Josh Simons (media executive)

Josh Simons
Josh Simons in 2024
Josh Simons in 2024
Born
Joshua Timothy Simons

(1990-10-27) 27 October 1990
England
Occupations
  • Musician
  • technology founder
  • media executive
Known forFrontman of Buchanan (2009–2019), co-founder of Vampr, CEO of Vinyl Group
Websitewww.joshsimons.us

Josh Simons (born 27 October 1990) is an Australian-American[1] musician, producer, technology founder, and media executive. He is the chief executive officer of the ASX-listed music and digital media company Vinyl Group and the co-founder of the musician networking platform Vampr, having previously served as the frontman of the indie rock band Buchanan.

Early life and education

Josh Simons was born on 27 October 1990 in England.[2][3]

He is a graduate of Swinburne University of Technology,[4] having studied for his Bachelor of Business online.[5]

Career

Film

In 2008, Simons co-wrote (with Finn Stewart),[6] produced, and directed an independent feature film, titled The Vapour Boys, which was released in 2009.[7][8]

Music

Simons performing at the Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, 2016

Simons began his career in the Australian music industry as a songwriter and performer, forming Buchanan in 2009.[9] As the band's frontman, he performed on its debut studio album, Human Spring, released in May 2013.[10] Buchanan later released a second studio album, Pressure in an Empty Space, in 2016, before concluding the project with the mixtape The Crayon Collection in 2019.[11][12] He later related that he had cleaned toilets and mowed lawns to pay for studio time to make an album.[13] He moved to London to work as a musician, where he initiated the idea of a social-professional network for musicians due to the difficulty of breaking into the industry.[5]

Buchanan supported Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood during the Australian leg of Urban's Ripcord World Tour in 2016.[14][15] That year, Simons also co-wrote Alfie Arcuri's song "Careless Game" with Troye Sivan.[16][17] In 2017, Simons co-wrote "I'm Fine", a track by Cyhi the Prynce featuring Travis Scott, from the album No Dope on Sundays.[18]

Simons performing at Accor Stadium, Sydney, as part of Coldplay's Music of the Spheres World Tour

Simons later worked as a producer and touring musician, co-producing Emmanuel Kelly's song "My Sky" in early 2024[19] and performing as a guitarist in Kelly's band during the Australian leg of Coldplay's Music of the Spheres World Tour later that year.[20]

Business

In 2015, Simons co-founded Vampr with Barry Palmer, guitarist for Hunters & Collectors, as a digital platform for musical collaboration.[21][22] Simons said that the difficulty of building professional connections during his music career, while working other jobs to finance recording and touring, motivated him to create Vampr. After a period in London, he returned to Australia to develop the platform with Palmer.[13][16]

Simons moved to Los Angeles to establish Vampr's headquarters and operations in the United States,[23] where he served as Vampr's chief executive officer.[24] In February 2023, the music credits platform Jaxsta announced an agreement to acquire Vampr.[25] At the time the agreement was announced, Vampr had approximately 1.3 million users.[26] Following completion of the acquisition, Simons joined Jaxsta's executive team and was appointed chief executive officer in June 2023.[27][28]

Simons in 2026

The company rebranded as Vinyl Group in December 2023.[29] As CEO, Simons led the company's expansion into digital media through acquisitions including The Brag Media (publisher of Rolling Stone Australia / New Zealand), Mediaweek, the digital publishing assets of Val Morgan and Pedestrian Group between 2024 and 2026.[30][31][32][33] As of October 2024 the Vinyl Group is the only music company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.[13] In an interview with NewsWire, he said that his aim was to "connect a thousand of the leading brands in the world with 100 million creators and a billion fans in a mutually reinforcing creator and fan ecosystem", having experienced what it was like to be a struggling musician himself.[13]

In July 2026, Simons wrote about the concept of "adaptive media", which has its roots in "trust, context and cultural authority", and which exceeds the limitations of legacy media and social media.[34]

In July 2026, Simons publicly accused the media trade publication Mumbrella of inaccurate reporting, unsupported speculation, and personal attacks following a series of articles questioning Vinyl Group's strategy, financial position, and his leadership. Mumbrella said it stood by its reporting.[35][36][37] Simons specifically refuted the claim that an article in Concrete Playground had been written by AI. He complained to the Australian Press Council; however, they would not consider the complaint because Mumbrella is not a member.[38]

Other activities

In September 2015, Simons delivered a TEDx talk at Macquarie University alongside a performance of new music from his band Buchanan.[39]

In February 2023, Simons was invited to be a guest lecturer at UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music to discuss music industry entrepreneurship.[40]

In March 2025, Simons spoke at SXSW in Austin, Texas, appearing on the panel "Crafting a Transparent Future for Music Rightsholders", which examined transparency, rights data and technology in the music industry.[41] The previous year, he also served as a judge for the SXSW Sydney Pitch competition.[42]

He was a keynote speaker at BIGSOUND in 2024 and opening panelist in 2025 alongside Warner Music Australia President Dan Rosen, UNIFIED Music Group Founder & CEO Jaddan Comerford, and ARIA Charts CEO Annabelle Herd.[43]

Recognition and awards

In 2020, Simons received the Reader's Choice award at The Music Network's ‘30 Under 30’ awards for his work with Vampr.[24][44]

In 2022, Vampr was included by Fast Company on its list of innovative music companies.[45]

In 2024, Simons won the Digital Disruptor category at both the Melbourne and Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards.[46][47][48]

In March 2025, Simons was listed at no. 41 of "Australia's Top 100 Young Entrepreneurs" by Business News Australia.[2] Later that year, he was a finalist for the Technology Innovation Impact Award in the Swinburne University Alumni Impact Awards.[4][49]

Personal life

Simons lived in London for some time while he was a musician, returning to Australia after becoming ill.[5]

Simons and his wife Tatiana lived for some years in the United States, returning to Australia in 2021, and moving into a home in the Melbourne suburb of Patterson Lakes. They moved to a new home in the nearby suburb of Carrum in May 2025.[50]

Selected works

With Buchanan

Solo credits

List of solo credits, showing year, song, artist, album and role
Year Work Artist Album Role Ref.
2016 "Careless Game" Alfie Arcuri Zenith Co-writer [17]
2017 "I'm Fine (feat. Travis Scott)" Cyhi the Prynce No Dope on Sundays Co-writer · Producer [18]
2018 "Blue Eyes White Dragon Flow" Tre Capital Hero Executive producer (Album) · Co-producer · Mixer [51]
"All Night" Allan Kingdom Peanut Butter Prince Co-writer [52][53]
"Don't Wait"
"Fall For You"
"Stand By You" EveryOneBand — Backing Vocals · Piano [54][55]
"Church of the Lonely" Cobi Songs From the Ashes, Pt. 2 Co-writer [56]
"Basic" King IV — Co-writer · Co-producer [57]
2019 "Medicine" Jenny Queen Baby It Was Real and We Were the Best Co-writer [58]
Film Score Latter Day Jew — Writer · Music producer [59]
2024 "My Sky" Emmanuel Kelly No Zodiac - EP Executive producer (Album) · Co-producer · Co-writer [19]

References

  1. ↑ "Official Website". Josh Simons. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 Ogg, Matt; Dedovic, Amila; Westerlund, Camilla (12 March 2025). "Australia's Top 100 Young Entrepreneurs 41-50". Business News Australia. Retrieved 6 August 2026. 41. Josh Simons (34)
  3. ↑ Josh Simons at IMDb
  4. 1 2 "Transcript: Josh Simons (Alumni Impact Awards 2025)" (PDF). Swinburne University of Technology. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 December 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 Simons, Josh (24 July 2018). "Every artist is an entrepreneur: How studying business helps". ArtsHub Australia (Interview). Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "The Vapour Boys". Colora Group. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  7. ↑ "Portfolio". Josh Simons. Archived from the original on 6 August 2026. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  8. ↑ The Vapour Boys at IMDb
  9. ↑ Nicoli, James (4 February 2011). "Buchanan". Beat. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  10. ↑ Precel, Nicole (10 May 2013). "Buchanan springs to attention". Herald Sun. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "Track By Track: Get Inside Buchanan's Stunning New Album". Tone Deaf. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Premiere: Buchanan – The Crayon Collection". The Music. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Evans, Duncan (26 October 2024). "Vinyl Group CEO Josh Simons talks plans for music industry". news.com.au. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  14. ↑ Leahey, Andrew (25 July 2016). "See Keith Urban and 'Whiplash' Star Miles Teller Duet on 'My Girl'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  15. ↑ "Keith Urban adds two dates to 'ripCORD World Tour Australia 2016' with Carrie Underwood". May the Rock Be With You. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  16. 1 2 Collie, Ashley (24 August 2017). "This rock star built a 'Tinder for musicians' and is bringing it to Asia". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  17. 1 2 "Careless Game". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  18. 1 2 "I'm Fine". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  19. 1 2 Downs, Sarah (2 April 2024). "Song You Need to Know: Emmanuel Kelly, 'My Sky'". Rolling Stone Australia / New Zealand. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  20. ↑ Pash, Chris (12 February 2025). "How a songwriter and indie band player suddenly found himself running an ASX-listed media group". AdNews. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  21. ↑ Moran, Jonathon (4 October 2016). "Barry Palmer teams with Buchanan Band's Josh Simons to set up an online app for musicians". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  22. ↑ Dwyer, Michael (20 May 2016). "Vampr app aims to become the musicians' equivalent to Tinder". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  23. ↑ "Interview with Josh Simons – CEO and Co-Founder of Vampr". Billion Success. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  24. 1 2 "TMN 30 Under 30: Vampr founder Josh Simons wins Reader's Choice". The Music Network. 16 April 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  25. ↑ Paine, Andre (22 February 2023). "Jaxsta to acquire music creators' social network Vampr". Music Week. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  26. ↑ Santoreneos, Anastasia (7 September 2023). "Meet Australia's only ASX-listed music business – backed by billionaire rich lister". Forbes Australia. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  27. ↑ Brandle, Lars (29 June 2023). "Jaxsta Appoints Josh Simons as CEO". Billboard. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  28. ↑ Dalugdug, Mandy (3 July 2023). "Josh Simons named new CEO at music credits firm Jaxsta as Beth Appleton steps down". Music Business Worldwide. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  29. ↑ Dalugdug, Mandy (5 December 2023). "Music credits company Jaxsta rebrands as Vinyl Group". Music Business Worldwide. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  30. ↑ Bailey, Michael (16 February 2024). "Billionaire reveals secret to making money out of music". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  31. ↑ Buckingham-Jones, Sam (3 March 2026). "Behind Richard White-backed Vinyl Group's aggressive media expansion". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  32. ↑ McCleery, Adam (12 June 2026). "Vinyl targets agency budgets after run of acquisitions". AdNews. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  33. ↑ Carbone, Joseph (2 March 2026). "Vinyl Group buys Val Morgan Digital for $10.5m, adds Hoyts CEO". The Australian. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  34. ↑ Simons, Josh (22 July 2026). "Adaptive Media: Vinyl Group's Josh Simons on the Next Model". The Music Network. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  35. ↑ Long, Danielle (29 July 2026). "Vinyl Group attacks media journal Mumbrella". The Australian. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  36. ↑ Cassidy, Caitlin (31 July 2026). "Kyle Sandilands takes his pick of on-air partners as shock jock rebounds from Kiis FM – and Jackie O". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  37. ↑ Simons, Josh (28 July 2026). "Vinyl Group CEO Josh Simons responds to Mumbrella". The Music Network. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  38. ↑ Samios, Zoe (30 July 2026). "Vinyl Group CEO Josh Simons hits back at Mumbrella over claims of inaccurate reporting and AI use". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  39. ↑ "Empower yourself at TEDx". Macquarie University. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  40. ↑ Bogan, Dae (24 March 2023). "Dae Bogan's Music Industry Entrepreneurship Winter 2023 Class At UCLA Wraps With Student Startup Presentations". Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  41. ↑ "Crafting a Transparent Future for Music Rightsholders". SXSW 2025 Schedule. South by Southwest. March 2025. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  42. ↑ "Josh Simons' Post". LinkedIn. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  43. ↑ "BIGSOUND Unveils Final Speaker Announcement For 2025 Event". theMusic.com.au. 21 July 2025. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  44. ↑ "TMN 30 Under 30: Meet your Entrepreneur & Innovator winners". The Music Network. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  45. ↑ Ifeanyi, Kc (8 March 2022). "The 10 most innovative music companies of 2022". Fast Company. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  46. ↑ Ogg, Matt (18 October 2024). "Dr May Chan wins Melbourne Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award as Dental Boutique keeps thriving". Business News Australia. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  47. ↑ "Australian Young Entrepreneur Winners 2024". Business News Australia. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  48. ↑ Ogg, Matt (23 November 2024). "2024 Australian Young Entrepreneur of the Year revealed". Business News Australia. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  49. ↑ "Meet Swinburne's 2025 Alumni Impact Awards finalists". Swinburne University of Technology. 13 August 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  50. ↑ Mawby, Nathan (5 May 2025). "Rolling Stone Australia owner and Vinyl Group CEO Josh Simons and wife Tatiana selling Patterson Lakes home". Realestate.com.au. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  51. ↑ "Premiere: Tre Capital Shares Video for New Single 'Blue Eyes White Dragon Flow'", Complex. 25 January 2018, accessed 22 August 2026.
  52. ↑ "Allan Kingdom's 'All Night' Might Be His Next Major Hit", Hypebeast. 19 May 2018, accessed 22 August 2026.
  53. ↑ "All Night Lyrics". Genius. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  54. ↑ "Band with 2,000 members to release single 'Stand By You'". The Music Network. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  55. ↑ "Instagram post". Instagram. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  56. ↑ "Cobi Expands Sound", Billboard. 20 September 2018, accessed 22 August 2026.
  57. ↑ "Buchanan return after two-year hiatus with new single featuring Tre Capital", Amnplify. 23 November 2018, accessed 22 August 2026.
  58. ↑ "Baby It Was Real and We Were the Best - Jenny Queen", AllMusic. 22 March 2019, accessed 22 August 2026.
  59. ↑ Josh Simons at IMDb
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