A Sydney-based booking and touring agency has reportedly shut down after allegations that its founder was operating under an alias in an attempt to deceive artists and staff members regarding his involvement in a “scam” music festival.
theMusic.com.au have reported allegations that a man who goes by the name Harrison O’Connor of Paramount Agency & Touring, a company believed to have been founded around July this year, is actually Dene Broadbelt, the man responsible for the “scam” Infinity Music Festival in Darwin.
Earlier this year, the NT News ran an expose on the event director of Infinity Music Festival, Dene Broadbelt, after many of his past business associates claimed he had conned them out of thousands of dollars.
It has now been alleged that this same Dene, who also goes by the last names Mussillon and Morgan according to NT News, is the man listed as “Harry” – Paramount’s Head Booking Agent & Talent Manager.
Paramount employee Emma Grace, who has worked for Paramount Agency for just two weeks, told theMusic.com.au she only became aware of “Harry’s” actual identity after she was alerted to the NT News report.
She said she alerted artists on the company’s roster and claimed Harry has accrued significant debts under the Paramount company name by purchasing ads. She said she has not been able to contact Harry today and is now looking for a new job. Paramount artists are not currently owed money, according to theMusic.
A representative for 301 studios in Sydney told theMusic.com.au that the studio time used by Paramount artists had not yet been paid for, and that they strongly believed the man who went by the name Harry O’Connor is the same man identified as Dene Broadbelt/Mussillon in news reports. Police are reportedly investigating the matter.
Harry’s profile picture on the Paramount website, still active, appears to be taken from an article about UK producer Machine. It is not believed Machine is linked to Paramount agency.
The Paramount website also boasts the names of David Petrovic and Stevie Knight of Sydney’s Electric Sun studios and advertises their work with artists like Tonight Alive and Kerser. According to Grace, they have had no involvement in the company. Music Feeds have reached out to Electric Sun Studios for comment but they have not replied in time for publication.
Both the official Paramount Facebook page and Dene Broadbelt’s personal page appear to have been taken down. Attempts by Music Feeds to contact Dene Broadbelt regarding the allegations have been unsuccessful.
More on this story as it develops.
UPDATE 22/07/14 10.12am: David Petrovic and Stevie Knight of Sydney’s Electric Sun Studios have issued a statement saying they had “no professional or commercial affiliation with Harrison O’Connor or his fraudulent business.” Read more here.
