in Geelong, Victoria, with Daniel Herring on guitar, Adam Robertson on drums, Adalita Srsen on vocals and guitar, and Dean Turner on bass guitar. Initially known as Deer Bubbles and then The Jim Jims, they were renamed as Magic Dirt in...

  • Regurgitator
    Regurgitator
    Regurgitator are an Australian rock band from Brisbane, currently consisting of Quan Yeomans , Ben Ely and Peter Kostic . The band formed in 1994, its original line-up consisting of Yeomans, Ely and drummer Martin Lee...

  • Shihad
    Shihad
    Shihad is a New Zealand hard/alternative rock band, currently based in Melbourne, Australia. During Shihad's recording career, they have produced four number-one studio albums and three top-ten singles in their home country of New Zealand....

  • Thirsty Merc
    Thirsty Merc
    Thirsty Merc are an Australian pop rock band formed in 2002 in Sydney, Australia. The band consists of Rai Thistlethwayte , Phil Stack , Karl Robertson , and Matt Smith ....

  • The Sundance Kids
    The Sundance Kids
    The Sundance Kids are an Australian pop rock band from Adelaide, South Australia, formed in 2006. The group began as the acoustic trio of vocalist and guitarist Ash Gale, as well as guitarists Jason Shepherd and Luke Zecchin, before they were joined by bassist and vocalist Jeremy Wright with...

  • The Whitlams
    The Whitlams
    The discography of The Whitlams consists of six studio albums, two live albums, one compilation album, and eighteen singles.-Studio albums:-Live albums:-Compilation albums:-Singles:-Videos:-Music videos:-Awards:...

  • 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...

  • 1927
  • Gyan
    Gyan
    GYAN or Gyan may refer to:* Gyan , a Sanskrit word that roughly translates to 'knowledge' in English.* Global Youth Action Network, a youth empowerment organization* Gyan , the debut album by Gyan EvansPeople named Gyan:...

  • INXS
    INXS
    INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...

  • VASSY
  • Kylie Minogue
    Kylie Minogue
    Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...

  • Jenny Morris
    Jenny Morris
    Jennifer "Jenny" Patricia Morris OAM is a New Zealand-born Australian pop, rock singer-songwriter. Her first success came with New Zealand band The Crocodiles, who had a top 20 hit single with "Tears"...

  • The Sharp
    The Sharp
    The Sharp was a 3-piece pop/rock band from Melbourne, Australia.The band formed in 1988 with Allan Catlin on double bass and lead vocals, Charlie Rooke on guitar and lead vocals, and Danny Simcic / Piet Collins on drums....

  • Moonlight
    Moonlight
    Moonlight is the light that reaches Earth from the Moon. This light does not originate from the Moon, but from sunlight. The Moon does not, however, reflect sunlight like a mirror, but it reflects light from those portions of its surface which the Sun's light strikes. See diffuse reflection.In...

  • The Ferrets
  • Ross Wilson
    Ross Wilson
    Ross Andrew Wilson is an Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer who fronted the groups Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock, and produced albums by Australian band Skyhooks. He has also performed solo, and as a judge on celebrity singing TV series It Takes Two from 2005...

  • Bang The Drum
    Bang the Drum
    Bang the Drum EP is an EP by Australian band INXS. It is an internet-only download exclusive to iTunes.It was released on 17 August 2004 through record label Island Def Jam, seven years after Michael Hutchence's death...

  • Mass Collective Mind
  • Dead Letter Circus
    Dead Letter Circus
    Dead Letter Circus are an alternative rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, who have been compared to The Mars Volta and Karnivool and have become one of the more popular bands in Australian rock...

  • Pretty Violet Stain
  • Kiley Gaffney
    Kiley Gaffney
    Kiley Gaffney is an Australian musician and performance artist. Before signing to Warner in the 1995, she worked predominantly in theatre and the artworld ....

  • Euphoria
    Euphoria
    Euphoria is an emotional and mental state defined as a sense of great elation and well being.Euphoria may also refer to:* Euphoria , a genus of scarab beetles* Euphoria, a genus name previously used for the longan and other trees...

  • Dane Rumble
    Dane Rumble
    -Studio albums:-Singles:-As featured artist:NZ certifications*Gold = 7,500 copies sold*Platinum = 15,000 copies sold-Music videos:-Awards and nominations:-External links:*...

  • Zoë Badwi
    Zoe Badwi
    Zoë Badwi is an Australian dance singer-songwriter, model and actress.-Early life:Before her career in music began, Badwi spent time modelling and featured in a series of television commercials including advertisements for Telstra and Mars Bars...


Warner Vision Australia

Warner Vision Australia, a company of Warner Music Australasia, released a series of VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 on the History of the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

. but just 11 editions of them:
  • The Official Films Of The Olympic Games: London 1948 (Volume 1)
  • The Official Films Of The Olympic Games: Melbourne 1956 (Volume 2)
  • The Official Films Of The Olympic Games: Rome 1960 (Volume 3) = the movie La grande olimpiade
  • The Official Films Of The Olympic Games: Tokyo 1964 (Volume 4)
  • The Official Films Of The Olympic Games: Mexico City 1968 (Volume 5)
  • The Official Films Of The Olympic Games: Montreal 1976 (Volume 6)
  • The Official Films Of The Olympic Games: Moskow 1980 (Volume 7)
  • The Official Films Of The Olympic Games: Los Angeles 1984 (Volume 8)
  • The Official Films Of The Olympic Games: Seoul 1988 (Volume 9)
  • The Official Films Of The Olympic Games: Barcelona 1992 (Volume 10)
  • The Official Films Of The Olympic Games: Atlanta 1996 (Volume 11)


Warner Music Vision Australia, released a series of DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

s thet join with the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...

. but just 10 editions of them:
  • Ray Martin Presents: Graham Kennedy - The King Of Television
  • The Best Of The Paul Hogan Show
  • Channel Nine Salutes Bert Newton
  • The Best Of The Don Lane Show
  • Paul Hogan's England
  • Studio 9 Unplugged
  • Laughs & Larrikins: Midday With Ray Martin
  • Golden Logies Moments
  • Hey Hey It's Saturday ... By Request
  • Hey Hey It's Saturday ... By Request 2
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