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Draft:Barry Coburn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Barry Coburn
Born
Dunedin, New Zealand[1]
OccupationsMusic publisher, artist manager, concert promoter, record company executive
OrganizationTen Ten Music Group[2]

Barry Coburn is a New Zealand-born music publisher, artist manager, concert promoter and record company executive. In the early 1970s, he promoted concerts in New Zealand with Robert Raymond and co-promoted the 1973 Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival.[1][3] He later managed Split Enz and released the band's 1975 debut album, Mental Notes, in New Zealand on his White Cloud label.[1][4][5] After moving to Nashville, Tennessee, Coburn co-founded Ten Ten Music Group, managed Alan Jackson, and served as president and chief executive officer of Atlantic Records Nashville.[1][2][6]

Early career in New Zealand

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Coburn was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, and raised in Christchurch.[1] He entered the music business in 1967, working for Manufacturers Distribution Company in Christchurch, where he sold records to retailers and promoted records to radio stations around the South Island.[1] He later worked in A&R and production for Viking Records, where he was given an imprint called Viking Ventura.[1][4]

Coburn left Viking in 1970 and moved into artist management, music publishing and concert promotion.[1][4] He also worked as a tour manager for Australian promoter Harry M. Miller before partnering with Australian promoter Robert Raymond.[1]

Concert promotion and Split Enz

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Coburn and Raymond promoted concerts by international acts in New Zealand in the early 1970s, including shows by Elton John and Led Zeppelin at Western Springs Stadium in Auckland.[1][3] Their joint projects included the Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival, held from 6 to 8 January 1973.[3] NZHistory describes the festival as New Zealand's first attempt at a Woodstock-style festival and as a key event in New Zealand rock history.[7] The event included overseas acts such as Black Sabbath, Fairport Convention and Sandy Denny, along with New Zealand performers including BLERTA, Mammal, Billy TK and Powerhouse, and Split Ends.[3][7]

After his partnership with Raymond ended, Coburn founded White Cloud Records.[4] The label released records by Beech, Brent Parlane, Rockinghorse and Split Enz.[4] Coburn had seen Split Enz, then known as Split Ends, at an early Auckland performance and became the band's manager.[1] He managed the band from December 1972 to December 1975.[5]

White Cloud released early Split Enz singles and the band's debut album, Mental Notes, in New Zealand in 1975.[1][4] Mental Notes was White Cloud's only album release.[4]

Nashville and Ten Ten Music Group

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Coburn moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1984 after working in concert promotion and artist management in New Zealand and Australia.[1] In Nashville, he and Jewel Coburn started Ten Ten Music and Ten Ten Management.[1] Coburn was a founder and co-president of Ten Ten Music Group, a music publishing company whose catalog represented hundreds of recorded singles and album tracks.[2]

Ten Ten worked with Keith Urban as a publishing client during Urban's early Nashville period.[1][8] In 1988, Coburn became manager of Alan Jackson.[1][2] Coburn was Jackson's publisher-manager when Jackson signed with Arista Nashville in June 1989.[9]

In 2014, Nettwerk Music Group's publishing division acquired a 50 percent interest in Ten Ten Music and formed a publishing joint venture with the company.[10]

Atlantic Records Nashville and industry roles

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In 1999, Coburn became president and chief executive officer of Atlantic Records Nashville.[1][2][6] He left the post in 2001 after the AOL Time Warner merger led to consolidation of the company's Nashville labels.[1]

Coburn has served on music industry boards. In 2012, he and Zach Horowitz were appointed to the board of directors of the National Music Publishers' Association.[2] Coburn has also served on the ASCAP board.[2]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Cammick, Murray (22 April 2014). "Barry Coburn". AudioCulture. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rantala, Caitlin (7 May 2012). "Coburn, Horowitz Elected to NMPA Board". MusicRow. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bollinger, Nick (3 July 2020). "The Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival". AudioCulture. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Grigg, Simon (10 April 2013). "White Cloud". AudioCulture. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Band File: Split Enz". Rip It Up. No. 22. 1 May 1979. p. 20. Retrieved 9 June 2026 via Papers Past.
  6. 1 2 Barnes, Deborah (29 October 2000). "After Lean Years, Nashville's Strumming a New Tune". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Beginnings". NZHistory. Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  8. Downs, Sarah (2 May 2025). "Casey Barnes Drops New Single 'Buy That Girl a Beer'". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  9. Sexton, Paul (26 June 2019). "Country Mainstay Alan Jackson Marks 30 Years Since His First Record Deal". uDiscoverMusic. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  10. Skates, Sarah (8 December 2014). "Nettwerk Acquires Stake In Ten Ten, Launches Joint Venture". MusicRow. Retrieved 9 June 2026.