Published 3 December, 2020

Lisa Palermo’s career in music was sparked through her love of pop music and radio. After 21 years of working at PBS Radio, and later at Premier Artists, Lisa took the big leap to start her own boutique artist management company, Ellpee Management. We spoke to Lisa about what inspired her to start her business, what she’s currently working on and what she hopes will improve in the industry post COVID-19.

Please tell me a bit about yourself (how did you get your start in the music industry?) 

As a kid I was crazy for pop music and was generally glued to the radio so when I got to Uni the radio stream of my media teaching course attracted me greatly and off I went – complementing my studies with voluntary work at PBS-FM. Before long I was living my dream and broadcasting, I began my first weekly radio show in early ’88.  I had 21 full and memorable years at PBS which included a long stint as Chair of the Programming Committee, time on the Board of Directors, writing and teaching the Radio Announcers Course, and I spent many an hour volunteering in the office, at events and OBs.  And, of course the on-air gig which for many years was an Australian music show during which time I reckon I interviewed a couple of hundred bands a year!  After working in music retail, framing and travel, I eventually I found my way to actually earning a crust in the music business proper, and up until I went out on my own in 2016 and formed Ellpee I was within the hallowed walls of 9 Dundas Lane working at the coalface of live rock, aka Premier Artists.

What inspired you to start your own boutique artist management company, Ellpee Management?

I always dreamt of working for myself but taking the leap was really hard, after much soul-searching and hand-wringing I went for it and though I didn’t really set out to establish a boutique management company initially, it quickly became evident that it would be my direction as the creativity, business sense, diplomacy and good relations that I had developed over the years wearing various hats all came in to play.  I learnt that it pays to foster strong and positive relationships and be as good a person as you can, treat others with respect and as you would like to be treated, which can sometimes be tricky in our high-pressured environment, but it comes back to you and serves you well in the long run. But the most challenging part of going it alone was conquering the doubts and worries about survival, getting work and all that, and I was very inspired by watching and learning from people who were independent and successful and were able to do things on their own terms, particularly women in management, PR and finance. It was great to see women (of all ages) doing things their way, making their own choices and kicking goals. 

What projects are you currently working on?

Well, it sure has been an incredible year for Vika & Linda with their two releases on Bloodlines Music, ‘Akilotoa; Anthology 1994-2006 and Sunday (The Gospel According To Iso), #1 and #2 ARIA albums respectively.  Their Sunday Sing Song on social media started in March with a pure intention of singing a song to cheer people up and keep busy with no gigs, and it evolved into all this incredible stuff; growth, creativity and a wonderful re-affirmation of their position in the industry as legends in their own right. It certainly kept our spirits up.  We have much more to do in 2021 and it’s super exciting.

Ellpee Management also produces and presents tours and live music events. How are you adapting to the post COVID-19 music industry?

Adapting is the key word in that sentence! Be ready for anything to happen. Make plans but be prepared for them to be undone. Keep calm and focus on the light at the end of the tunnel, it may be flickering and dim right now but it’s there.  

The industry is going through challenging times in light of COVID-19. What do you hope will change/improve in the music industry in future?

Talk about being bashed over the head with the idea that artists make their living primarily from touring, it’s not like we didn’t know that of course but to have that rug pulled out from under us has to have been one of the harshest lessons for us all and we must work out how to diversify and recalibrate the income streams. I hope that once we go back to “normal” we don’t forget what we’ve just been through and keep working on redressing the balances.  Most importantly, stay true to ourselves and keep creating and moving forward.