Liberator Music

Liberator Music is a record label owned by the Mushroom Group. It was founded in 2006 by Nick Dunshea and Michael Gudinski in Melbourne.. The label is the international recording division of the company and is home to artists such as Childish Gambino, CHVRCHES, alt-J, Andy Grammer, FIDLAR, Steve Aoki, Garbage, AJR, We The Kings, Wolf Alice, Kylie Minogue, Gengahr, Faith No More, Day Wave, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Fontaines D.C., IDLES and more.
==History==
Liberator Music was founded in March 2006 by ex-Shock Records employee, Nick Dunshea, and Mushroom Group founder & chairman, Michael Gudinski as the international recording division of the Mushroom Group.
Liberator Music went on to set up joint ventures and distribution deals with international labels such as [PIAS], Glassnote Records, Infectious Music, S-Curve, Norman Cook's Southern Fried Records, Partisan Records"Liberator Music announces partnership with Partisan Records", The Music Network (Wednesday, Jun 24th 2020). Retrieved 30 July 2020., as well as direct artist signings (for Australia & New Zealand) such as CHVRCHES, Garbage, Dizzee Rascal, Kaiser Chiefs and Childish Gambino
===[PIAS] Joint Venture===
In 2007, the company entered into a 50/50 joint venture deal with European record company, [PIAS]. In early 2013, [PIAS] acquired Cooperative Music (and the Coop-owned V2 Records label) from Universal Music Group, forming the new business division [PIAS] Cooperative"PIAS buyout of Co-Op cleared by EC regulators", Music Week (Monday, Mar 25th 2013). Retrieved 23 August 2019. thus giving Liberator Music the exclusive rights to the catalogue in Australia & New Zealand. After almost 10 years, [PIAS] and Liberator Music's partnership came to an end on 23rd January 2017 when [PIAS] acquired Australian record label, Inertia Music.
===The return of Garbage to Mushroom===
Garbage had originally signed to Gudinski's Mushroom Records for the release of their debut single, 'Vow' in 1995, and subsequent albums. In 2003, Mushroom Records was sold to Warner Music and absorbed by the label East West, which was headed up by former Mushroom Records executive, Korda Marshall. With the sale, Warner Music also gained the rights to Garbage's catalogue. On November 18 2011, after an "indefinite hiatus", the band tweeted that they had "Just signed in Australia with Liberator Music. Our career started in Oz. Twenty years on we are still loving Michael Gudinski." With this deal, Liberator Music took control of the band's catalogue, as well as future recordings. The first album of new material released via Liberator Music, |Not Your Kind Of People, charted at #8 on the ARIA Charts in May 2012. The following, Strange Little Birds, charted at #9 on the ARIA Charts.
===Childish Gambino===
====2011 – 2013: Camp and debut Australian tour====
On 15 November 2011, Liberator Music released Childish Gambino's debut album Camp. This was the start of a long-standing and successful collaboration between Liberator Music and Childish Gambino. Camp charted at #99 in Australia and saw Childish Gambino tour the country for the first time in 2013, playing the Big Day Out, as well as headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne.
====2013 – 2015: because the internet & Kauai EP====
Childish Gambino released his second album, because the internet on 10 December 2013, once again via Liberator Music in Australia/New Zealand. Doing significantly better than Camp, the album charted at #37 on the ARIA Charts and was announced as the final Feature Album on triple j for 2013. On 26 January 2014, lead single, '3005' came in at #43 on triplej's Hottest 100 countdown of 2013. On October 2, he released a mixtape titled STN MTN and the following day an EP titled Kauai, which spawned the single "Sober". While STN MTN was a free download, the proceeds of Kauai went to changing the policies for body worn video policing equipment and to maintaining and preserving Kauai island. Glover described them as a joint project and the "first concept mixtape ever" that continues the story told in Camp and Because the Internet. At the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, Glover received his first Grammy nominations for Best Rap Album for Because the Internet and Best Rap Performance for "3005". The following year saw more success in the Hottest 100 countdown with 'Sober' (taken from the EP, Kauai) coming in at #31 and 'Sweatpants' in at #60. '3005' is certified 2x Platinum by ARIA, while 'Sweatpants' is certified Gold. 'Sober' is certified Platinum by ARIA.
July 2014 saw Childish Gambino return to Australia to play at Splendour In The Grass. He announced an exclusive sideshow in Sydney at The Big Top |Luna Park, which sold out in less than an hour. The show was upgraded to The Hordern Pavilion. He once again returned in September 2015 to headline Listen Out Festival. While in the country, Childish Gambino appeared on triple j's Like A Version for the first time. He performed a cover of Tamia's 'So Into You', which went on to become the #1 most viewed Like A Version on YouTube with over 27 million views.
====2016: "Awaken, My Love!"====
2 December 2016 saw the release of "Awaken, My Love!". The album spawned the singles 'Me and Your Mama' and 'Redbone', the latter charting at #27 on the ARIA singles chart. To date, 'Redbone' is certified 4x Platinum in Australia. "Awaken, My Love!" charted at #9 on the ARIA album charts and was announced as the second last Feature Album of 2016 on triple j. The album was positively received by music critics and was nominated for both the 2018 Grammy Award for Album of the Year and Best Urban Contemporary Album, while 'Redbone' won for Best Traditional R&B Performance and received nominations for Record of the Year and Best R&B Song. Glover performed 'Terrified' at the award show's 60th ceremony.
The 2016 Triple J Hottest 100 countdown once again saw multiple entries for Childish Gambino, with 'Redbone' coming in at #5, his highest entry to date at that time. 'Me and Your Mama' charted at #88.
====2018: 'This Is America'====
After hosting Saturday Night Live for the first time, Childish Gambino released new single, 'This Is America.' The song would go on to be certified 2x Platinum in Australia.
Category:Companies established in 2006
Category:Record labels
Category:Australian musical groups