Josh Simons
| Josh Simons | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Josh_Simons_portrait_2016_(cropped).jpg | |
| Born | England |
| 🏳️ Citizenship | Australian |
| 🏫 Education | Swinburne University (Bachelor of Business) |
| 💼 Occupation | Entrepreneur, musician |
| 📆 Years active | 2009–present |
| Known for | Co-founder of Vampr; CEO of Vinyl Group |
Josh Simons is an Australian entrepreneur and musician.[1] He is the co-founder of the musician networking platform Vampr and serves as chief executive officer of Vinyl Group, a music technology and media company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).[2][3] He is also known for his work as a songwriter and producer.[4]
Early life and education
Simons was born in England and later moved to Melbourne, Australia.[5] In 2008, he left secondary school to direct and produce the independent feature film The Vapour Boys.[6] He later completed a Bachelor of Business at Swinburne University.[7][8]
Career
Music
Simons founded the indie rock band Buchanan in 2009.[9][10] The band released two studio albums, Human Spring (2013) and Pressure in an Empty Space (2016), before concluding the project in 2019.[11][12]
He has co-written and produced music for a range of artists. In 2016, he co-wrote Alfie Arcuri’s single “Careless Game,” which charted on the ARIA Singles Chart.[13] In 2017, he co-wrote and co-produced “I’m Fine” by Cyhi the Prynce featuring Travis Scott, from the album No Dope on Sundays, which charted on the Billboard 200.[14][15]
Between 2018 and 2019, Simons contributed writing or production credits to releases by Tre Capital, Allan Kingdom, Cobi, King IV and Jenny Queen.[16][17][18]
In 2024, he co-produced Emmanuel Kelly’s single “My Sky,” released through Vampr’s distribution platform, and served as executive producer on Kelly’s EP No Zodiac. He later performed as a guest guitarist during the Australian leg of Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour.
Vampr
In 2015, Simons co-founded Vampr with Barry Palmer as a professional networking application for musicians.[1]
The platform was featured in Apple’s “Best of 2017” selection.[19] In 2021 and 2022, it received nominations in the Music Consumer Innovation category at the Music Week Awards.[20] In 2022, Fast Company included Vampr in its Most Innovative Companies (Music) list.[21][22]
In February 2023, Vampr was acquired by Jaxsta, an Australian music credits database company.[23][24]
Vinyl Group[25]
Simons was appointed chief executive officer of the ASX-listed company, later rebranded as Vinyl Group.[26]
Under his leadership, the company expanded through a series of acquisitions, including The Brag Media, Mediaweek, Funkified Entertainment, Serenade and Concrete Playground.[27] The company completed multiple capital raises between 2024 and 2025 and announced plans to consolidate its media assets under the Vinyl Media brand.[28][29]
Speaking
Simons delivered a performance at a TEDx talk at Macquarie University in 2015.[30][31] In 2023, he served as a guest lecturer at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.[32] He has also appeared as a speaker at BIGSOUND.[33][34]
Recognition
In 2020, Simons was included in The Music Network’s “Thirty Under 30” list.[35] In 2022, Vampr was recognised in Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list.[21] In 2024, he received recognition at the Melbourne Young Entrepreneur Awards in the Digital Disrupter category.[36][37]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Moran, Jonathon. "Barry Palmer teams with Buchanan Band's Josh Simons to set up an online app for musicians". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2016-10-07. Retrieved 2026-02-07. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Evans, Duncan. "Aussie's bid to dominate music industry". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 2025-01-08. Retrieved 2026-02-07. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Thompson, Sarah; Sood, Kanika (2024-12-17). "Rich Lister-backed Vinyl Group in equity raise to fund acquisition". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 2024-12-23. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ Dalugdug, Mandy (2023-07-03). "Josh Simons named new CEO at music credits firm Jaxsta as Beth Appleton steps down". Music Business Worldwide. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ "Josh Simons is the CEO and co-founder of Vampr on Songwriter Trysts podcast". Songwriter Trysts. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ "Current details for ABN 16 303 572 091". Australian Business Register.
- ↑ "2025 Finalists". Swinburne University. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ "Josh Simons (Alumni Impact Awards 2025)" (PDF).
- ↑ Mawby, Nathan. "Rolling Stone Australia owner and Vinyl Group CEO Josh Simons and wife Tatiana selling Patterson Lakes home - realestate.com.au". www.realestate.com.au. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ "The Local Bands Lost in the 2010s". Rolling Stone Australia. 2025-08-20. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ Human Spring by Buchanan on Apple Music, 2013-05-10, retrieved 2026-02-07
- ↑ Pressure in an Empty Space by Buchanan on Apple Music, 2016-04-29, retrieved 2026-02-07
- ↑ "australian-charts.com - Alfie Arcuri - Zenith". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ CyHi (Ft. Travis Scott) – I'm Fine, retrieved 2026-02-07
- ↑ Cabison, Rosalie (2013-01-02). "Billboard 200™". Billboard. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ Bruce, Dave. "BUCHANAN return after 2 year hiatus with new single featuring XZIBIT'S son, TRE CAPITAL -". amnplify.com.au. Archived from the original on 2025-01-23. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ Tre Capital – LOVE, retrieved 2026-02-07
- ↑ "Josh Simons Songs". Genius. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ "Best 15 Music Companies to watch in 2022". youBEAT. 2022-04-18. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ "Vampr passes one million users and confirms Q4 funding round". www.musicweek.com. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Ifeanyi, Kc (2022-03-08). "The 10 most innovative music companies of 2022". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2025-11-28. Retrieved 2026-02-07. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Challenor, Jake (2022-03-10). "Vampr, Musiio among the most innovative music companies of 2022". The Music Network. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ Schneider, Marc (2023-12-05). "Vinyl Group Is New Home of Jaxsta and Vampr". Billboard. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ Tencer, Daniel (2023-06-22). "Music database Jaxsta raises $2m in new share placement". Music Business Worldwide. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ Bogan », Dae (2023-03-24). "Dae Bogan's Music Industry Entrepreneurship Winter 2023 Class At UCLA Wraps With Student Startup Presentations". Dae Bogan Music. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ Ogg, Matt. "Vinyl Group reins in cash burn, aims for "scalable" profits". Business News Australia. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ Thompson, Sarah; Sood, Kanika; Rapaport, Emma (2024-12-11). "Richard White-backed Vinyl Group set to acquire Concrete Playground". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ "Vinyl Media restructures leadership team with key promotions". www.mediaweek.com.au. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ Bailey, Michael (2024-02-16). "Billionaire reveals secret to making money out of music". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ "Empower yourself at TEDx | This Week At Macquarie University". 2015-08-27. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ TEDx Talks (2015-11-30). Coming back, and coming down | Buchanan | TEDxMacquarieUniversity. Retrieved 2026-02-07 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Bogan », Dae (2023-03-24). "Dae Bogan's Music Industry Entrepreneurship Winter 2023 Class At UCLA Wraps With Student Startup Presentations". Dae Bogan Music. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ Lochrie, Conor (2024-07-24). "Tones and I Announced as BIGSOUND 2024 Keynote Speaker". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ Brandle, Lars (2024-07-24). "Tones And I to Deliver Keynote at Bigsound 2024". Billboard. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ "Winner, winner! TMN's 30 Under 30 list revealed". The Music Network. 2021-05-20. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ "Australian Young Entrepreneur Winners 2024". Business News Australia. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ↑ "Australia's Top 100 Young Entrepreneurs 41-50". Business News Australia. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
Category:Australian chief executives Category:Australian musicians Category:Living people Category:Swinburne University of Technology alumni
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