Founded on the belief that artists and musicians should be able to create professional, competitive music without breaking the bank — or needing to master every part of the production process…
Real Job Records was born
Hi! I’m Matt Mulholland, the main guy behind Real Job Records. As an artist myself, I know how overwhelming it can be to take a song from idea to demo, to recording, to mixing, to mastering, and finally to release. It’s a lengthy, expensive, and sometimes confusing process. For years, I worked to find the best way to create music that I love without needing to rely on traditional studios or outsourcing everything.
Now I’m here to help artists all over the world do the same.
We want to work with you to create the best music possible—and do it in a way that’s sustainable for your career.
A Little About Me…
I’ve been making music, performing, and recording my whole life. I remember finding an old reel-to-reel recorder at a garage sale when I was about 8, and my friend and I would spend hours making terrible recordings with instruments we had around the house. We would also record sound effects like the telephone ringing and thought we were so hip — because we were.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the beginning of my love for recorded music.
Shortly after that, we got a family computer with the latest in technology (Windows 95!), and I found a copy of Cool Edit Pro. It blew my mind. This was a very primitive DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), but it meant I could record multiple tracks separately, easily edit and add effects to my recordings, and even beatbox over the top! I thought I was so hip.
… Because I was.
I immediately got to work writing and recording edgy musical comedy songs that, later in life, my mother would be horrified to find. As time went on, technology got better, and I moved to working in GarageBand (which once again blew my mind), and then to Logic Pro. I created a YouTube channel, which became a focus for a long time — filled with music and musical comedy content. Lots of covers, lots of original silly songs, lots of fun. Looking back now, I can see that I was in the right place at the right time as I worked to build up a following of over 200,000 subscribers and reached tens of millions of people all over the world.
During that time, I was also learning my craft as a musician, producer, instrumentalist, and singer. Here’s a condensed list of some of the things I did, in no particular order:
Studied Jazz Trumpet at the New Zealand School of Music.
Performed in bands and solo all over the world.
Wrote and recorded jingles, theme songs, and scores for short films and brands.
Spent a year in Dubai performing 6 nights a week at a hotel resort (that was wild).
Studied and performed professional musical theatre.
Sang in a globally ranked barbershop choir.
Taught music and singing at a tertiary performing arts school
Worked in a fancy creative advertising company in London for 3 years.
Worked as a professional comedian for a few years (weirdly, the least funny time of my life).
Joined the Royal New Zealand Airforce Band.
Released my own music and covers albums.
By 2018, I started shifting gears. I had spent a few years secretly writing non-comedy songs and wanted to record and release music seriously. That led me to my first full studio album, After You Grow—which took six years and cost well over $15,000 to make. I loved the process, and I’m still proud of the result, but it was a lot. Like… A lot.
Even though music had been my whole life, there was still so much I didn’t know about recording —and found so many roadblocks to getting it done (time and money, but mostly money). So, I dove headfirst into learning everything I could about production, mixing, and recording.
I rented my own studio that I called The Cabin, and it was the best thing ever. For the first time, I wasn’t just working out of my bedroom or hiring temporary spaces — I had my own purpose-built studio where I could work every day. It was here that I started working with other artists and creatives, and learning more about what producing and writing with other people was like. I found that I loved helping people find their voice and create to the best of their ability.
Which brings us to now!
Since then I’ve moved to the big apple (Sydney, Australia), I’ve great new studio spaces I create in, a growing portfolio of amazing projects I’ve worked on, and I’m focussed on helping artists all over the world produce the best music they can - sustainably.
If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading! I really hope you reach out and say hello. I’d love to hear about what you’re working on and see how I can help.
Let’s do it.
Matt Mulholland at Real Job Records
