Sony Music Australia is facing serious allegations its Sydney office was a ‘toxic’ workplace rife with bullying and other forms of professional misconduct.
An investigation by ABC’s Four Corners included damning claims about the organisation and its former CEO Denis Handlin – but there was one industry tale that wasn’t featured in the documentary.
Mr Handlin, who was stood down in June amid an HR investigation led from Sony Music’s New York headquarters, apparently used to be very particular about who cut his hair.
Sony Music Australia is facing serious allegations its Sydney office was a ‘toxic’ workplace – but there was one industry tale about former CEO Denis Handlin (pictured in April) that wasn’t included in ABC’s Four Corners documentary this week
Despite Handlin living and working in Sydney, Sony allegedly used to pay for his ‘hairdresser to be flown down from Queensland every few weeks to give him a trim,’ according to Popbitch.
Amid the Sony scandal, the big question surrounding Handlin is who – if any – on the label’s star-studded roster will join those speaking out against the former industry titan, who was the subject of a Four Corners exposé on Monday night.
Despite fostering the careers of some of Australia’s biggest music names, including John Farnham, Amy Shark and Delta Goodrem, the response from artists has been deafening silence since Handlin quit the label four months ago.
Despite Handlin living and working in Sydney, Sony allegedly used to pay for his ‘hairdresser to be flown down from Queensland every few weeks to give him a trim,’ according to Popbitch. Handlin is pictured with a young Delta Goodrem in August 2004
Monday’s ABC report included a slew of claims about Handlin from former employees, including heavy alcohol use, verbal abuse, misogynistic behaviour and – at times – physical abuse during his 37-year tenure at the company.
Staffers claimed Handlin oversaw a ‘toxic’ workplace that for some was unbearable.
But despite this, Sony’s biggest stars have remained steadfastly tight-lipped, despite the fact many of them cut ties with the label years ago.
One of the most high-profile is Tina Arena, who walked away from Sony at the peak of her career in 2004, reportedly after falling out with Handlin.
Monday’s ABC report included a slew of claims about Handlin from former employees, including heavy alcohol use, verbal abuse, misogynistic behaviour and – at times – physical abuse during his 37-year tenure at the label. Pictured: Sony Music’s Sydney headquarters
Former X factor star Dami Im, who is currently appearing on Celebrity MasterChef, also quit Sony in 2019 and later compared signing with the label to ‘an arranged marriage’ after winning the talent show in 2013.
‘Working with a major label was tricky,’ she said last year.
‘I’m still really happy with the career I have had but it’s difficult when you have a big company you have to work through and I didn’t necessarily know how to navigate that.’
Sony’s biggest stars have remained steadfastly tight-lipped, despite the fact many of them cut ties with the label years ago. One of the most high-profile is Tina Arena (pictured in May), who walked away from Sony in 2004, reportedly after falling out with Handlin
Others to walk away from the label include Jessica Mauboy – who left Sony in 2020 – as well as Stan Walker, who jumped ship to Sony Music New Zealand.
Walker opened up about the move in his autobiography Impossible, released last year, hinting that his time under Handlin was fraught with problems stemming from his ‘Māori-ness’.
‘The man appointed at that time as my new marketing manager told me I needed to cut my hair,’ Walker wrote in the book.
Amy Shark has yet to comment on the circumstances surrounding Handlin’s departure
‘I read it as him saying he didn’t like my look. I felt he was saying, “You’re not good enough.” I started to feel they all thought I was all wrong – too brown, too Māori. That the more I was myself, the less I appealed to the industry.’
A former Sony executive of almost two decades told Daily Mail Australia they believe there may soon be a handful of artists willing to ‘break ranks’ in the wake of the latest claims.
But it remains to be seen which ones decide to speak out against the executive once considered the most powerful man in Australian music.
Despite fostering the careers of some of Australia’s biggest music names, including John Farnham (left), the response from artists has been deafening silence since Handlin was stood down in June