steve millard

Steve Millard - Founder & Chief Executive Officer,
The Because Group.

As Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and founder of The Because Group, Steve is focused on overseeing company asset expansion, and intellectual property development.

The Because Group is one of the world's emerging new era Entertainment and Management companies and as Steve says, "The motivation that led me to where I am today was realizing early on that the entertainment business model needed to be changed. The CD as a format had matured and had lost its consumer appeal.

The industry needed a new business model underpinned by new technology. I had envisioned the future to be about a new generation CD and DVD, which would greatly enhance the consumer value proposition and compliment the evolution of the on-line e-commerce space.

The functionality of the disc had to include the ability to download music/media files and add them to the disc. It had to have the ability to bring the Internet into play, which was always the missing link, and had to have the latest copy protection and digital rights management."

The second challenge, which ultimately would shape The Because Group, was the need to change the business model of the traditional music company. A new era music company had to improve the focus on its artists and be acutely aware of the needs of the consumer, and be prepared to deliver content to market traditionally and through e-commerce.

Before founding The Because Group, Steve was the Senior Director Marketing of the Epic label for Sony Music Australia. He spent a decade with the company where he helped to establish it as one of Sony Music's leading affiliates.

Epic Records roster was essentially International and during Steve's tenure he established a wide network of global business contacts. He quickly became one of the most aggressive and accomplished global business talents.

In his role, Steve was responsible for overseeing stellar artists like Michael Jackson, Pearl Jam, Julio Iglesias, Mariah Carey and Oasis. There were many personal achievements on the artist development front, with major contributions to the careers of artists like Deep Forest, Big Audio Dynamite, Des'ree and Macy Gray.

Steve started his career in the music industry as an artist manager and booking agent. He rapidly developed a network of acts and venues around the eastern seaboard working for a small Sydney company called Premier Entertainment.

In 1981, a few years after gaining a solid reputation within the artist and music business community, he accepted a role with Polygram Records. This move rounded out his resume even further. It exposed Steve to the retail and wholesale workings of the recording industry. After a year at Polygram, he was approached to join Sony Music Australia (then CBS Records). He embraced the role of Promotions Manager, a position that he held for two years.

Then in 1983 when Australian radio was enjoying its golden age, Steve signed on as Marketing Director with the nation's first and most successful FM station, 2MMM. There, he managed the station's marketing needs, both on and off the air. He also took an active role in the publicity and promotion of the station's stars, like Doug Mulray, Stuart Cranney and Jono & Dano.

In 1987, Steve started his own business and entered the "rag trade". The success that followed enabled him to market a range of casual wear to some of Australia's biggest retail chains like Grace Bros, General Pants and Surf, Dive & Ski. Three years later, he was drawn back to the music and in 1990, returned to Sony.

In 2004, Steve and his team are at the cutting edge of entertainment technology and business. The Because Group recently signed a joint venture deal with a Los Angeles based technology company, The Optical Disc Corporation.

The new venture named Digital Future Solutions (DFS), is the vehicle to create, develop and commercialize the updateable disc. The first versions of the disc, geared toward the music industry will release in September 04. The coming months will also see him begin the task of shaping The Because Group into the new era Entertainment Company he plans it to be.

For further information contact Steve Millard