Born and raised in Melbourne, Gudinski formed the highly successful Australian record company Mushroom Records in 1972 through which he signed several generations of Australian musicians and performers ranging from MacKenzie Theory, Skyhooks, The Choirboys, Kylie Minogue, and New Zealand's Split Enz to newer artists such as Eskimo Joe, Evermore and others.

[7] Gudinski and fellow music agent Ray Evans formed Mushroom Records in late 1972.

Mushroom struggled to survive for its first two years, hampered by lack of airplay on commercial radio, and the company reportedly came close to folding on several occasions.

Gudinski was convinced to sign expatriate New Zealand band Split Enz, who had recently relocated to Australia.

He sold his remaining 51% share to News in 1999 for a reported A$60 million, claiming that the sale was a protest against the changes to Australia's parallel record importation regulations.

[24] Gudinski was a life-long supporter of the St Kilda Football Club,[3] and once served as their vice president.

The report additionally revealed that he had heart disease, cirrhosis, and had suffered recent vertebral compression fractures.

[28] The opening caption of the Bruce Springsteen video for his song "I'll See You In My Dreams" reads: "In Memory of Michael Gudinski".

[29] Shortly after his death, Triple J's programme Hack (in addition to Double J's Zan Rowe) paid tribute to Gudinski, discussing his contributions to the Australian music industry.

[31] Sheeran dedicated his song "Visiting Hours" to Gudinski as a tribute, and he performed it at his memorial service.