Guy Sebastian claims ex-manager, Titus Day, kept $187k from Taylor Swift tour as embezzlement trial unfolds

Australian pop star Guy Sebastian has revealed how excited he was to support global pop star Taylor Swift on her 2013 tour while taking the stand in the trial of his former manager, who is accused of embezzling $640,000 from Mr Sebastian.

Titus Emanuel Day is standing trial for allegedly embezzling $640,000 of Mr Sebastian’s royalties and performance fees.

This includes the alleged failure to remit $187,000 to Mr Sebastian for performance fees as a support act for Swift on her 2013 Red tour of Australia.

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

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

He has denied doing anything fraudulent or dishonest.

Mr Sebastian told the NSW District Court on Wednesday that he was “very excited” when Mr Day told him he’d be opening for Swift on her Red tour of Australia in December 2013.

“I was alerted to the fact that I was to be supporting Taylor Swift, which obviously is a big deal – Taylor’s a huge artist, and it was a massive get to get that tour,” Mr Sebastian told the court.

“I was really honoured.”

Supporting Swift was unlike tours of his own, he said, which at times “weren’t fruitful”, as he had to cover all the costs.

“This was an opportunity where it was a guaranteed sum I was being paid,” he explained.

Mr Sebastian told the court that he “wanted to do a really good job” and had even flown in a friend of his to perform alongside him.

“I really made that band as slamming as I possibly could and wanted to do a really good job of this,” he said.

Mr Sebastian was going to be paid about $500,000 for the tour, but had to pay costs of about $180,000 that included the price of pulling the “slamming” band together.

The court was previously told that $494,000 was paid into an account of Mr Day’s 6 Degrees management company by a booking agent following the Swift tour.

The Crown alleges Mr Day was entitled to a $59,000 commission, leaving Mr Sebastian the remaining $435,000.

However, Mr Day allegedly failed to remit $187,000, with Mr Sebastian only paid about $247,5000.

Mr Sebastian told the court on Wednesday that money was supposed to be remitted within a week or two of any performance.

“Within seven or 14 days, but it was clearly indicated to us when the $247,000 was transferred that there was going to be a reconciliation on weeks of the whole tour … we were told that the full reconciliation would be done really soon,” Mr Sebastian told the court.

He claimed there were several attempts from his bookkeepers to try to understand the reconciliation for the performances in order to complete a tax return; however, this was allegedly “never received”.

In the years following, Mr Sebastian said he “assumed it was taken care of”.

Mr Day’s barrister, Thomas Woods, last week told the court that there would be “no dispute” that on some occasions his client should have transferred money onto Mr Sebastian, but did not.

“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,” Mr Woods said.

Mr Sebastian signed with Mr Day at his management company, 6 Degrees, three years after he won Australian Idol, having previously worked with him at Mr Day’s former agency, 22 Management.

Despite initially being happy with the arrangement, Mr Sebastian and his team were often chasing statements and clarification on payments before he told Mr Day he was leaving his management in 2017, the court was previously told.

Mr Sebastian launched Federal Court proceedings against Mr Day the following year. He, in turn, filed a counterclaim.

The trial continues.