Taylor Swift tour at centre of allegations against Guy Sebastian’s ex-manager

Guy Sebastian has taken the stand in the NSW District Court as his ex-manager Titus Day battles allegations he embezzled from the pop star.

Guy Sebastian’s former manager is alleged to have embezzled $187,000 earnt by the pop star for supporting Taylor Swift, leaving the Australian Idol winner to take home $23,000 from the tour, a court has been told.

Titus Emanuel Day is standing trial in the NSW District Court where he has denied embezzling hundreds of thousands in royalties and performance fees from the pop star.

The court has been told that Mr Day was Mr Sebastian’s long-time manager – through his 6 Degrees agency – and friend before they had a bitter falling out in 2017.

The Crown alleges that Mr Day failed to remit performance fees and royalties that were collected on Mr Sebastian’s behalf by Mr Day.

Mr Day has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of embezzlement as a clerk or servant and one count of attempting to dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception.

On day two of his trial on Friday, his lawyers told the jury that Mr Day denied doing anything dishonest or fraudulent.

One of the charges relates to an allegation that Mr Day failed to remit $187,000 to Mr Sebastian for performance fees as a support act for Swift on her 2013 tour of Australia.

Titus Day is standing trial in the NSW District Court. Picture: NewsWire/John Appleyard.

Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC told the court that the booking agent paid $494,000 – in the form of four payments of about $123,000 – into a 6 Degrees trust account following the four arena performances.

According to the Crown case, Mr Day was entitled to a commission of $59,000 and Mr Sebastian should have been paid $435,000 according to the 80-20 split in his contract with 6 Degrees.

However, Mr Hatfield told the jury, Mr Sebastian was only paid $247,500, leaving $187,500 unpaid.

Mr Sebastian paid $179,000 to his band and for other expenses for the tour.

“You’ll see effectively when you look at it that Mr Sebastian, of the $247,000 paid to him, he had already paid out of his own pocket $179,000,” Mr Hatfield said.

“Effectively he cleared $68,000 out of which he also had to pay GST of $45,000.

“So effectively he made about $23,000 for those four performances, while the accused retained about $246,000, whereas he should have been paid $59,000 as his commission.”

Guy Sebastian claims he was short-changed while performing as a support act to Taylor Swift. Picture: NewsWire/Gaye Gerard

It’s alleged that Mr Sebastian was also not paid for corporate gigs, performances at the Opera House, a Big Bash game and Dreamworld and for singing at weddings in Italy and Sydney.

The court was told that in 2018 he filed proceedings against Mr Day in the Federal Court that prompted his former manager and 6 Degrees to file a counterclaim

Mr Sebastian took the stand before the lunch adjournment on Friday afternoon.

He told the court that he first met Mr Day through the manager’s wife, Courtney, whom he met via his record label.

And three years after he won the inaugural Australian Idol, he agreed to join Mr Day, who was working at the 22 Management agency at the time.

The court has been told that in 2009, Mr Sebastian agreed to follow Mr Day when he opened his own agency, 6 Degrees.

Guy Sebastian is appearing as the crown’s star witness. Picture: NewsWire/John Appleyard.

The court was told that Mr Sebastian did not have a formal contract with 6 Degrees and when he moved over to Mr Day’s company they agreed to an arrangement on the same terms that Mr Sebastian had with his former talent agency.

Mr Sebastian told the court he was happy with Mr Day’s management when he first moved into his stable, but tensions arose.

He told the court that he and his bookkeepers were forced to chase information and clarification on issues and payments.

Mr Sebastian told the court he felt like the service being offered by Mr Day had deteriorated and by the end of 2017 he made the decision to move on.

“I was very concerned that the reporting was getting really difficult to obtain, and at that time Mr Day and his company 6 Degrees had close to 30 other clients, so it’s a gradual decline in the focus,” Mr Sebastian said.

“I would bring up issues, for example I would be paying an external to a manager to be at a gig that my management were taking commissions on. It just didn’t seem fair that that service was declining.”

He eventually cut ties with 6 Degrees during a “very emotional” meeting in Mr Day’s office, he told the court.

Taylor Swift toured with Mr Sebastian in 2013. Picture: NewsWire/Richard Dobson.

Mr Day’s barrister Thomas Woods, in his opening remarks to the jury on Friday morning, said his client firmly denied doing anything criminal.

“There will be no dispute that on some occasions money did come into that account which my client should have transferred onto Mr Sebastian but did not,” Mr Woods said.

“For many of the charges, the real question is not going to be whether my client failed to transfer the money to Mr Sebastian but whether his failure to do that was criminal.”

He said there was a “major dispute” in the case about whether there was any fraud or dishonesty in Mr Day’s actions.

“The background is the breakdown of a personal relationship … and a commercial relationship between the two men that went on for many years,” Mr Woods said.

“What was once a close friendship and business relationship turned sour. Both men claimed that the other owed him money.”

The trial before Judge Alister Abadee continues.

Originally published as Taylor Swift tour at centre of allegations against Guy Sebastian’s ex-manager