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A mind-boggling 120,000 songs are uploaded to streaming services every day.

Even for an artist with the backing of a major record label, it can be difficult to stand out amidst that level of competition. For an independent artist, the challenge is far greater, says the music industry veteran Andy Irvine.

“With the sheer volume of content, to be able to cut through as an independent artist is a difficult proposition,” he says. “So you really need to build support teams around you.”

Irvine is helping to provide those teams. By 2018, Spotify had hit an inflection point in popularity, as more Australians made streaming their primary method of music consumption, and Irvine had spent the previous decade working at major and independent record labels, where he had noticed a gap in the market.

“There was a really strong feeling that the independent artist sector in Australia was being deeply underserved,” he says. “And if you weren’t signed to a label, you basically had to use an overseas music distributor to get your songs on all the major streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.”

He decided to do something about that. To help local artists find their audiences, Irvine co-founded GYROstream, an Australian music distribution service that acts as the middleman between independent artists and streaming platforms. It’s been a gamechanger for the local music industry, serving thousands of artists every week and employing more than 50 staff in Australia and around the world.

“We demystify the streaming industry and help Aussie artists have more impact here and abroad,” Irvine says.

Having a distribution partner is essential for any independent artist. If you recorded a song today, Irvine says, you couldn’t just upload it directly to Spotify the way you could to YouTube or SoundCloud. The way streaming is set up means artists need a distributor to act on their behalf, who sends their songs to the various streamers, then collects and pays their royalties.

GYROstream provides that service – the GYRO stands for Get Your Record Out – but it also helps artists in all aspects of the release cycle, from publicity to radio playlisting, digital marketing and social media content strategies. It also puts a strong focus on educating artists about best-practice approaches for making music that will have the biggest impact on streaming.

GYROstream is a champion for indie artists, helping them scream about their music from the rooftops.

“We put a huge emphasis on providing great local support,” Irvine says. “Nearly all our support team are artists in their own right. They’re based in Australia, and they genuinely love helping independent artists with their release cycle.”

Given the collection and payment of royalties is a core element of GYROstream’s business, getting its banking right has been of critical importance, and it has chosen to partner with NAB.

“We’re in quite an interesting position, as most of the money that we receive is actually royalties that’s owned by our artists,” Irvine says. “So it’s really important that we have a secure, accessible and flexible banking partner to ensure that our artists get paid on time and accurately.

“We want to make sure that the royalties are getting paid correctly. It’s really fundamental to running a good, transparent service.”

GYROstream has helped secure some huge wins for artists, such as the independent hip-hop artist Lithe, with whom it has worked for the past four years.

“He has had two tracks enter the Australian Spotify Global Impact list for 2024, in second and twelfth position, which is an incredible achievement,” says Irvine.

“To reach that level of global impact as a completely unsigned artist with an independent distribution company, I think is a really huge testament to not only the potential of staying independent, but also being able to control your career in the modern music industry.”

GYROstream plans to keep elevating Aussie artists.

“Our goal is to be the leading net exporter of Australian independent music,” Irvine says.

“There’s a really big focus at the moment in the music industry and even at the government level on gaining more exposure and commercial success for Australian music globally. So it’s really important for us to play a significant role in leading the charge of that. We’re investing a lot in building teams internationally to really double down, and to create those pathways for Australian music globally.

“That’s really what the next phase of growth is about: finding those opportunities for our artists overseas.”

If its track record is anything to go by, GYROstream won’t have any trouble helping Aussie artists take things all the way to the top.

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