March 2017 THE CANBERRA REPORTER | 7
ENTERTAINMENT
Recording label cum talent agency finally in the groove
IT TOOK A DECADE TO PULL OFF, BUT IT’ S HERE
IT HAS been a decade in the making for the hip-hop impresario and business entrepreneur Marco Selorio.
This month, Sovereign Hill Records Sydneybased record label and talent agency goes fullsteam ahead.
The concept came along in 2006, when the young entrepreneur organised his second Urbanstar Talent Quest.
Dreams of building a new home for a wave of fresh, young talent were in the pipeline.
Selorio( in picture) at the time discovered some raw but dazzling performers including rappers Natz Blazin, MC Tuppz and Regal who would later on become Iggy Azalea.
The idea came to a crushing halt when other parties became involved, and Selorio walked away.
Over the next decade, Selorio’ s events business grew rapidly. Hip-hop dance competitions, more talent quests, and basketball tours.
But new talent kept coming and going, including the likes of William Singe, Jai
Waetford, TKay Maidza, Ylona Garcia, Sarah Ellen and Cyrus Villanueva. It was evident that Selorio and his team kept striking gold but failed to provide a home.
“ Young talent need a good place that can help them with their artistry, unlock their full potential and serve their best interests,” Selorio said.
“ It took me a long time to put the right team together.
“ That’ s why I felt now was the right time to create our own record label.“ Now or never.”
The Sovereign Hill name was derived from a museum in Ballarat, Victoria, depicting the town’ s glorious decade after the discovery of gold in 1851.
“ In many ways, Sovereign Hill Records is a place where we hope to discover hidden gems and develop future stars,” Selorio said.
International tours are being planned for May, August and December.
New music and videos will be recorded at the newly decked home studio, and the talent agency arm is now accepting bookings.
Selorio will open an office in Manila to cater for the South East Asian market. •