GYROstream Marks 7th Year With Launch Of GYRO.Group And Growth Moves Ahead

Australian independent digital distribution and artist services company GYROstream marks its seventh year in operation this month with the launch of GYRO.Group.

Keeping to its original mission to break Australian and New Zealand indie acts globally, GYRO.Group streamlines operations by putting its divisions – GYROstream, DistroDirect, GROUP SPEED and Soothe Sounds – under one umbrella.

“Primarily, our focus in Australia is to become the biggest exporter of independent music,” CEO and co-founder Andy Irvine explains in an exclusive interview with TheMusic.

“So, all the pieces fit together to get that outcome of having the Gyrostream brand take an artist right from the beginning.” 

They then take the Up escalator using different teams spanning digital distribution, white-label infrastructure, strategic marketing, PR, A&R signings, sync and community building.

“We’re really proud of the fact that we’ve built an infrastructure for that. Ultimately, having that global footprint allows our Australian and New Zealand artists to have these big opportunities.”

With its headquarters in Brisbane, GYRO.Group has operations in Sydney and Melbourne, the US, UK, Canada, Brazil, the Philippines, and India, with a staff of 60 and 500 partners around the world. Its awards have ranged from the tech Tinnies to ticketing agency Oztix, lauding it for “international expansion”.

The umbrella strategy was talked about for at least 12 months. Irvine reveals, “When we described the different things that we do and all the business divisions that we have, we were finding it difficult to explain it to artists and the market.

“So the conversation has been very much about cementing the divisions under an umbrella and explaining them the way people could understand them. So it was just really an evolution of that. It makes sense.”

Founders

The three founders of GYROstream – as in Get Your Record Out – worked in different facets of the Australian and international music industry, which in turn brought them to understanding and delivering what ANZ indie acts needed.

Among them was a royalty split where the artist got the bulk, a company based in the same time zone for instant support, data analytics tools to target audiences, and a one-stop offering of vinyl and CD manufacture, affordable PR packages, grant writing, and gear and public liability insurance.

After time in an indie band which released a number of EPs, Irvine became a digital music distribution specialist as Production & Release Manager at Universal Music in London and Sydney, and then in Brisbane to work at indie companies Dew Process and Create Control.

Vivienne Mellish, CMO, was a music journalist in Australia and London, served as a junior media advisor to Queensland’s Deputy Premier and Health Minister of Queensland, and was asked to join the QMusic Management Committee.

Head of Operations Alexander Wilson was in indie trio Shag Rock. They signed to Powderfinger member Ian Haug’s Airlock Records in 2015, had tracks certified gold and platinum, and generated 100 million streams. After that, he moved into music IT.

GYROstream stores include 100 platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, YouTube Music, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon Music and TikTok.

The first office was in a decrepit building which had been at one time inhabited by PR firms, Warner Music and Footstomp, which is currently being demolished.

“The company’s first day was very exciting. But we didn’t have our Apple Music deal signed off until five days before we launched! That was very stressful.”

These days, in a more modern and spacious pad in the cool part of the Fortitude Valley entertainment precinct (“right in the middle of the action!”), GYRO.Group deals with “a couple of thousand” tracks a month.

Artists

Artists which distributed with GYROstream included Allday, Adam Newling, Bobby Alu, Dustin Tebbutt, Jem Cassar-Daley, JK-47, Just A Gent, Leisure, Lithe, Louis Baker, Oh Boy, Emma Memma, Plini, Tom Cardy, Ruby Fields, Shag Rock, Yb., YNG Martyr and Tia Gostelow.

In the past seven years, GYROstream has changed as consumer behaviour shifts posts.

Irvine confirms: “We’re definitely seeing a trend in the algorithm space, people listen a bit more passively. 

“Working with platforms like Spotify, we can optimise the amount of Australian content and promote through the various channels that we have on all the DSP platforms.”

Opportunity for streaming growth remains strong as more age groups come on board, and the link between social media and streaming allows new genres to be spotlighted.

For independent Aussie artists, Irvine notes, “Access to global markets has never been easier / possible. However, it’s become more competitive because everyone has the same level playing field.

“So, the people who stand out not only make great music but can engage with all the different platforms. Those artists who do that successfully have a much greater potential for global success or impact than ever before. 

“People have to be more savvy. They have to consider the business aspects to grow their audiences, and they have to think big. It’s difficult for an artist to have a career just from streaming in Australia, so their overall strategy needs to have globalisation as a key part in order to build a career.

“Our mission is to be able to help some of those levers in order to get those artists’ success. Legitimately, they can do it now. 15 years ago, that wouldn’t have been possible.”

Launching

In 2021, GYROstream launched the white label SaaS platform, DistroDirect.

It lets 500 partner companies – including management, labels, marketers and studios – distribute music under their own brand in 40 markets, and click over millions of dollars in royalties to indie acts each month. 

A pivotal move in its international expansion came in 2023 with the artist marketing and services division, GROUP SPEED. 

It was formed by Adrian Burke, former Label Partnerships Lead at Spotify Canada; Benjamin James, Global Head of A&R at GYROstream; and GYROstream and DistroDirect marketing specialist Jackson McMaster, who teamed with digital strategist and high-profile TikTok creator Alison Bremner (named Head of Artist Marketing Strategy) and artist manager Taylor Dwyer.

Burke, based in Toronto, leads the division. His seven years at Spotify gave him a background in cultivating key partner relationships, artist campaigns worldwide, and data-driven strategies to drive up streams for artists.

More recently, marketing expert Jon Winchester (Virgin Music Group, Universal, InGrooves), who is based in North Carolina, was tapped as Artist and Streaming Marketing Lead. 

“His leadership will be key to elevating the calibre of talent we work with, achieving outstanding outcomes for our roster, and deepening our global streaming relationships," Burke said in May.

GROUP SPEED has conducted worldwide campaigns for the likes of Australia’s Dom Dolla, who last month hit a total of 1 billion streams, as well as WILLOW (US), F5ve (Japan), MOLIY (Ghana), PARALLEL (UK), Raffa Guido (China) and Lowswimmer (UK).

Multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer Lowswimmer (aka Ed Tullett) is a direct signing, as are Sydney/Toronto duo breathe. and US rapper Midwxst.

In early 2024, GROUP SPEED and GYROstream jointly worked to break the unsigned Melbourne hip-hop, R&B, future trap and soul performer and producer Lithe.

He impressively landed two tracks at #2 and #12 on Spotify Australia’s Global Impact List. The resulting publicity increased his streams to 200 million, and he is currently touring Europe.

Soothe Sounds, the invite-only program focusing on classical, ambient and contemporary instrumental, also struck a chord. 

Irvine explains, “We’re really looking at high-quality composers around the world. There was a really good niche for this kind of music, especially in the streaming world, so we’ve been building that up as a digital label.”

Growth

Last year's growth saw Harry Young (A&R at Process Records + Publishing and discoverer of Mallrat) step into the newly created role of Senior A&R Manager across the group and Australia-based A&R and streaming partnerships coordinators Molly Jackson and Taylor Dwyer.

The sync and brand division was expanded, bringing in Sydney-based Dan Gibson as Head of Publishing & Sync and Nathan Tito as Publicity and Partnerships Manager to secure deals traditionally reserved for major label acts.

Gibson quickly secured results for GYROstream artists with Google Pixel and Reece Plumbing among others, while Tito secured opportunities for GYROstream artists on the ARIAs red carpet in collaboration with Oxford House, with Universal Pictures premieres, Red Bull and Ovolo Hotels.

This June, the group took another major step forward when it announced Matthew Rogers as Chief Commercial Officer, briefed to expand DistroDirect and shape its product development, and drive GYRO Group’s commercial and legal strategy.

With a reputation for global contacts, driving growth and understanding the indie music market, Rogers has returned to Brisbane to drive a number of the company’s expansion initiatives – details still vaulted – set to roll out shortly.

In his earlier 14-year tenure as a Chief Operating Officer at UNIFIED Music Group, Rogers was instrumental in its growth from seven-strong staff in Australia to a 100 across Australia, Europe and North America.

Rogers is ready for the hard work ahead. “I am thrilled to be joining the dynamic team at GYRO Group at such a pivotal time.

“Having witnessed the company’s impressive growth and commitment to the independent music community, I am eager to contribute my experience to further develop DistroDirect and support GYRO Group’s ambitious international expansion plans. 

“Joining a Queensland-based company after many years interstate feels like a natural and exciting next step.”

Brisbane

Asked if GYRO Group’s culture and strategy are different because it is based in Brisbane, and not in the hubs of Sydney and Melbourne, CEO Irvine responds: “We’re proud we’re from Brisbane (but) I don’t think it’s something we actively thought about.

“We have a number of people in Sydney and now Melbourne, and especially since COVID, a lot of things happen online. We spend a lot of time in those markets, and we have lots of artists in those markets. 

“So, it’s never held us back. If anything, it allows us to focus on what we do rather than get distracted by what other industry things happen in those cities!”

Looking back at the first seven years, he contends, “It seems like we’re just starting.”