Australian music giant dies

(JTA) – Michael Gudinski, an Australian music executive hailed as the public face of his country’s music industry has died. He was 68.
Gudinski died March 1 in his sleep of a heart attack, Rolling Stone Australia reported.
The son of Russian-Jewish parents who immigrated to Australia in 1948, Gudinski started Mushroom Records in 1972 at age 20. The label would gradually become Australia’s largest and most influential, with a publishing arm and several famed signees, including the pop star Kylie Minogue and grunge rock band Garbage.
In 1998, Gudinski sold Mushroom Records to Rupert Murdoch’s then-News Limited Group and started an indie music empire under the Mushroom Group umbrella that includes multiples record labels, a publishing wing, show booking agencies, and a film and TV division.