Festival Records would not of been the same without Michael Gudinski and Mushroom Records Group.

Michael Gudinski, Mushroom Records founder and Australian music industry icon, dead aged 68 from a heart attack.

Although Mr Gudinski never worked at Festival Records, Festival was his distribution and manufacturing of all the Mushroom products to Australia and then the world.

Mr Gudinski died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Melbourne, according to a statement from Mushroom Group.

Michael Gudinski founded Mushroom in 1972, when he was 20, and went on to work closely with a who's who of Australian musicians, including Jimmy Barnes, Split Enz, Paul Kelly and Kylie Minogue.

Mushroom Records launched Minogue's career with her first album, Kylie, in 1988.

The label established itself in 1974 with the release of Skyhooks' debut album, Living in the 70's, which by 1975 was the biggest-selling album by an Australian act in Australia.

The LP spent close to four months at the top of the Australian charts and sold 240,000 copies.

Festival Records would not of been the same without Mr Gudinski and Mushroom Records.

• Launching his record label in 1972, and promotion business in 1979, he was one of the industry's most influential figures
• A statement from Mushroom Group described him as someone with an "unwavering passion for all music"