20 Years of Business, 20 Lessons for the Future

In 2002 I started my first business, Boomtown Records (which still exists to this day in some form!). As such, 2022 marked two decades in business.?

I knew of the date, but since we had already celebrated 10 years of UNIFIED Music Group in 2021, I thought it was best to let it go and look to the future, rather than the past. But my team had other ideas.?

On a seemingly normal Wednesday last October, I was called into the boardroom at our Melbourne office for a finance meeting with our CFO Andrew Irwin that would ordinarily take place on a Friday. I didn't ask too many questions (I love our weekly finance meetings!). But within an hour, it became clear that something was up. Someone in the room was stalling, and I could hear a flurry of activity outside the boardroom.?

What greeted me in the hallway stopped me in my tracks and eventually brought me to tears.?

The kitchen was full of team members all wearing Boomtown Records t-shirts. Matthew Rogers , our Chief Operating Officer, who I’ve worked with for 12 years, had dug up the original registration document for Boomtown Records and sure enough, it fell on this Wednesday in October.??

Matt had even invited my parents, Andrea Comerford and Brent. Dad made an amazing speech, and we took a great group photo complete with a 20-year trophy the team had made.??

The event was emotional for me and led to some reflection on the last 20 years.??

At the age of 38, I've spent more than half my life doing what I love. And of course, I'm immensely proud of what I've built, but I'd be lying if I didn't have some regrets. Regrets about how I could have treated someone better or invested more in a team member or a project. So with this thinking in mind, and with the encouragement of my friend Jake Challenor , here are some lessons from the last two decades:??

1/ It’s all about the team??

I literally couldn’t do what I do without the team at UNIFIED. It blows my mind daily the people I get to work with. From Matthew Rogers , our COO and Michelle Rose , our Chief of Staff, to Ash Hills and Oliver Mitchell , Co-GMs of our Artist Management company. Invest in your team and let them shine, which allows you to shine. ?

?2/ You can do good and still do good?

This is a classic by Richard Branson. There’s plenty to go around and plenty of ways a company can still make money while also making a positive impact. My friend Louis Posen runs an incredible label in Los Angeles called Hopeless Records. Their mission has always been to “make a positive impact.” I was lucky enough to meet Louis very early in my career and he has inspired me ever since. ?

?3/ There’s more to life than money?

For a long time, I was chasing money. I thought that was why you started business. But the longer I’ve done it, the more I’ve realised that it’s not about the money, at least to me. It’s about the impact we can have, the friendships we can build and the fun we can have. ?

4/ Music has the power to change the world??

What we do isnt rocket science and it isnt curing cancer, but the moments music creates can have a profound impact on people’s lives. Music brings people together and it’s there for you in the good times and the bad. ?

5/ We are always learning??

I went to university and studied for a business degree that I completed in 2004. That was a long time ago. Had I stopped learning then, I’d be in serious trouble. Every day is a chance to learn.??

6/ Always invest in the next generation??

As someone who managed to build a company at a young age, I am constantly on the lookout for people doing the same thing. I want to ensure we support the next generation of leaders and thinkers in our industry. This is why we started UNIFIED Investments, the UNIFIED Grant and Side Stage Ventures. We are strategically set up to invest in founders and their visions. ?

7/ Not all that glitters is gold?

I credit this quote to music promoter and entrepreneur, Dror Erez. He said it to me at the end of a festival we were both a part of many years ago that ultimately didn't continue. The advice has sat with me ever since. ?

8/ Just be yourself, and if that isn’t enough, then it wasn’t meant to be??

I've been through many versions of myself in business, including a phase where I felt the need to wear a button-down shirt and boots to work each day. I hated it. It was Nick Yates, who told me to be myself. So, I went back to wearing the same thing I've worn since I was 15 years old.??

9/ As hard as it is, failure needs to be seen as a gift?

It's a chance to know what you shouldn’t do again! It hurts to fail, and it’s hard to let go sometimes. But we can't change the past, all we can do is learn from it.??

10/ Don’t turn up expecting to do the same thing and expect a different result??

The music industry is forever changing. If we don’t acknowledge this, we will very quickly get swallowed up by that change. ?

11/ Never waste a good crisis??

This quote is often credited to Winston Churchill, but it was a wonderful way to navigate the ongoing pandemic. As hard as 2020 and 2021 were, the growth we found as a company was - in many ways - driven by this quote. We could have sat back and waited, but instead, we pushed forward. We didn’t waste a minute. ?

12/ Listening is so much more effective than speaking??

Our leadership coach, Hamish Riddell , encourages us to lead with questions. Ask a question, and let the other person answer it. Or even better, just let them talk and answer their own question. Encouraging others to think and figure things out on their own allows you to be supportive of them. They feel heard and see you as someone that believes in them.?

13/ It’s not selfish, it’s selfless to self-promote??

Kim Teo , CEO and Founder of Mr Yum, said this in an interview and it really struck me. I've never been big into self-promotion, but here I am writing a blog post about myself. The reason? I hope others can benefit from me sharing my story.??

14/ Music is forever, trends will come and go??

We must never forget to invest in great authentic artists. These are the ones that will change the world. As an industry we conform so much to outside pressures, whether it’s shorter songs or certain types of content. But a great song is a great song. That’s all the matters. ?

15/ Musicians aren’t content creators, they’re artists, that happen to make content??

Lyor Cohen ?nailed it when he recently said: “The more we have artists always being ‘on’, instead of occasionally brilliant, our music industry is going to be in real trouble.” Our industry often forgets that it’s all about the music. A cliché I know, but it’s true. ?

16/ Don't invest in today, invest in the future, as today is already here?

The music industry has forever been disrupted. When I first launched Boomtown Records in 2002, we were only selling CDs. iTunes didn't yet exist. Look at how much has changed, and this change won’t be ending anytime soon. So constantly thinking ahead is key.??

17/ Music leads the way culturally, so we have a responsibility?

Music is always at the coal face of change. Whether it’s human rights or bushfires. The work we do is important and always will be. Even our government is finally starting to realise the economic impact we have as an industry. We are a commercial industry that carries huge weight in society. ?

18/ Its important to acknowledge your privilege ?

As a middle-class white male, I often get a head start in life. I was lucky enough to do some training with Diversity Arts Australia in 2020 which helped me realise just how much of a privilege this really is. Since then I’ve continued down this learning path and I encourage others to do the same. ?

19/ Try not to make yourself too busy, as otherwise you won’t have time to enjoy the ride??

Co-Founder of Mom+Pop Music, Michael "Goldie" Goldstone gave me this advice early on in my career. And although I’ve always been busy, and sometimes too busy, this quote has stuck with me. Now more than ever, I try to live it. ?

20/ Always remember to stop and smell the roses??

James Keogh (Vance Joy) and I say this to each other as often as we can. 2022 marked 10 years of us working together, along with my wife Rachael Tulloch . We’ve travelled the world and gone to heights I never knew were possible, but at the end of the day, the best moments were when the three of us stopped to smell the roses together.?