Meet the founder: Harry Carman on building For Sure

Who are you, and what's For Sure Entertainment?

I'm Harry, a Canberra musician. I've been gigging around this town for years, playing the same rooms a lot of local artists play. For Sure Entertainment is an app I've built to help people discover live music in Canberra, reward them for going to gigs, and help venues and artists fill their rooms.

Why did you build it?

Because I kept seeing the same problem from both sides of the stage. Great gigs playing to half-empty rooms, and music fans who'd have loved to be there but had no idea it was on. The talent's here, the venues are here, the fans are here. They just weren't finding each other. I wanted to fix that.

What makes you the right person to build this?

I'm not a tech guy who discovered music. I'm a musician who's lived the problem. I've played these venues, I know these artists, I've stood on stage wishing more people knew the gig was on. That perspective is baked into everything For Sure does.

What's the goal?

Simple. A Canberra where live music thrives. Fuller rooms, more gigs, artists who can actually build a crowd here, and venues that back live music because it pays off. If For Sure helps even a bit of that happen, I'll be stoked.

What's your dream for the Canberra scene?

I want Canberra to stop being the city tours skip. I want us to be a place artists can't wait to play because the crowds show up. And I'd love to see more local artists getting played on the radio and getting the exposure they deserve. Look at what Genesis Owusu, Peking Duk and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers have been able to achieve. The talent is here, and there's so much more of it that can come to fruition. But artists need an avenue, a pathway. Whether that's becoming a support for a touring act or going out and headlining their own tour, I want to help build that. For Sure, with everything baked into it, can provide those pathways. That's the dream.

Want to be part of what we're building? Reach out at hello@forsureentertainment.com.