Feb 10
25
Alberts – House Of Hits
On Tuesday evening I went to the launch party for the new book, “House Of Hits”. This is a book written by Jane Albert that examines the Australian music publishing, recording and broadcasting dynasty, the Albert family.
I worked for Ted Albert during the 70's building the record label during the early days of John Paul Young, AC/DC, The Angels, and others such as Flash In The Pan and William Shakespeare and Stevie Wright. They were great days when the music industry was young and when we did things because we loved the vibe, and not just because the bottom line deemed it to be necessary…
Anyway, to the book launch: It was a tremendous event. I can't describe it any other way. And it must have been the most expensive and elaborate book launch anywhere in the world for any new book. I kid you not…
It was at the State Theater in Sydney, and for anyone who has never been there, The State is one of those grand old venues from a time gone by: ornate ceilings, comfortable seats, a big stage – and a capacity of about 2,000. Its a beautiful old theater. I was reminded during the evening that this was where the ABC used to broadcast from, back when it was a private company in which Frank Albert was a shareholder; back before the government decided that it needed to be the national broadcaster and acquired the fledgling broadcaster from its entrepreneurial founders… So there was a good nostalgic reason to hold the event there.
The State was transformed for this event. As you walked into the area where the stalls are located you discovered that a new floor had been build extending from the existing stage and across all of the ground floor seats with a riser at the end opposite to the normal stage of the State Theater. Lighting rigs, sound system and massive video screen were on the new stage area, and dining tables across the rest of the new floor.
About 250 people sat down to a catered dinner and entertainment to celebrate 125 years of the Alberts dynasty and company and of course the launch of the book…
The people who spoke included Brett Cottle, the CEO of APRA, who read out a congratulatory message from the Minister for the Arts, Peter Garrett, Baz Luhrman, the director of Strictly Ballroom (which was produced by Ted Albert and his wife Popsie, after Ted passed away), Rod Muir, the father of FM Radio in Australia, and Marie Bashir, the Governor of NSW… and of course various members of the Albert Family and the CEO of Alberts, Tim Prescott).
The entertainment featured music and performers from the Albert Music catalogue and record label – including John Paul Young and his band performing “Love is in the Air” and an Irish band called “The Answer” who performed a Rose Tattoo song. It featured legendary actor Jack Thompson playing harmonica and a band of Scottish pipers playing the intro to “Its A Long Way To The Top” and a video montage of AC/DC songs…
It was, as I said before, sensational. And it was great to catch up with a bunch of people from the music business that I haven't seen for a long time… People like Stevie Wright and Eric McCusker (from Mondo Rock) and Paul Gray (from Wa Wa Nee), and Buzz Bidstrup, Chris Bailey and Doc Neeson from The Angels…
But it all got me thinking.
So why does a family that is notoriously private lavish at least $250k on a one night stand to launch a book? Well, of course if money is no object why not give one of your family members the benefit of a great push start to launch a book?
But let's look at this in a broader context. This is actually the second or third event that, taken as a set of events, seem to indicate a change at Alberts. And change of this kind, with families of this type and businesses that are extremely profitable and don't require a huge amount of effort to keep on track, is invariably about the execution of a plan.
Last night I started to think what the plan might be.
Here is a stab at unraveling what is happening:
Let's take it as read that the Alberts are very successful in music. They own the rights to AC/DC and that on its own, regardless of how much of the top line goes back to the band, is a license to print money.
They also own a bunch of radio properties.
They also invested in, and own, the only piano manufacturing company in Australia, Stuart & Sons.
And they own a portfolio of real estate. Who knows what else they may be involved in…?
I was told that after making one of the most successful independent films of the year, globally, Popsie Albert was asked what movie she would be investing in next, and she answered that the family would be unlikely to be able to replicate the phenomenal success of “Simply Ballroom” ever, so they would quit while they were ahead.
So during each generation of the family they have done something quite significant. From founding a store and selling harmonicas to gold miners, to starting radio in Australia, to being a foundation investor in the beginning of TV in Australia (Channel 7 in Sydney), to signing and developing one of the most significant rock acts in the world, AC/DC, in each generation a member of the family has stepped up and achieved something great that has continued to build their wealth.
A few years ago David Albert took over the company and is now CEO of the group of companies. What a pressure he must be under with that mantle of responsibility to do something significant…
When you look at the feature story that ran in the Financial Review several months ago, and then the book launch event this week, and the hiring of a seasoned professional (Tim Prescott) to run the music company, you start to see what looks remarkably like a company that is using a professional PR company to help it stage a move into the spotlight.
Why would a family that is so private want to become public property?
There can only be one reason. They want to build brand visibility. There is no other reason for anyone to spend so lavishly, to become so public and in such a considered way.
And why would they want to build brand visibility?
I can think of only one reason. They are positioning the company to go public.
I believe that they must have had the corporate advisors in looking at what they have to help develop the strategy that will see them going to an IPO that will increase their fortunes from the hundreds of millions to the billions.
Imagine a company that has diversified holdings in entertainment. What would it need to do to go public? Acquire some strategic assets, build the value of those assets, build the public awareness of the brand, and then float the company.
It may take another 2-5 years. But I reckon that we are seeing the first steps on the way to this taking place.
What sort of companies could they buy to build up their perceived value? More music publishing companies perhaps, or a TV production company, or an Internet based company, a games producer… There are lots of ways that they could go. Will they wait until they have got scrip to make purchases, or will they make some careful moves ahead of an IPO to build the assets further… That is something to think about, but I am quite convinced that the engine is running and that Alberts will go public in the foreseeable future. It will remain closely held as a stock. Again they won't want any more risk than is tolerable, and they will want to have enough cash to keep up the value of the stock as required.
You heard it first here, folks. Am I right or am I wrong? Time will tell.