Australia’s Tash Sultana has launched a live booking firm called Lonely Lands Agency (LLA) in partnership with her co-managers, Lemon Tree Music Co-Founder Regan Lethbridge and UNIFIED Music Group Founder and CEO Jaddan Comerford.
Based at UNIFIED’s HQ in Richmond, the Lonely Lands team is rounded out by widely-respected Australian booker Harry Moore who joins as Senior Agent, with UNIFIED’s Desiree Venuto taking on the role of Assistant Booking Agent.
Lethbridge has been Sultana’s booking agent since the beginning of her career and continues to manage her globally alongside various other artists.
Comerford has managed Sultana’s career in The Americas since 2016.
LLA’s full roster at launch includes Ash Grunwald, Bootleg Rascal, CLEWS, Garret Kato, Jakubi , John Floreani , Ocean Alley , Piece Brothers, Stand Atlantic, Tones And I, The Belligerents , The Moving Stills, The Pinheads, Trophy Eyes, West Thebarton, Ziggy Alberts and Tash Sultana.
“The team are looking forward to pooling our knowledge and experience and putting all of our resources into this new business venture.”
Regan Lethbridge, Lemon Tree Music
Regan Lethbridge said: “Ultimately, it’s an artist-first company. Artists are the face of it and everything we do is about them.
“The team are looking forward to pooling our knowledge and experience and putting all of our resources into this new business venture.
“It’s an incredibly exciting time to be in the music business and to be working with such inspiring artists.”
Comerford added: “I couldn’t be happier to come together with my friends Regan and Tash to start this amazing new venture.
“Together with Harry, Desiree, and of course, all the amazing artists, we are going to create something very special.”
MBW caught up with Tash Sultana to find out more about the new agency…
How did the idea for the partnership come about?
Artists have more control over their careers now more than ever before. We have a lot more say in how our careers shape up working in conjunction with outside labels, management, etc.
“It’s not uncommon to see artists have their own labels and publishing companies, so I thought why not represent myself on the live aspect as well.”
Tash Sultana
It’s not uncommon to see artists have their own labels and publishing companies so I thought why not represent myself on the live aspect as well.
Could you tell us about the personnel?
I would not have been able to get to where I am if it wasn’t for Regan – none of this would have been possible. He started booking me very early on and then became my manager.
Jaddan has also been there from very early on and has an insane amount of knowledge.
He co-manages me in the US so when Regan and I started thinking about LLA, it only made sense to bring him in.
I have also known Harry, who will come on board as Senior Agent, since my early busking days as well.
We’re lucky to have a great team launching LLA who’ve all come from different parts of the industry and with that comes a wealth of knowledge
Can you give us an insight into the state of the live music business there at the moment from an artist’s perspective?
The live music business is alive and well here in Australia. I was reading just the other day in Pollstar that seven of the top 50 promoters from the first quarter of 2019 came out of Australia in regards to box office gross.
It makes sense as this is a great place to play and the country has been able to bring in the best acts around the world time and time again.
Australia has constantly shown the rest of the world what it has to offer and having played all over the globe myself, the possibilities to put on your best show are endless.
Could you tell us about your experiences as a live act and how you’ll apply your experiences to the agency?
I think acts will find comfort knowing their needs as an artist will be taken into full consideration as I’ve been exactly where they are and understand the needs of an artist well.
What are your hopes/aspirations for the agency over the next few years?
Our goal is to give great acts the ability to play in the surroundings that work best for them. We’re lucky to have a great team launching LLA who’ve all come from different parts of the industry and with that comes a wealth of knowledge.Music Business Worldwide
