I was lucky enough to work in an Accounting Practice in the 90’s who specialised in the creative industries. My more senior boss trusted me with the next generation of his clients who seemed to lean towards Arts degrees and bands of musicians. The stars aligned and when I left there and started my own Accounting Practice one of these original musicians referred a young busker from Fremantle who he tipped was going to be a superstar. The rest was history and John Butler and I embarked on a journey with his manager Phil Stevens to work out how John could maintain his independence and Jarrah Records was born. The next dozen years I was knee deep in being a mum and learning all about global touring, licensing and publishing deals, Austrade export grants, USA / Canadian and European Tax Jurisdictions, as well as Australian Tax Law intricacies of Artist Averaging & Non-Commercial Loss Rules. It was the same original client who had now become an IP Lawyer who encouraged me to get out there and do Presentations and share all of your hard earned Australian Music Industry knowledge. So Sorrento Strategic Music evolved and we set up WA legends such as Tame Impala, Spacey Jane & more recently reignited Little Birdy. We have set ourselves goals to obtain 14 megastars and one Superstar by 30 June 30, and I aspire to be known as Australia’s Music Accountant.

I am currently the Managing Director of Sorrento Strategic Accounting & Financial Advisor for Sorrento Strategic Solutions Pty Ltd. In terms of day to day logistics I balance my days between being available for Strategic Tax and Financial Advisory services to our client base of more than 1350 clients. I am also actively involved in CPA WA Divisional Council & the Tax Institute of Australia WA State Council, The treasurer of the Australian Live Music Business Council which allows me to educate nationally on practical tax issues such as superannuation for subcontractors, Treasurer of Boss Arts Creative Inc, Wild Within Co, and Women of Music Production. All of these roles allow me to share my expertise and passion to First Nations, Women and Gender Diverse Artists and educate the importance of Financial Literacy. I am also actively building the Sorrento Strategic Team to continue my enthusiasm and offer our personalised services nationally. We love attending events such as BIGSOUND,SWSX,The Seed Fund Futuremakers Workshop and more recently One of One events. My latest passion has been advisory services to our megastars who we rank as those who have a certain turnover, record deals and global touring. As we say “Relax, it’s Just Tax !!”

I believe that artists,  more than ever , that are hard working and focused give themselves the best chance of succeeding. The more you learn about the industry from mentors and industry professionals the more knowledge you have to ensure you are ready to succeed if given the opportunity. I believe the creation of Music Australia has been a major step forward in creating a central government backed organisation to drive and help build a sustainable Australian Music industry, by supporting artists and building a more resilient ecosystem and ensuring Australian content is heard both locally and globally. I travelled to Sydney to hear the results of the first two research projects “The Bass Line :Charting the Economic Contribution of Australia’s Music Industry” and Listening In (audience consumption report) . There were two shocking statistics that really hit me. The average income of a musician was $14700 and there are only 200 Australian music managers tasked to try and make the dreams of all these musicians come true. The research also showed that although Aussies say they love local music, but they don’t actually listen to it proportionately.

I would love to see a musician supplementary payment introduced, like Jobkeeper was in Covid. The musician reports monthly on their income and the government to provide a top up payment to ensure they can maintain a basic lifestyle and encourage them to stay in the Australian Music Industry. I experienced first hand in Covid, the difference a regular income made to 100’s of my musician clients. I witnessed them focus on songwriting, and save their  funds for recording, this lead to the local studios being booked out for six months’ straight, then an explosive of album launches and performances at local venues.

I will never forget 13 March 2020 when the Australian government announced that events with a capacity of 500 + banned, and then indoor events capped at 100 , and then by 23 March 2020 Nationwide Covid Lockdown hit. My phone was running hot 24/7, Festivals cancelled, bands stuck half way on their dream support run of shows on the East Coast, scrambling to get flights home before the WA Border closed. Clients crying on the phone how were they going to support their families when suddenly the Australian Live Music Industry collapsed overnight. All of sudden my role became more than just an Accountant who did their tax returns, I was a counsellor, a lifeline, and a means of trying to navigate the incredibly difficult world of Jobseeker, Jobkeeper, Cashflow Stimulus payments for employers. Not only were we having to learn on the run, but do so in the knowledge that no one could pay us. My husband was stood down and I pulled him into the home office to assist us to tackle the monumental task of distributing these payments to our desperate clients in a timely fashion. We developed the knowledge and the systems to ensure as many clients as possible were eligible for payments. This included actually preparing of $45000 worth of multiple back year returns because if your returns weren’t up to date you couldn’t receive Jobkeeper or Jobseeker. We proudly added up that we distributed $5.3m of payments to our clients and we will never forget the appreciation we received and satisfaction of knowing we helped so many families survive the Pandemic financially.

I believe John Butler , Danielle Caruana & Phil Stevens have been instrumental in my success as a music accountant. They have been so supportive, and loyal and I only recently discovered ,when Sorrento Strategic ran its first workshop at Bigsound and I interviewed Mama Kin ,that she told me they chose to use my services as I was not part of the regular music industry crowd back in the early 2000’s. I have always prided myself on my ability to think outside the square and I do believe the fact I had no preconceived ideas of the way things have always been done I had the ability to pivot , use new ideas and concepts, and adapt. John’s vision of his long term future as an Independent artist, sees him up there was arguably with some of the most successful Australia has ever seen. It has been so incredible being along for the journey from single busker, to meeting his soulmate, creating a family, a home, a studio, global touring, the shoutout when he won his ARIA, the jam at Sorrento Strategic 20th Anniversary, the Wild adventurous 25th Anniversary party.

I didn’t so much receive it but witnessed it from my mum, who bravely chose to leave a situation of domestic violence and single-handedly worked so hard to provide my brother and I with a safe environment in a better suburb so we had a chance at a better life. The  sacrifices she made and all of those afternoon shifts and the home cooked meals left to be ovenheated in the days before microwaves.  She made me believe in myself and always encouraged me to work hard and set goals. If she hadn’t nagged me to keep going with my studies I doubt I would have ever finished my Degree. When I didnt make it in my choice of course she recommended a Commerce degree was probably a pretty good all rounder. Little did I know I would uncover my strength of maths combined with my ability to communicate with clients so well and break the technical world of finance and tax  down to an understandable way for creatives who are more used to using the other side of their brain.

It might sound crazy but if I am stressed it is likely I have too much work on so the best thing I can do is go into the office on a Sunday, get out the latest Vinyls I’ve purchased and work through the day. Sometimes I bring out the classics, Queens Greatest Hits, Fleetwood Mac Rumours, Eagles Greatest Hits, Bat out of Hell, or my clients John Butler’s Sunrise Over Sea or Eskimo Joe’s Black Fingernails Red Wine or the latest album arrived Southern River Band , Sly Withers , South Summit, Siobhan Cotchin. Old Mervs, Joan and The Giants I usually feel better when I get on top of my workload and free up more time to attend live music at client’s performances or concerts or Festivals.

I am always juggling to have enough hours in the day. One way of ensuring there is never too much work without play is my constant commitment to ensure I keep up with the latest clients gigs, Festivals and International artists Concerts, on the lookout for the next best thing, In fact the funny thing is my work passion has now become my play passion. What started as a way of learning what type of music my clients played into absolutely fascinated with the craft of the best songwriters, I put my money were my mouth is and invest in sponsoring all sorts of local music events, like WAM Song of the Year, RTRFM Community Radio, Champagne Music’s Gig School, Sound States, Women in Music Productions Writers Camp, Wild Within Festival, BIGSOUND;s artist travek contributions, ALMBC Professional Partnership. I  also love my West Coast Eagles and have shared the highs “2018 Grand Final” to the wooden spoon 2025. The AFL Grand Final at Optus Stadium combined both passions with several of my clients performing at the one and only WA AFL Grandfinal.

Bohemian Rhapsody Queen – love every word!