Australia: Ticketmaster SafeTix, The Buckleys, Keith Urban

As Ticketmaster rolls out its new generation ticketing and venue access SafeTix technology to 28 of the 32 NFL clubs in the U.S., its chief product officer Justin Berleigh confirmed it would be introduced in Australia early 2020. 

The first concert venues will be the Forum and Palais Theatres, in Melbourne while the first sporting event will be at Australian Football League games at Melbourne’s 42,000-apacity Marvel Stadium and Perth’s 60,000-seat Optus Stadium.

Teen country sibling trio The Buckleys, whose debut single “Daydream” entered the Australian Top 10, signed for global representation with U.S. agent Randy Salcedo of Sound Talent Group. 

Petrol Records’ owner Christopher M. Murphy, manager of INXS said, “The selection of an agent for me is one of the most important decisions a manager and or artist will ever make. I have had the pleasure of working with some of the agent greats: Bill Elson, Marsha Vlasic, Steve Levine, Steve Hedges, Andy Woolliscroft and now Randy Salcedo. There is nothing better than a creative agent.” 

Salcedo said a few months ago Murphy alerted him to an act he was considering signing. “At first I was surprised that Petrol Records would consider signing a new artist, so I thought this band must be good. Well, they are.” Salcedo also represents INXS.

In its fourth year, National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) founder Larry Heath announced the event will stay at Brisbane’s Triffid club for the next two years and added three new genre categories – indie/rock, jazz and classical – to bring the number to ten. The two national public voted awards, best live act and best live voice, are being phased  out and four of the five state categories (best live act, voice, event and venues) public voted for the first time. The NLMAs are held December 4, with satellite events in seven cities.

Keith Urban and Tina Arena perform on opening week of the 2,000-seat Sydney Coliseum Theatre in the West HQ complex. Urban does a show with guitarist John Butler and singer songwriter Amy Shark Dec. 21, and solo shows the next two nights. The entertainment, put together by the Michael Cassel Group, includes a career spanning set over two nights by Tina Arena while two shows by Dame Edna Everage marks the end of her My Gorgeous Life Tour.

West HQ’s vision is “to be the leading landmark destination for entertainment, fitness, lifestyle, and accommodation in the Western Sydney region,” said CEO Richard Errington, “and the Coliseum would be a magnificent world-class facility, fit for world-class performers.” It is set to accommodate theatrical performances, corporate events and conferences with three foyers, seven bars, multiple entertaining areas, VIP room and a large rehearsal room.

Melbourne jazz venue Bennetts Lane will return in a new location, four years after Melbourne International Jazz Festival director Michael Tortoni, who founded the club in 1992 in a northern laneway of the city, sold the building to a developer. The name and liquor licence were purchased by developer David Marriner Group, which also operates the Forum, Regent and Princess theatres. Marriner now has council approval to reopen the jazz club as a 260-seat venue in Flinders Lane, in the back of the upmarket Hyatt Hotel opening 7 am to 3 am.

A lawsuit initiated by INXS co-founder and guitarist Tim Farriss against Sydney boat charter company Omega Clipper began playing out in the NSW Supreme Court. Farriss is suing for damages after his hand got caught on an anchor chain on a holiday cruise in January 2015 and was badly mangled. The 61-year old said one of his fingers was severed and had to be reattached, and might have to be amputated. Farriss said, “I can’t play the parts I used to play in INXS,” he is quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald.