Exclusive: Hamfatter's Jamie Turner on securing investment on Dragons' Den

Posted by Dan Martin in Finances, Business profiles on Tue, 19/05/2009 - 20:18

In 2008, indie band Hamfatter became the first music act to secure funding on BBC TV's Dragons' Den. In an exclusive interview, Dan Martin speaks to manager Jamie Turner about why he opted for Peter Jones rather than the traditional record company route and his advice to entrepreneurs considering applying for the show.

Dragons' Den is not the usual way to fund a band. Why did you decide to go on the show?

The thought process all started with a small Arts Council grant which we received in 2007. We got £5,000 to independently produce and promote an album, which we did and successfully got to number 54 in the singles charts and number 13 in the indie charts; pretty good for a little band from Cambridge. That all came from managing a small budget to get the most out of it, employing a PR company and radio plugger for just a week, instead of the typical eight-week push, and running a very tight campaign.

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