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Music label tries to crack US market

Updated March 02, 2010 15:26:00

The Darwin based music label Skinnyfish flew to New York to crack the large US market.

Source: 7.30 NT | Duration: 7min


MELINDA JAMES, PRESENTER: The Darwin-based music label "Skinnyfish" has spent a decade quietly recording many of the Territory's well known Indigenous artists.

But when the label captured the voice of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu and played it to the world, things changed.

The small label now negotiates with the big players in the music industry.

This week the company flew to New York, to crack the massive US market.

Eleni Roussos reports.


ELENI ROUSSOS, REPORTER: He may have been a long way from his home on Elcho Island in north east Arnhemland. But when Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu performed a duet with sting on French television last year, the Territory star really stole the show. This artist, who prefers to keep out of the spotlight, has been very much centre stage. His debut solo album has struck a chord with audiences around the world, winning a swag of awards along the way. Even the international media has been eager to meet the man who's changing the face of Indigenous Australian music.

(BBC BREAKFAST - "Gurrumul is a member of a small clan in North Eastern Australia...)

MICHAEL HOHNEN, SKINNYFISH MUSIC: It probably went 10 times bigger than what I thought it would do in terms of sales, it hasn't actually changed much about what we do except that we don't, except that we tour a bit more.

ELENI ROUSSOS: Blind from birth, Yunupingu started playing musical instruments as a young boy. As a teenager, he joined Yothu Yindi before starting his own group - the Saltwater band. But it was his debut solo album, produced by Skinnyfish music, that's catapulted his career to international acclaim.

MICHAEL HOHNEN: What Gurrumul and I tried to do was make an album where his voice alone could sit in anyone's lounge room. And it could just float through the house and out the windows and people could just embrace the voice and the songs and enjoy it.

ELENI ROUSSOS: Yunupingu's worldwide success has been a breakthrough for the Darwin-based Skinnyfish label. Michael Hohnen and Mark Grose came up with the idea to start the label while working in Galiwinku in north east Arnhemland 10 years ago. Hohnen was teaching music to local children in the community at the time, when he met Grose who was the head of the local council. The two strangers saw the need for a new Indigenous music label and dived in.

MARK GROSE, SKINNYFISH MUSIC: Michael had talked about the idea of starting a record label and he came to the Territory specifically to work with Indigenous musicians and when I saw the impact that music had with these young fellas I said to him that if you're serious about doing this, then I'd be really interesting in doing it with you.

ELENI ROUSSOS: Skinnyfish isn't your ordinary music label. A big part of the business also involves creating film clips that have a social message. This anti-smoking clip has been a huge hit.

MARK GROSE: We have worked across particularly the Top End communities in taking, either music programs or video programs, to try and keep young people away from anti-social behaviour, to give young people some skills in music and video that can carry them through their community life.

ELENI ROUSSOS: The number of artists on the Skinnyfish label has steadily grown over the past decade. Many of the Territory's best known Indigenous groups, including Wildflower, are with the label. But achieving commercial success with every artist has proven to be a fine balance.

MARK GROSE: We've produced 12 or 14 albums, prior to the Gurrumul album coming along. Probably only two of those albums broke even - the rest lost money. You know, you just have to be, I guess, confident that in the future something will happen.

ELENI ROUSSOS: The massive success of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu has seriously changed the way Skinnyfish does business. The label has signed a major deal with Dramatico Entertainment to release its entire catalogue of artists in the UK and Europe. Talks are now underway to break into the US market.

MICHAEL HOHNEN: We want to meet all of the people involved in the release there and try to release it a little bit like we did here, where it was reviewed properly, it was spoken about and exposed properly but there wasn't that enormous pressure for him to actually come and tour 20 states like a lot of bands do.

DAN LANDER, ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE, SYDNEY: Given how well he has connected here and in the UK and Europe, I think there's every chance. It's the quality of the music more than the style of it and there's a lot of people who say it's not the sort of thing they would generally listen to but he does it so well and connects so well.

ELENI ROUSSOS: Another Skinnyfish artist making a big impression is Ego Lemos. The East Timorese artist sang the title track for the Balibo film, and won an APRA award for it.

EGO LEMOS, MUSICIAN, MELBOURNE: This is a great opportunity that you know that none of the East Timorese artists can get this. Skinnyfish is a very small record label, but they are very very effective. Because of the Gurrumul success, helping the Skinnyfish and also helping me.

ELENI ROUSSOS: Signing up an East Timorese artist in Australia is rare, and a huge coup for Skinnyfish.

DAN LANDER: And again it's just such good quality music. It sounds a little bit corny, but he sings from the heart. He's not lying about anything, it's real genuine honest music and that connects with people.

ELENI ROUSSOS: Regardless of how successful Skinnyfish's move into the US market is, the Territory label has shown it's prepared to take risks and test the boundaries.

MICHAEL HOHNEN: Over the next 10 years I imagine making a lot more records and being able to present them in losts of different countries, not just here.