Also in 1964 Meldrum began his music career as a roadie for his friends' band, The Groop, which had early performances in Anglesea. "Go-Set" was a weekly pop music newspaper started in February 1966 by Phillip Frazer, Tony Schauble, and their Monash University mates. Meldrum started writing for the paper in July that year after befriending its editor, Frazer. Frazer said "As I recall it, Ian was sweeping the floor... I said to [Schauble], 'Who's this guy? Where'd he come from?' and Tony said, 'I dunno, he just came in and wanted to do something.'" Meldrum's first story was on Burns, "Ronnie Meets the Barrett Brothers". His first printed interview was with Johnny Young, a singer-songwriter from Perth. Soon Meldrum was writing a weekly gossip column and regular feature stories. He continued until the paper folded in August 1974. By social networking and building a list of industry contacts, Meldrum was able to cover many facets of the local scene; his gossip columns informed not only general readers but also other musicians and, according to Frazer, they were the major reason people continued reading "Go-Set". Meldrum's writing style was "freeform ramblings, always in the first person, and nearly always concerning aspects of the music scene with which he had been involved." It was during this period that Meldrum was given his nickname, Molly, by his friend and fellow "Go-Set" writer Stan Rofe, a Melbourne radio DJ. Rofe's writing style was more analytical; he "praised or criticised an aspect of the music industry, and press[ed] Australian musicians to perform better. [He] was also critical of Meldrum's performance as a 'journalist' often questioning his integrity and music values." The nickname, Molly, first appeared in print in 1968 in Rofe's column. While working for "Go-Set" Meldrum became editor and compiler of its monthly offshoot, "Gas", which was aimed at younger teen girls. It was first published in October 1968 (with a feature on The Monkees) and its last issue was in March 1971. The Groop had landed a recording deal with CBS Records. Meldrum followed them to Melbourne's Armstrong Studios, in late 1966, to observe the recording process. He learned record producer and engineering techniques from studio owner, Bill Armstrong, and in house engineer-producer, Roger Savage.