Paul Piticco

Paul Piticco is a prominent figure in the Australian music industry and was placed at number 11 in The Australian newspaper's 2012 "Top 50" list of influential Australians in the "Arts" field.^[1]

Entrepreneur

Piticco is involved with numerous businesses in the Australian music industry:

• Founder of Secret Service Artist Management, a management company for musicians
• Co-promoter of Splendour in the Grass, a Byron Bay music festival
• Co-promoter of Secret Sounds Touring
• Managing director of Dew Process and Create/Control, two independent record labels
• Part-owner of Popolo Italian Kitchen and Bar in Brisbane, Australia.
• Co-promoter of Falls Festival, a music festival held in Lorne, Victoria and Marion Bay, Tasmania.

Secret Service Artist Management

Secret Service Artist Management, and Piticco, manage numerous Australian musicians including Bernard Fanning, The Grates, Drag, Powderfinger, and The Predators.^[2] The company formerly managed Magic Dirt.

Splendour in the Grass

Secret Service, along with Byron Bay's Village Sounds, are the co-promoters of Splendour in the Grass, a live music festival held annually in Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia, since 2001.^[3][4] The festival was temporarily held in Queensland, Australia for a number of years and eventually returned to Byron Bay.

Piticco purchased a site in the North Byron Parklands to secure a permanent location for the festival prior to the 2013 edition. The new location is 25 km north of the previous Byron Bay site and was attained after a seven-year process. Piticco has organised for the Parklands to be used three times a year for music-related events, including the New Year's Eve Falls Festival event. Piticco explained in a media interview: "Having this land and only having one income stream from it isn't viable."^[5]

Secret Sounds Touring

Secret Sounds has also promoted the tours of several international artists to Australia, including The Strokes, Mumford & Sons and The Flaming Lips. In 2007, Piticco co-promoted the "Across the Great Divide Tour", a tour headlined by popular Australian bands, Powderfinger and Silverchair. The carbon neutral tour promoted reconciliation in Australia and contributed to the reduction of the 17-year gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.^[6]

In 2010, Piticco co-promoted the farewell tour of Powderfinger that signified the completion of the band's career. The "Sunsets Farewell Tour" consisted of performances in 34 cities and towns around Australia, whereby 300,000 tickets were sold. Pittico was also a producer for the band's final commercial DVD, Sunsets Farewell Tour, directed by Gregor Jordan.

Dew Process

In 2002, Piticco started Dew Process, an independent record label based in Brisbane, Australia. Dew Process' roster includes Sarah Blasko, The Living End, The Hives, Mumford & Sons, The Grates, Bluejuice, The Panics, Jebediah, Last Dinosaurs, Bernard Fanning, Art of Sleeping and Seeker Lover Keeper.

Create/Control

In 2012, Piticco launched his new record label, Create/Control. This label operates by a different business model from that of normal recording companies in the respect that no funding is allocated towards A&R development, instead there is a greater emphasis on distribution, marketing and publicity. ^[7]

Popolo Italian Kitchen and Bar

In December 2011 Piticco opened the restaurant Popolo Italian Kitchen and Bar in River Quay, South Bank, Brisbane.

Falls Festival

In September 2012, Piticco announced he would become co-promoter, alongside fellow Splendour in the Grass colleague Jessica Ducrou, of the Falls Festival music event. The announcement came shortly after the resignation of previous staff members Naomi Daly and Carmella Morgan.^[8]

References