Australian Music Industry
John Egan was working for Ford Motor Company when his old friend and former colleague, Peter Hayward called him. Peter had formed a music wholesale company, which was expanding by the late 1970s and John joined the company as it brought on several key product lines including Ernie Ball Strings,...
Sandra Lindsay is the Managing Director of Muso's Corner, a music store located in Newcastle, New South Whales, Australia. She purchased a small piano store and repair shop in 1967 and later renamed it Muso's Corner and expanded to a larger location in 1994. With a focus on lessons and music...
Mike Tyler has been involved with music his entire life, and at the age of five he was playing clarinet. He was a rock drummer while in college studying music education and was later a school band director for ten years. Mike then advanced to an administrative role within the Queensland Department...
Mark Morris and his brother formed Morris Music in Brisbane, Australia in 2001. The tradition of his family's involvement in the music industry goes back to 1967 when his father, John Morris, formed Academy Music. John also was a strong music advocate who created the Queensland School Band Festival...
John Masson was front pumping organs during the great home organ boom of the 1970s. He opened Masson Organ Villa in 1975 demonstrating Baldwin Pianos and Kawai keyboards and organs. He later expanded into a shopping mall before renaming the store Masson Music. Along the way, John has been very...
Trevor Morrow left his native country Ireland in his 20s to relocate to Australia where he took over the company Peter Hayward established, a music wholesaler called Australis Music. The company expanded to include over 20 brands such as Gator Cases and Line 6. Trevor assisted as the company...
Owen Ray recalls his father buying him a ukulele when he was a kid and his passion for string instruments began! Owen played a vital role in the Australian guitar market when he started repairing guitars as his day job while gigging with his band, the Countdowns, at night. While repairing Fender...
Ross Cole was inducted into the Australian Music Association's Honor Roll in 2017 for his life long career in music education. In 1978, Ross and his wife Marilyn opened Cove Music and later bought out Dixon's Music as a way of expanding into the school music market. The business expanded into 22...
Mark Barratt operates a music store that has been in his family for years. His great grandfather opened a clothing store that later sold pianos and was then expanded by his grandfather to include other instruments when he relocated to Launceston, Tasmania in 1937. Mark's father brought in records...
Keith Huxtable worked for Rose Music (now Yamaha) in Melbourne for 13 years beginning in the early-1970s. Starting in the service department and moving into product management, he witnessed the rapid development of electronic keyboards, MIDI, and synthesizers during that era. A special memory was a...