Lars Brandle (he/him) an editor at Billboard, and head of content at The Brag Media, based in Sydney, Australia. Lars joined the now-defunct Billboard international bureau in London in 2000, initially serving as international editor - Billboard Bulletin. In 2004, a promotion to global news editor across the group. In late 2008, Lars returned to his native Australia, taking on duties as national correspondent, then added editorial and social duties for Billboard.com during the "overnight" shift.
Over the years, he has provided several cover stories for Billboard magazine, and countless artist and executive features, big-picture articles, listicles, news stories and concert recaps. Lars is a regular pundit on TV and radio in Australia for his insights into the live scene, the music community, what's hot and what's not and the business behind the music. His collection of CDs and vinyl is stacked with rock, punk, indie, pop, new wave, post punk and electronic dance music.
He's a former elite junior basketballer (playing on championship-winning rep teams and captaining UQ at the Intervarsity Games) and drummer with Battle of the Bands-winning alternative rock group Human Zoo (later Prizm).
He's a regular guest speaker and moderator at major music industry conferences at home and abroad, including All That Matters/Music Matters in Singapore, where highlights include keynote interviews with YouTube global head of music Lyor Cohen (2017), EDM stars Alan Walker and Kaskade (2018), and a virtual interview in 2020 with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Chuck D and Cohen. Other conference appearances include MIDEM in Cannes, Popkomm in Cologne and Berlin, the Amsterdam Dance Event, London’s City Showcase and Going Global in Auckland, New Zealand. Closer to home, he interviewed Carl Cox on stage at Face the Music (Melbourne) and DJ Sasha at Electronic Music Conference (Sydney), Paul Kelly at One Movement (Perth) and the late Mushroom Group founder Michael Gudinski at Bigsound (in Brisbane).
At heart, he's a rave kid who can't shake '90s trance, minimal techno and proper 3 a.m. bangers. He appeared along with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippin for the ‘Australian Story’ documentary on the retired NBA champion Luc Longley. The doc, "One Giant Leap," is the most-viewed episode in the long-running Australian Broadcasting Company series and won for best sport profile – broadcast at the 2021 Sport Australia Media Awards. Lars graduated from the University of Queensland with a BA (double major in journalism).
At The Brag Media, a division of ASX-listed Vinyl Group, Lars oversees content for the media company's suite of titles, which includes Tone Deaf, The Music Network and the Australian and New Zealand editions of Rolling Stone, Variety and Billboard. The Brag Media is Australia's largest youth publisher.
