Stephen Morris on Welsh Coast Radio
On his annual end-of-year pilgrimage home to Cymru, MADCAP Global Managing Director Stephen Morris sat down for an on-air interview with Welsh Coast Radio broadcaster Mike Kennedy.
Mike Kennedy is a well-known voice on WCR 106.5 FM, waking up Swansea in South Wales every morning with his popular breakfast show. In a wide-ranging interview, Stephen shared with Mike about his life, and his established career in the music and entertainment industry.
Local Brisbane rockers and MADCAP Global’s favourite sons The Daisycutters kicked off the hour-long slot with an intro from frontman/guitarist Cameron Wilson and bassist Giles Hamwood, as well as a spin of the band’s classic hit single ‘Sick Day’.
The discussion begins with Stephen recounting his proud Welsh roots in Port Talbot and the deep cultural ties that keep him and his family connected to their homeland. Particularly, his family have recently discovered a relative who served in World War One is buried in Arras, northern France, and they will now be able to pay their respect.
The interview covers Stephen’s journey from a working class Welsh lad who emigrated to Australia as a 16-year-old to starting a band, which blossomed into a lifelong passion for music.
Stephen’s long a varied career in music and entertainment includes working for various entities under the Newscorp banner, including Mushroom and Festival Records as well as 20th and 21st Century Fox. In these roles, he worked with Duran Duran – “a great bunch of lads” – along with a host of big name international and Australian artists.
These formative experiences gave Stephen a valuable crash course in navigating the pitfalls of the music industry – “[which is] very cutthroat, run by gangsters and mobsters, I believe”.
He notes the difficulties that many artists, even those with a number one hit, can have in recouping their label’s investment and making money creates a vast divide between the top-selling five per cent of artists – “fashion pop froth” – and everyone else. This imbalance has resulted in a decline of the independent music market, which struggles to compete.
Mike steers the conversation into discussing the state of music in the age of AI, where songs and bands generated by AI have become imperceptible from human talent.
“Where’s it getting its education from, or its reference material?” Stephen questions.
He uses the example of renowned funk legend Nile Rodgers’ unique definitive sound being sampled by AI without compensation to the artist. AI is short-circuiting the limited profit streams available to real artists, while online creators can monetise their channels using AI slop without remuneration to the original artist.
‘Too Late For Goodbyes’ segues into Stephen telling Mike about his experiences promoting Julian Lennon’s visit to Sydney, opening the first Virgin Records store in Darling Harbour.
The final part of the conversation covers Stephen’s memories from opening for Whitney Houston, and an in-depth discussion about The Daisycutters, a band Stephen has supported for many years. Before signing off, Stephen reiterates the importance of getting behind your local bands and artists to keep the music industry strong.
