A&R and Onboarding Specialist

Description
GROUP SPEED is seeking a relationship-driven and highly organized A&R and Onboarding Specialist to drive artist acquisition and activation. This role is responsible for identifying and scouting new talent, working closely with our global A&R team and referral-based Tastemaker Network, executing deals, and guiding artists through onboarding to the GROUP SPEED platform.

The successful candidate will act as the bridge between discovery and delivery — initiating relationships, navigating deal terms, providing internal context on each signing, managing catalog transfers, and ensuring distribution is fully configured before handoff to our artist services and marketing teams.

This is a high-impact role with clear expectations for consistency, outreach, and conversion. The right candidate is a self-starter: motivated to scout, connect, and close, while also operating within structured systems and contributing to a collaborative, fast-growing company. Visibility and communication are critical in this remote role — you must be able to work independently while keeping teammates fully in the loop on progress, priorities, and next steps.

The ideal candidate brings excellent communication skills, cultural fluency, music distribution knowledge, and a passion for artist development. Confidence in deal negotiation and onboarding workflows is essential.


Key Responsibilities

A&R Acquisition & Retention
- Identify, scout, and sign artists through tastemaker referrals, platform scouting, personal networks, and data-informed sourcing
- Collaborate with the global A&R team to expand network reach and align on high-impact artist outreach strategies
- Clearly and enthusiastically communicate GROUP SPEED’s value proposition to prospective artists and their teams
- Build and maintain strong artist relationships by offering high-quality services and operating with transparency, care, and professionalism


Strategic Artist Outreach & Conversion
- Hit weekly outreach targets while balancing quality, volume, and long-term relationship building
- Manage a structured outreach and follow-up system to evaluate leads, nurture relationships, and convert opportunities into signed deals
- Use sound judgment to involve the GM or internal stakeholders at key deal stages, with a goal of maximizing autonomy and clarity
- Attend shows, industry events, and in-person meetings as needed to build trust with high-tier artists and managers
- Deliver weekly reports summarizing outreach efforts, artist conversions, and overall project progress.


Distribution Onboarding & Deal Management
- Manage onboarding from deal execution through to platform activation — including agreements, account setup, internal communication, and catalog migration — ensuring a smooth, timely transition into GROUP SPEED’s platform.
- Serve as the lead contact during onboarding, providing internal context, troubleshooting as needed, and ensuring all distribution elements are in place before handoff to artist services.


Tastemaker Network Growth & Management
- Expand and manage GROUP SPEED’s Tastemaker Network — a curated referral community of trusted industry partners
- Identify, recruit, and equip new tastemakers with our value proposition & critical information
- Serve as the first point of contact for referred artists, ensuring smooth onboarding and internal communication


Skills & Qualifications
- 3–5 years in A&R, artist management or artist services
- Proven track record of scouting and signing artists, with experience managing deal flow
- Strong working knowledge of digital distribution, catalog transfer processes, metadata, and royalty structures
- Confident communicator with excellent people skills across artists, managers, and internal teams
- Comfortable with negotiation, onboarding logistics, and service agreements
- Highly organized and self-motivated, with the ability to manage volume and detail without sacrificing quality
- Proficient with Google Workspace & Project Management Systems
- Passion for independent music, tastemaker culture, and modern artist development
- Preferred emphasis on indie, alternative, pop and electronic genres


About GROUP SPEED
GROUP SPEED is a pioneering force in the realm of international music marketing. With teams in Australia and North America, GROUP SPEED delivers data-led campaigns that elevate artists on a global stage, offering tailored, strategic marketing solutions across the digital music landscape.


About Parent Company GYROgroup
GYRO Group is a connected ecosystem of distribution and artist services brands committed to empowering artists from debut to superstar. The GYRO.Group family represents music distribution and artist services brands including GYROstream, DistroDirect, GROUP SPEED, Soothe Sounds, and more. Headquartered in Brisbane with operations in Australia, the USA, UK, Canada, Brazil, the Philippines, and India, the group combines local knowledge with international scale to deliver services in distribution, marketing and label infrastructure.

Artists using GYROgroup services have won ARIA Awards, earned Grammy nominations, achieved #1 albums, and secured global chart success.


GYRO = GET YOUR RECORD OUT

www.gyrogroup.co


Remuneration
$40-$50k + bonus incentive


Company Values

What We Do, We Do Well
We’re always looking for a better way to get the job done. We challenge prevailing assumptions and suggest better approaches with solutions-oriented thinking. We aren’t stopped by roadblocks rather we think, shift and invent practical solutions. We act with ambition and aspire to continuously learn, grow and strive for excellence. We set ambitious goals and throw everything into achieving them. We celebrate our wins and recognise that through our collective contributions we can share in the value we create.

We Are One Team
We recognise that it will take all of us, working together at 100% to achieve our vision. We know the strongest teams foster diverse personalities, talents and skills and we believe in using our experience to help others achieve their best. We treat our co-workers with honesty, transparency and respect in all situations.

We Create a Great Artist Experience
Serve others as you expect to be served. We believe in serving our artists and customers to the very best of our abilities. Our artists, labels and their musical journey is at the centre of everything we do and we are constantly putting ourselves in our customers shoes.

Artist Success is Our Success
We prioritise the artist’s journey, ensuring every interaction is meaningful and supportive. We believe by fostering a nurturing environment, we empower artists to focus on their creativity. Our commitment is to provide personalised support, transparent communication and innovative solutions that enhance the release process. We are inspired by our artists and we want to inspire them. We are driven by commercial outcomes and by building our artist success, we build our own success.