Q: “I’m in a band and we’re bloody great! How do we get a record deal?” Jason, Wynnum, QLD
A: “Start off by buying the
Australasian Music Industry Directory,” says Donovan, who manages acts like Grinspoon and Josh Pyke. “That has contact details for every record company in Australia.
“You can do the standard thing of cold calling these people, but that’s a turkey shoot. Your best bet is start by trying to make your local area work.
“For example, Josh Pyke; the way we got him a deal was picking a venue – the Hopetoun [in Sydney] – and we said, ‘We’re going to keep working this room until we can pack it out, and when we pack it out we’re going to do the same thing at venues in Brisbane and Melbourne.’”
But what if you can’t get a gig? “Just pick a venue and hang out there. Take demos of your music – hand them out to the bands that are playing. Find other bands, because if they book a venue, they’re going to need bands to play with them.”