Australian live entertainment and ticketing giant TEG has acquired a majority stake of Sydney-based boutique tour and events promoter Handsome Tours.
Under the agreement, Handsome Tours’ executives Mark Dodds and Colin Daniels will remain partners in the venture. Dodds will continue as the company’s managing director while Daniels will assume the role of executive director, in conjunction with his continued responsibilities as managing director of Inertia Music/[PIAS] Australia.
The promoter, which has specialised in breaking alt-pop, indie rock and hip-hop acts in Australia and New Zealand for more than 20 years, has worked on tours for artists including Stormzy, Bon Iver, Phoebe Bridgers, and The National.
Handsome’s recent landmarks include Gang Of Youths’ ‘Say Yes To Life’ tour, which sold over 50,000 tickets and broke venue records across the country, as well as 2020’s ‘Down To Earth – A Bushfire and Climate Fundraiser’ at Sidney Myer Music Bowl, which raised over A$1.4m for bushfire relief with a line-up including Gang Of Youths, Tash Sultana, Angus & Julia Stone and Thelma Plum.
TEG chief executive Geoff Jones said: “Time and time again, Handsome Tours have showcased their ability to discover new talent and nurture it from the tiniest of clubs to sold out theatres and arenas.
“The team’s passionate work ethic and artist-first philosophy is the perfect complement to TEG’s integrated model, built on client-first technology solutions and customer-first ticketing services.”
As part of the deal, Handsome will bid farewell to founding partners Ashley Sellers, Mathew Everett and Justin Cosby who will be replaced as board members by Jones and TEG chief financial officer Sandra Rouse.
Dodds said: “We couldn’t be more excited to be partnering with TEG to write the next chapter for Handsome Tours.
“Handsome has always been known for breaking artists but we’re even prouder of our record of contributing to sustained artist careers. Belonging to a world-class group like TEG will empower us to speak to more music-lovers in more sophisticated ways than ever before, delivering bigger outcomes for agents, managers and their talent at every point of an act’s journey.”