Top music manager ordered to pay $300,000 to Avalanche City's Dave Baxter

Dave Baxter from Avalanche City missed out on more than $300,000 after his manager ripped him off. Photo / NZ Herald

A top music manager has been ordered to pay Avalanche City singer Dave Baxter $307,287.27 but the musician may never see that money, according to The Spinoff.

A high court judgment against music manager Matt Coleman, who also manages Dane Rumble and Ezra Vine, ordered him to pay the Love, Love, Love singer more than $300,000 after finding he had behaved dishonestly.

However, Coleman's company Let the People Speak went into liquidation on November 30.

Music manager Matt Coleman was ordered to pay Dave Baxter more than $300,000.

Citing Justice Susan Thomas' judgment, The Spinoff reported Coleman was found guilty of:

•Under-reporting Avalanche City's income, and keeping more than the 20 per cent share he was owed as the band's manager.

•Under-stating funding given to the band.

•Charging for disputed expenses.

•Overstating his commissions on merchandise sales.

•Siphoning nearly $85,000 of Baxter's royalties into his family bank accounts.

According to The Spinoff, the judgment states that Coleman signed his company up to receive Avalanche City royalties from Recorded Music New Zealand without Baxter's knowledge. That money was then paid directly into personal bank accounts, including Coleman's wife's personal account.

In her judgment, Justice Thomas wrote: "A generous interpretation of Mr Coleman's dealings with Mr Baxter would conclude that he had not deliberately siphoned off money due to Mr Baxter but rather displayed an inexcusably lax attitude towards accounting practices.

"The Recorded Music situation however falls into a different category. It is difficult to accept any innocent explanation of the non-disclosure of those sums."

Baxter reportedly discovered Coleman's dishonesty after seeing a contract for a corporate gig for Air New Zealand, which was worth twice what he had been told by his manager.

Coleman told The Spinoff he doesn't accept the judgment, but won't be appealing it.