Korda Marshall awarded top honour by University of West London

14 January 2025 - Press release

Mushroom Music is proud to announce Mushroom Music’s Managing Director, International Korda Marshall has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music by the University of West London for his immense achievements and services to music. 

He now joins other past honourees such as Pete Townshend (The Who), who also studied at the University of West London alongside the likes of Freddie Mercury, Ronnie Wood and many more. 

  

Mushroom Music Managing Director - International, Korda Marshall said: “It is a great honour to receive this Doctorate of Music award from such a prestigious establishment as the West London College of Music.

The Arts education colleges are still really important to the growth of Creative UK PLC and my own career achievements owe a great deal to my Bachelor of Arts degree from Canterbury Art College, which gave me a solid understanding of the creative processes and working with creative talent.

It has stood me in great stead over the years as it's often difficult to quantify an arts education, but the lawyers, accountants, businessmen and other disbelievers tend to take you more seriously if they know that you studied at a college and have a degree to your name.

Music and the arts are such an important part of our lives and our culture, especially in these very easily connected digital times.  With emerging AI, it is now more important than ever that authentic musicians and artists enjoy the gravitas and support of governments and the broader education environment worldwide, particularly in schools and colleges where maths, science, and the increasing emergence of tech businesses is enabling the stealing of artists copyrights for their own political AI agenda.

I'm very proud to have been given this award and look forward to working with and helping develop the next generation of artists, producers, managers, and music entrepreneurs together with the amazing lectures and teachers at the college.”

Mushroom Group Chief Executive, Matt Gudinski said: "Korda is highly regarded member of the Gudinski and Mushroom family. He has made a remarkable contribution to the global music industry, and I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving of this honour."

Throughout his illustrious career, Marshall has signed some of the biggest names in rock and pop. With some four decades in the music business, he has played in a band, scouted, signed artists, directed major label A&R departments, produced, executive produced and was Managing Director of three major record labels. 

Korda started his distinguished career at RCA in 1983 and since then worked at Atlantic Records, Warner Music Group, BMG, and Mushroom Records and launched record labels Infectious and Contagious. He either signed or worked with artists such as The Blow Monkeys, Londonbeat, Eurythmics, The Primitives, The Wedding Present, Pop Will Eat Itself, Westworld, Take That, Peter Andre, Rick Astley, Black Box, Paul Oakenfold, Caron Wheeler, Ash, Muse, Garbage, The Darkness, James Blunt, Gnarls Barkley, Madonna, REM, My Chemical Romance, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, The Enemy, Seasick Steve, The Temper Trap, DMA'S, Alt-J, Ry-X, Bloc Party, Morrissey, Culture Club, Emma Bunton, The Prodigy, Blondie, Chris Rea, You Me at 6, Pendulum, and Antony Szmierek.

 

“Congratulations on being awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music by the University of West London! In addition to being an A&R Icon, a mentor, a friend and an inspiration to all artists throughout your esteemed career we respectfully recognize your achievements and services to music. Korda, you are an inspiration, and we could not be happier for you on this worthy and well-earned accomplishment.” — Debbie Harry, Chris Stein & Clem Burke (Blondie)

“Korda Marshall has been the one true constant over the course of my music career. In a sea of corporates who rarely give a damn about artists, Korda distinguishes himself as one who always does. A long-term strategist, risk taker, art lover. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work so closely with him for nigh on four decades. Lucky me.” – Shirley Manson (Garbage)

“I loved working with Korda - you hear stories about maverick A&R genius types that put their arses on the line for acts that don’t necessarily fit in, and he demonstrated exactly that type of belief in The Darkness; a potentially career-busting pub rock band from Lowestoft.

I can remember pulling at a bit of ceiling in a venue in Peterborough, ending up with the whole thing collapsing on me at the end of the set. I only did that to impress Korda, because I knew he was there and I wanted to make an impression. He inspired me to bring the house down time and time again.

Congratulations Korda! And I look forward to joining you as an Honorary Doctor in the near future…”   – Justin Hawkins (The Darkness) 

“In all my years in the business, over 50 of them, Korda is most definitely one of the ten or fifteen most important music men I’ve ever met, and I’ve met and known them all.” – The late Seymour Stein (Sire Records founder)

“Korda is a one-off – one of a kind. He lives and breathes music and is one of the truly great people in the music business.” - Alan McGee (founder of Creation)

“Korda is one of the truly great A&Rs, and not just for his musical knowledge, but because of the belief he has in his artists. We were incredibly fortunate to get the benefit of these qualities when, still in our teens, we signed to Mushroom Records – where he nurtured us through the tricky early years.” - Matt Bellamy (Muse)

“In my brief stint in the music world thus far, Korda has made me feel welcomed, listened to, and important. I take great pleasure in watching people’s faces light up when they ask where I have signed, and I tell them ‘I’m with Korda’.” - Antony Szmierek

 

In a full-circle moment, Korda returned to the Mushroom Music as International Director of the Mushroom Label division’s global operations in 2022. He played an instrumental role in striking a multi-layered global partnership between Virgin Music Label & Artist Services (VLMAS) to support and distribute Mushroom artist’s releases worldwide, outside of Australia and New Zealand.