Peter Rix is a pioneering Australian artist manager and acclaimed event and theatrical producer. Peter Rix Management was founded in 1972 and over the ensuing 20 years managed the careers of Marcia Hines, Jon English, Richard Clapton, Mark Holden, Hush, Billy Field, Sharon O’Neil and Anne Kirkpatrick amongst others. 48 platinum, 53 gold albums and 35 gold singles were awarded to artists managed by Peter.
Peter has produced a number of iconic Australia events, commencing with the Variety Club’s annual ‘Carols by Candlelight’ concert at Parramatta stadium, Hoadley’s ‘Battle of the Sounds’, the ‘Rock Eisteddfod’ series, the 2SM 1979 ‘Concert of the Decade’ on the steps of the Sydney Opera House and the Narara Music Festivals at Old Sydney Town along with Rugby League Grand Final entertainment and State of Origin matches. There were bicentennial activities in 1988 and the Sydney Olympic Games live sites in 2000, along with a growing client base of Australian corporations as well as the 2007 APEC Leaders Conference for the Federal Government. He was a board member of the National Film and Sound Archive from 1990 to 1995 and chairman of the Federal Government’s Contemporary Music Summit held at Parliament House in Canberra in 1995. Peter helmed the APRA Music Awards for 36 years from 1988 to 2024 and has been the co-chairman of the Australian Event Industry Awards since 2019.
However, it is Peter Rix’s initiation, creation and chairing of the ARIA Music Awards, in collaboration with his music industry colleagues, from its inception in 1986 and for the following 14 years, that is his lasting legacy.
The George P. Johnson company (GPJ) of Detroit, Michigan purchased PRM in 2004 and for 14 years Peter was managing director then chairman. GPJ became the leading event and experiential organisation in Australia with clients including Toyota, IBM, Amazon, SalesForce, Oracle, Optus and Woodside. In January 2018 Peter resigned from GPJ and returned to the world of creative live experiences.
The Australian Event Awards recognised Peter in 2011 with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2019 he was awarded an AM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours and after 53 years continues to manage the career of Marcia Hines. He is also the creator/producer of a number of globally successful theatrical productions including ‘Velvet’, ‘Pigalle’ and ‘Aretha’.
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