Aural Seduction – a young entrepreneur follows his creative instinct

So how difficult is it to follow your creative instincts and NOT undertake the ‘obligatory’ uni course? 24 year old Tony Plowman, a high achiever at his Sydney school, has been writing music since he was 14. Electronic music, in particular the ‘Progressive House’ genre is Tony’s passion. Called ‘doof-doof’ by some generalists, young people pay big dollars for events featuring world-class DJs.

After eight years of DJ-ing, as well as writing, promoting, producing and looking for feedback in the surprisingly welcoming global music world, Tony found industry people contacting him in Sydney for his knowledge and contacts. He has effectively done his own global training and has taken up DJ Touring and Artist Management through his agency, TigerStyle. Tony says although he had a handful of contacts throughout the US, UK and Europe he had next to no Asian connections, but, knowing the ropes, it took him just two months to establish contacts in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.

His first touring artist, ‘Omid 16b’ (a UK DJ / Producer) arrives January 2006 to visit Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and the Gold Coast. Tony has used his network connections to organise promoters to take Omid in each city and he has also organised flights and accommodation – his fee is 15% of the tour cost.

Tony says some New Year’s Eve Dance Parties attract around 20,000 people, grossing upwards of $3 million revenue. It’s big business!

THE NUTS & BOLTS BACKGROUND
1)At 18 Tony decided against Physiotherapy, applied and was accepted into a prestigious creative writing course “AWARD (Australian Writers and Art Directors Association) School”, run by News Ltd. Although this ‘armed’ him with an excellent creative portfolio, finding work in the cutthroat advertising writing industry was tough for an 18-19 year old, lacking worldly experience.

2)While writing music and working at a range of ‘the usual’ jobs Tony squeezed in two TAFE courses:
(i) Interactive Multimedia & Graphic Design – Crows Nest TAFE
(ii)Sound Production – North Sydney TAFE.

3)Under the name ‘Aural Seduction’ Tony continued writing music and he and brother Max staged two dance parties – a learning experience indeed!
He has had music played on radio, in clubs and released online.

4)In 2005 Stigma Records, Melbourne, released Aural Seduction’s ‘Dark Clouds over Oslo’ which made Number 1, 4 and 8 on the site’s “best selling” charts – and was supported by some of the biggest names in the business.

WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MAIN HURDLES?
Tony says:
1) “Penetrating a very, very competitive, close knit industry. Most doors are closed until you ‘kick’ them open and people really don’t take you seriously until you prove yourself.

2)You have communication difficulties with Asia, and sometimes Europe and USA don’t treat you as a high priority as you’re so far away.

3)Locally, it’s been interesting as well! There are a limited number of personalities in the world that you can ‘tour’, and basically everyone is after the same people, which can cause some tension.

4)Personally, self doubt has played on my mind since I’ve started. I’m slowly beating it, but I think I’ll have to have a few tours under my belt before it goes completely. The industry isn’t in great shape at the moment and there is not too much money flying around.

On the upside, I have an interesting job, I get to meet some really cool, creative people and I’ve been making great contacts for my personal music career, so I’m sure it’ll all be worth it in the end.”

WHERE TO FROM HERE?
Tony plans to:
-Focus on bringing the best international talent to Australia and Asia.
-Provide a comprehensive tour schedule, tailored for each artist individually.
-Provide artists with a platform to launch a career in the very competitive music industry.
-Further his personal career as a unique electronic artist.
-Form strong relationships with global brands and promote world class events in Australia.

FOR MORE INFO CONTACT: Tony Plowman
Email: tonyplowman@optusnet.com.au