Former Triple J program director Rob Scott has spent decades wrapped up in the music industry, and now the Noosa resident is using his knowledge to guide local artists as an independent music publisher.
Hottest 100, Unearthed and Like a Version are all programs Rob helped create during his 15 year stint at Triple J, which have turned aspiring artists into massive acts touring the world.
Unearthed is Triple J’s award-winning initiative for discovering and sharing the best new Australian music.
“Missy Higgins was one of those artists that were Unearthed by Triple J,” Rob said.
“Actually, it was her sister who sent in a cassette of her playing when she was still in school. And we loved the cassette so much that we had her win the competition. When she won, she really didn’t know what to do, because suddenly they were just getting offers from all over the industry. So, her Mum actually rang me and said ‘What should I do?’ She went through this big list of managers and John Watson was on that list, and I knew John Watson because of Silverchair a lot of other artists he worked with, so I said, ‘I think he’s the one. He’s a really solid guy and he’ll look after Missy and make sure she doesn’t get trapped’.”
And so that’s what happened. Missy finished school and took a year off before she started recording and releasing music, and then she became that major star that she is today. And she still works with the same manager to this day.
Future stars like Missy could’ve been missed as the ABC wasn’t keen on Rob’s idea for an online Unearthed website.
“Back in the day, I had towers of CDs. You could barely see my desk from the number of CDs in my office because I would literally be getting 100s every week from young artists that would be coming to the station and pitching their music,” Rob said.
“We needed to set up a site where people could upload their songs and anyone could listen to them.
“I actually went outside to a commercial company to host Triple J Unearthed because the ABC IT department just weren’t interested at the time.
“I said ‘there’s a demand for this, so I can set it up somewhere else’, because I just knew it needed to happen. I approached a company and they initially set it up and it started becoming really successful to the point where the ABC IT team said, ‘Okay, we need to bring this in house and we need to start being a lot more serious. This is actually a really good idea’. And now it’s the huge thing that it is. I really had to push hard at the time to convince them that it was going to work.”
But how did Rob get to the position to be able to make these calls?
“I joined the ABC in the early 80s in what was my first serious job out of school,” Rob said.
“I was really lucky to get a job there as an admin officer but my prime reason for joining was to get a job at Triple J. And it was just so hard because there were so few jobs there. I needed experience first. So from admin, I just started asking to fill in whenever there was a possibility to act for people on maternity leave or taking holidays. I pushed myself forward and I learned a lot about production until I was able to get a job as a producer and I ended up producing a lot of ABC Sydney’s programs.
“I did the breakfast show for quite a while and the evening show. I worked in Current Affairs for a little while as well. But my main goal was a job at Triple J. So initially, I got a couple of acting positions there, but I didn’t actually get a full-time position until late 1989, and then I got a full-time position. I stayed there for 15 years because I just love music so much. I finished in 2004, so it was a pretty incredible run when the station went national.”
Now living in Sunshine Beach, Rob runs Source Music; an independent music publishing, record label and licensing company established in 2009.
He likes to focus on providing up and coming artists with the mentorship and artistic guidance they need.
He works with a range of artists and genres, including Pat Tierney, a Sunshine Coast-based singer/songwriter who recently released his third album.
“He’s really talented and I’m happy to be working with him,” Rob said.
“My job is to make sure that his songs are registered at performing arts organisations all over the world and make sure that if there’s any revenue due back to him as a songwriter, that he gets it.
“Another thing that publishers do is they look for opportunities to get songs in film, tv and advertising, and that’s called licensing income.”
Source Music strives to be adaptable and relevant in the fast-changing entertainment industry.
Rob said the most difficult part of the music industry in 2024 was the volume of music, as well as the lack of live music venues and festivals which was vital for artists to improve their skills, expand their audience, and get paid.
“Locally here, the Noosa Alive Festival is fantastic and I’ve had a few artists perform there over the years. But that’s just one small period of the year, so you need more than just the annual festivals. You need a venue where touring musicians can come, and often when there’s bigger names, the local artists get the support spot. Those sorts of opportunities are really important.”
He said the whole industry was looking at why festivals were becoming so problematic.
“Artists at festivals would be exposed to a new audience but now bands are just reliant on touring themselves, and they’re playing to their own audience so it’s hard to expand,” he said.
“Clearly, people are still willing to spend money on shows because just look at how much money Taylor Swift generated, and also artists like Fred Again.
“Fred Again has got a really clever approach to marketing with his pop up shows that will sell out in minutes.
“I think with the big festivals like Splendour in the Grass, you need the local community involved. And I think that’s what we are really good at doing on the Sunshine Coast. I think it’s about knowing how to keep things in scale.”
He said as more people have access to tools to create good quality music, it puts a lot of pressure on artists to make a living because they’re competing against so much music out in the marketplace.
“Having venues for live performance is key, but artists also need to be making sure they are regularly using streaming platforms and creating as much content as possible,” he said.
“For people to notice your music, people have to notice that you exist.
“If you’re too slow at putting out your next songs, you’ve just lost that sort of energy behind your release. It’s about consistency.”
With his Sunshine Beach home still filled with CDs he can’t part ways with, Rob is now looking forward to just enjoying music rather than working on it, as he gets closer to retirement.
For more information on Source Music’s artists and services visit sourcemusic.com.au
To discover new artists or share your music on Triple J Unearthed visit abc.net.au/triplejunearthed/
