Independent spirit: Philip Mortlock talks rebirth of ORiGiN Records

There’s no rigid science, no secret formula to navigating the music industry. If the magic could be bottled, we’d all be lighting cigars with $50 notes.

The game does have rules. For Philip Mortlock, three rituals helped light the way. Talent, tenacity and timing.

“The three Ts are the essence of the business,” considers Mortlock. “It took me a while to figure it.”

Mortlock has figured out more than most. The Sydney-based music professional has more than 40 years’ experience in the business, as a creative and executive, working within the machinery of independent and major music companies, including stints with WEA/Warners working with then-breaking artists Cold Chisel, INXS, Jenny Morris, Boom Crash Opera, 1927 and others.

In 1994, Mortlock joined forces with established music publisher and accountant Philip Walker — the two Philips — to launch ORiGiN Music, an independent business which is enjoying something of a purple patch.

Talent, tenacity and timing had a lot to do with it.

ORiGiN parked its administration with Alberts for seven years, and split in 2016 after the fabled family business was sold to BMG.

The timing was right. Mortlock and Walker moved to re-establish ORiGiN’s own independent infrastructure, with new hires to handle copyright royalties, licensing and more.

Today, ORiGiN Music boasts a roster of publishing clients including Gotye, Cookin On 3 Burners, Megan Washington, Lior, James Morrison and others.

Energised by their independence and successes, Mortlock’s team is reactivating its recorded music label activities, ORiGiN Recordings. A string of releases dropped in recent months or are in the works, featuring artists ORiGiN has publishing activity and interest with.

The most ambitious and “possibly the most difficult project we’ve started,” explains Mortlock, is AIR LAND SEA, developed by Nadav Kahn (formerly of the EMI group Gelbison), Lior and L.A. based producer Tony Buchen (Montaigne, Tim Finn), who grew up together as friends, went off to forge successful careers and have now come together with this project.

The trio cut an album mostly in L.A. with co-producer, ex-pat Justin Stanley, which arrived late 2019.

‘The Other,’ a first taste from the ambitious concept album and documentary project The Fear Engine, created by composer/producer and filmmaker Andy Ross, dropped last Friday (May 8). The Fear Engine is due out June 5.

Also, Melbourne-based singer songwriter Tom Kline has released ‘The Cure,’ the first track lifted from his forthcoming EP for ORiGiN.

Stream The Fear Engine’s ‘The Other’:

https://www.facebook.com/thefearengine/videos/610520999808797/

And on the back of re-issuing the entire 1927 back catalogue via the Long Player Records (LP) label, ORiGiN created a tribute album of the band’s multi-platinum debut …ISH with a variety of artists delivering different versions of its ten songs. …ISH REIMAGINED is gaining momentum with Normie Rowe’s stirring version of “Compulsory Hero” getting attention this past Anzac Day.

Watch Normie Rowe’s ‘Compulsory Hero’:

The re-established record label is released via MGM and its newer label imprint LP is via Universal.

Its origins date back to the early days of the company’s formation, with several acts in its stable going on to win ARIA Awards and nominations.

Andy Ross, ‘The Fear Engine’

The third arm of the ORiGiN group of companies, ORiGiN Theatrical, is a “thriving business that continues to grow” since its inception in 2004, says Mortlock. Led by Managing Director Kim Ransley, ORiGiN Theatrical grew out of Warner Chappell’s former theatrical division and has become one of Australia’s busiest theatrical licensing operatives with catalogues including Rodgers & Hammerstein, Really Useful Group, Tams Witmark, Samuel French, ‘Strictly Ballroom,’ ‘Pricilla’ and ‘Grease.’

“For me this has been a great ‘coming together’ of all the elements and skills I have had the pleasure of being involved with across the music business generally,” says Mortlock of the growing group. “Building your own business to suit your own taste and instincts is one thing. Maintaining it is a constant challenge, but it seems we are there.”

Morlock’s three Ts for success came home in a big way with ORiGiN’s recent admission into the billionaire club, not once but twice.

Cookin’ On 3 Burners were awarded status in APRA’s 1,000,000,000 List with the pan-European smash ‘This Girl,’ remixed by French producer and DJ Kungs (real name Valentin Brunel) and released in 2016 after a chance discovery online.

Stream Kungs vs Cookin’ on 3 Burners’ ‘This Girl’:

The song has amassed over 1 billion streams across all streaming platforms and was the most Shazamed dance song of 2016, after peaking at No. 2 in the U.K. ORiGiN represents two of the Burners.

“Not everyone is going to have their songs streamed a billion times,” notes Mortlock. “If it can happen to an artist who makes records in his bedroom or a band who works in a niche market in a far corner of the world, then it attracts the attention of a teenage DJ on the other side of the world,” as was the case with ‘This Girl,’ it “just indicates how opportunistic the market has become for the cream to rise, and for good things to get a lot more attention than they would have otherwise.”

Gotye’s multiple Grammy-winning hit ‘Someone I Used to Know’ featuring Kimbra earned entry into APRA’s exclusive club in March. Wally de Backer’s Billboard Hot 100 chart leader has clocked up more than 1.3 billion views on YouTube alone.

Mortlock is confident there’s more to come. “The thing that every person in the Australian music business wants is success for their artists overseas, whether its Michael Gudinski, Denis Handlin, anybody at any level. It’s the main thing that we all want.”

Streaming and sync have made that “more possible,” enthuses Mortlock. “So yeah, I am confident we’ll have more songs that will do a billion streams around the world. We’re not short of talent here.”

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.