About

Eleven: A Music Company & John Watson Management It is run by President John Watson and General Manager Melissa Chenery with able assistance from Accounts Manager, Skye Nevin. Like the amplifier in Spinal Tap, the company seeks to always go “the extra distance” in getting its artists’ music heard in Australia and around the world. For more than 25 years John, Mel and Skye have also operated a separate, but related, company called John Watson Management. Their clients currently include Birds of Tokyo, Gotye, Midnight Oil, Missy Higgins, Peter Garrett and The Presets. Since 2009 the company has co-managed Cold Chisel in conjunction with John O’Donnell as well as consulting on numerous solo projects for Jimmy Barnes. JWM also previously managed Silverchair (1995-2021), Paul Mac (1997-2021), Wolfmother (2005-2008) and co-managed Pete Murray (2005 – 2012). Before establishing John Watson Management, John was Director of A&R and international Marketing at Sony Music Australia for five years. He was involved in signing Silverchair to that company and left to manage the band in 1995. Prior to that, in his student days, he worked in record stores, did freelance journalism, played in some indie bands and did just about any other music related activity he could find to avoid getting a real job. He has an honours degree in politics along with some legal and business studies. Melissa Chenery has spent almost as long in the music business as John Watson. She too worked at Sony Music for five years in the early 1990’s firstly in A&R and then as Head of Marketing for Australian Artists. After a year of backpacking in the mid-90’s she joined John Watson Management in early 1996. Skye Nevin came aboard not long afterwards after several years working at leading Sydney recording Studio 301. Eleven: A Music Company and John Watson Management share the same philosophical approach – developing a very small roster of enduring artists who are committed to building a credible, global career. If you want to know any more about the label or the management company please listen to our artists’ music or come along to a gig. See you there.