I confess that I do not know that much about the music industry. I grew up thinking that any non-Christian music was evil, as it could influence me in ways I could not understand. As a result my taste were quite limited as a kid, and I restricted myself from understanding it in any great depth.

Today I think that the very ability of music to tap into things I don’t understand is what it is all about. My tastes have broadened since I was a kid, and listening to music often enables me to articulate and express an emotion I don’t have the words for. It seems to go even deeper than language, and enables me to feel what I need to feel.

During a recent episode, Patrick Jones posited that the food a society eats impacts the art that it makes. When we eat food that is produced through cruelty, is poor quality, and is made without love, we can’t help but represent this through blandness and commercialisation in our art.

I think it is an interesting idea, and I wonder if that is true how it might translate to other ways we go about things, and other art forms. For example with music, whether the relationships that enable music to enter our lives have an impact on the music that ends up being created. If the record label is solely motivated by profit, does this impact how the artist creates music? If the artist simply wants to be famous, does this shape how they perform on stage?

My uninformed guess is that it probably does; that people can’t help but have their everyday experience with other people, and their primary motivations, shape the work they create.

If that is the case, then the organisation that Jaddan Comerford created and leads is putting itself in a position that will enable people to experience music with the purest of influence. People are put at the centre of all aspect of the business: whether it be the people who work at the organisation, the artists they represent, and the people who listen and experience what the artists create.

The Unified Music Group includes artists management, live music, recorded music and merchandise, and has recently launched a grant to support emerging artists in all fields.

Jaddan is one of the leading figures in Australia’s music industry, and we have a conversation that is filled with humility and groundedness. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

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