Regarding my career direction I’ve always felt lucky in that I realised early on that I wanted to work in some capacity within the music industry. With this in mind I was acutely aware that in order to make myself more attractive to employers I needed to build a strong CV of work experience and internship placements, something I did at a number of companies invested in the creative field (Remedy TV, FRUKT Music Intelligence, Bella Union, Warner Bros. Records). From a music television production company to both independent and major record labels I gained a strong knowledge of how different areas of the industry operated.
However, it wasn’t until I saw an internship advertised on WEXO that I really felt that I’d found the role that would directly lead me into the career line I wished to follow – that of music syncing and licensing. Whilst there were a number of outstanding opportunities advertised on the website it was the fantastic position as a music intern at Platinum Rye Entertainment that I hoped to gain. The company is the world’s largest broker of celebrity and recording artist talent for ad campaigns and PR events with recent campaigns including both Friendly Fires and Bat For Lashes for Gucci, The Beatles for Hugo Boss and the recent Lucozade advertisements that have been the talk of the town! I was therefore eager to apply as there really would be no greater education in this sector…
Having submitted my profile I was fortunate enough to be asked to interview with the two UK Directors of Music, following which I learnt I had been offered the role and I was elated! From the get-go I felt like a valued member of the team and was immediately involved in a range of tasks – from music searches to administrative responsibilities I felt that I was gaining the most invaluable experience I could have hoped for.
It’s safe to say that without the WEXO team and and the STEP scheme (which paid me a training allowance commensurate with National Minimum Wage) I would never have had this opportunity to work at such a great company that has hands down provided the best working environment I’ve ever experienced. It even looks like I might be staying here a bit longer…
It’s a strange task, preparing a blog post on a spot of broadcast intern experience I recently undertook in Brighton: perhaps since so much of my opportunity arose from being in the right place at the right time.
The place was the Brighton Institute of Modern Music, where I trained as a vocalist on a one-year diploma, having completed my BA in Development Studies at the University of Sussex in June 2009. The time came when I muscled my way onto a work experience mailing list within the school, normally reserved for students on the degree programme. An unpaid radio broadcast assistant position was posted at Tony Marks’ New Music Show on local station Brighton Juice FM and looked like an exciting combination of music editorial and hands-on experience with bands in the studio. I applied immediately, and had my interview booked by the end of the day. Time to brush up and start listening to the show, huh?
My first task was to research and write up a nine-question interview for new LA band, Girls, before I’d even met Tony. That night I heard my own words crackle over the radio and felt the kind of excitement that’s recently pushed me towards finding work opportunities in the music industry, and world of media in general. Fast forward a few days: I’d managed to get through the interview and was in the studio for my evening shift. Each week I was responsible for setting up the main sound-bites for the show’s highlighted tracks, as well as for preparing interviews with bands on nights when I wouldn’t come in. Alongside great research and editorial experience I was given free gig tickets where I could blag them with friendly Brighton bands, and learned how to think fast and find solutions under the time pressure of the ever-ticking clock in-studio.
Right place, right time and a great insight into the world of small-scale radio broadcasting: so sums up my time at Juice.
I’ve just been down at the 2010 Secret Garden Party wearing my other hat as manager of gypsy swing band, Mano de Dios. They blew away the Main Stage on Friday and the Gaia Soundscape Stage on Sunday. I’m not entirely sure what happened in between but bizarrely there was much talk of generals, the humidity and mead. We even found ourselves playing at a gig in Oxford on the Saturday night. What was interesting about going to the festival as a manager though was realising the amount of people involved behind the scenes and seeing how many vocations collaborate to make events like this happen.
I’ve met a lot of WEXO users recently interested in getting into the music industry and I’m lucky enough to share an office with a new era music company. The impression I get is that that most people looking to break into the industry still want to work in A&R – finding the next big band. But with traditional revenues at the major labels in decline due to free downloads etc there’s just not the same requirement or the same kind of job role as detailed in a very amusing way in the book Kill Your Friends (essential reading for an inside perspective on what life used to be like!).
But the thing is that there are plenty of other roles available in the music industry and it’s worth finding out more about jobs in the worlds of synchronisations and publishing or looking at working in the big revenue contributors of Live (e.g. Live Nation) or Merchandising (e.g. Brothers Entertainment Merchandising). We’ve got plenty of music companies on WEXO too.
We’ve got a long way to go but if you’re interested in management, I’d be delighted to speak to you and the most informative reading (if a little dry) I can recommend is The Music Management Bible. Otherwise the video above is me interviewing management maestro Terry McBride on why not to be a Civil Engineer, why to work in the industry and how he sees it changing…
2 weeks to recover and we’ll be back at The Big Chill and Standon Calling (reduced tickets here) on the 7th and 8th August. Hope to see some of you there.
