AIR Board

David Vodicka is a Principal of Media Arts Lawyers and has had extensive experience with over 20 years of practice representing musicians, artists, performers, composers, recording, production, management and publishing entities. He has dealt in all facets of law affecting the creative industries and has had considerable hands-on experience in the music recording and publishing fields as director of independent label Rubber Records and music publisher Rubber Music Publishing.

David is a passionate advocate for local music and creative industries and presently is chairman of the board of AIR (the Australian Independent Record Labels Association), is a current board member of ARIA (Australia Recording Industry Association) and the PPCA (Phonographic Performance Company of Australia) and has held the positions of Vice President of WIN (Worldwide Independent Network) and board member of MIFF (Melbourne International Film Festival).

A distinguished record executive, Ashley Gay has been instrumental in the rise of Australia’s electronic dance music scene.
Starting his career in the mid-1990s, Ashley has worked closely with countless dance and electronic music artists and hundreds of labels.

A former radio DJ and music director for dance radio in his hometown of Melbourne, Ashley entered the record business with the prestigious dance labels Pro-DJ (1995-2000) and Central Station Records (2000-2007).
In late 2007, Ashley combined his expertise in IT and computer science with his A&R skill set for the launch of Xelon Entertainment, which today represents over 500 labels in all genres.

Today, he heads up Xelon Entertainment, Australia’s premier digital music distributor, boasting offices in various countries. Remarkably for the space, Xelon remains 100% independent and completely Australian-owned.

Chris Webby has over 30 years’ experience in the music business in Australia and the United States, spanning major and independent record labels, talent management, touring, ticketing, merchandising and fan engagement; and expertise across business development, revenue diversification, operations, rights management, and finance and legal oversight.  She is currently the COO of Chugg Music, based in Sydney; and is also an Executive Committee Member of Women In Music Australia.

Dan Nascimento is an Artist Manager at UNIFIED Music Group, as well as being General Manager of Community Music, a global distribution alternative for independent artists. Working in the independent music industry for over 15 years, Dan’s ethos focuses on implementing holistic strategies to empower and build sustainable artist careers.  

Emma McGarry is a music lover with a decade of experience in the music industry, working across marketing, project and product management, A&R and events. As Senior Product Manager at Future Classic since 2022, Emma has led campaigns for Australian artists like G Flip, Sycco, Hayden James, Willo, Flume, Flight Facilities and more, as well as international artists SOPHIE and Boston Bun. Prior to her time at Future Classic, Emma spent 7 years at etcetc & TMRW Music (previously Ministry of Sound), managing campaigns for artists like PNAU and Fisher, among many others.

Emma is passionate about supporting artists as they navigate the Australian and global music landscape, and sharing great music with the world.

Fiona has worked in various roles across the Australian music industry; including record label, marketing agencies, radio and events. Fiona has worked at ABC Music for 7 years where she is a Label Manager looking after the alternative/indie and contemporary roster, alongside triple j releases. Fiona previously held roles in digital sales, marketing and strategy at ABC Music. At ABC she has worked with a broad array of artists and projects including Emily Wurramara, Playlunch, The Wiggles, DOBBY, William Crighton, Kate Ceberano, Lee Kernaghan, Deadly Hearts, and leads marketing activity for triple j’s Like A Version catalogue. Fiona is passionate about environmental sustainability, and has been at the helm of introducing more sustainable practices to the label, and is actively part of Green Music Australia’s working groups to find & create industry-level solutions. 

Guy Blackman is one of the two driving forces behind Chapter Music, one of Australia’s longest-running independent record labels, which he began in 1992 at the age of 17. Chapter has a catalogue of over 200 releases from artists such as Yirinda, Laura Jean, Gregor, Sweet Whirl, NO ZU, The Goon Sax, Twerps, Dick Diver and many more.

Tone Deaf have called Chapter “almost unequivocally the most treasured record label in Australia”, while Rolling Stone called us “one of Australia’s most enduring and popular independent labels.” Pitchfork ran a feature on Chapter in 2018 entitled “Where to Start With Chapter Music, the Australian Label Behind 25 Years of Great Indie Pop,” saying the “label boasts a rich discography that is often gentle but rarely weak.”

Chapter’s mission statement is to bring great Australian artists to international attention. A queer-run label, Chapter is committed to being queer, female and people of colour friendly. Chapter won Best Independent Label at the AIR Awards in 2023 and 2019. Guy has also maintained his own musical presence as a solo artist. He has shared stages with artists such as Joanna Newsom, Bill Callahan, Vashti Bunyan, John Grant, Owen Pallett, Jens Lekman and The Chills.

Lorrae McKenna is the owner of Our Golden Friend – an Artist Management and Record Label collective based in Melbourne. She manages Jade Imagine, Jess Ribeiro, Poppongene, RVG and Totally Mild and runs a record label that includes artists 808s and Greatest Hits, RVG, Moonlover and Poppongene on its roster.

Lorrae was most recently the Promotions and Marketing Manager at Remote Control Records. Joining Remote Control Records in 2013, Lorrae was instrumental in re-invigorating the label’s Australian roster of artists, signing and developing acts such as Courtney Barnett, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Methyl Ethel, The Murlocs and many more. 

Lorrae departed Remote Control in October 2016 and has focused her time on building the label alongside her management roster. Lorrae has been an active part of the Australian music industry for the past 13 years working in a range of varying roles including working for Allans Billy Hyde Music (as Marketing and Publicity Coordinator), Crucial Music (working for Rae Harvey as her Publicity & Marketing manager) & at 774 ABC Melbourne (as the local radio PR & Marketing Coordinator).

Michael Kucyk founded the independent label Efficient Space in 2014, drawing on his experience as an A&R manager at Mushroom Music Publishing and Modular, as well as his 13-year tenure hosting Noise In My Head on Triple R FM and NTS Radio. With over 40 releases, Efficient Space has explored diverse sounds—’90s Australian dance music, Indigenous electronica, dream pop, and post-punk—while self-distributing, hosting events, and licensing music for TV, film, and advertising. In 2023, Kucyk formed the Independent Music Exchange with his colleagues at Butter Sessions, a tradeshow that showcased over 60 like-minded Australian indie record labels.

Philip Mortlock has been actively involved on the AIR board since 2001,  representing his own label ORiGiN Recordings previously working for one of Australia’s oldest independent music companies, Alberts. He worked previously with Warner Music for many years prior to going ‘independent’. Philip is also on the board of the National Film and Sound Archive board and is a founding Patron of The Australian Music Prize. 

Sophie McComish is a musician and music industry professional currently residing in Dharawal country/Scarborough, NSW. A multi-instrumentalist involved in various musical projects and deeply entrenched in the independent music community, Sophie’s primary artistic output occurs with her band Body Type, where she is a guitarist and vocalist. Sophie is co-founder and co-director of Blossom Rot Records, an indie label and creative collective that is dedicated to amplifying the voices and sounds of women and non-binary artists from the Australian underground. Since its inception in 2020, Blossom Rot Records has released 18 records by 35 groups and supported 160 individual artists. 

Victoria Sweetie Zamora is Head Of Labels & Promotions at Remote Control Records. Sweetie has managed campaigns for artists including Adele, Courtney Barnett, Methyl Ethel, Queens of The Stone Age, The xx, The National, Donny Benet, Sui Zhen and many more. She is the main point of contact for Remote Control’s local and international artists, managers and label partners (Beggars Group, Omnian Music Group, Milk! Records, Barely Dress Records + more) and also works with the full Remote Control team to organise release planning, strategy and PR campaigns. Since 2007 Sweetie has worked for the likes of Bossy Music, Laneway Festival, Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House and Warner Music Australia. She also plays the bass guitar and is a Ken Done enthusiast.   

Viv Mellish is a founding partner and CMO at Australia’s leading digital music distribution and artist services company GYRO.Group which includes G.Y.R.O., GROUP SPEED and DistroDirect. Headquartered in Brisbane, GYRO.Group represents tens of thousands of independent artists globally including ARIA winning and Grammy Nominated artists and employs over 65 staff across the globe. Viv has previously held marketing, communications and PR roles in a range of other sectors including the Commonwealth Games, politics, theatre and film. She is also the Chair of the board of QMusic, Queensland’s peak music industry body which oversees events such as the QMAs and BIGSOUND in addition to advocating for and administering programs to help the growth of the State’s music industry. In 2024 Viv was named by InQld and The Weekend Edition’s 40 under 40 business people and was recently named in themusic.com.au's Power 50 of 2025.