Jan 9, 2013.
Yes! We have survived 2012 and its extraordinarily soggy swellings, Olympic overexcitement and cataclysmic curiosities. SO…to celebrate the start to a fantastic year, WEXO has made some natty New Year’s resolutions.

Following a survey that we sent out in December to our entire database, in which we sought to understand what it is that you are looking for from your job boards – these are our promises to you. (Winner of the Kindle Fire HD announced below)

‘What do you want to see more of in terms of recruitment companies helping you?’

(Bearing in mind that you were able to tick any and all of the boxes, so the percentages may seem a little confusing at first glance)

1.As above demonstrates, 81.8% of those who responded to the survey wanted recruitment companies to have a more personal touch.

Using our matching algorithms, we not only endeavor to notify every applicant we believe would fit each role posted, but we are also aiming to give every unsuccessful applicant some feedback on why they didn’t make it to interview or beyond that stage within 14 days.

It might be generic feedback on what qualifications and attributes they are missing but we hope that’s a start. Where possible, we also try and take as much time out of our day to speak and meet candidates as well as using our University Ambassadors as a sounding board for what you are all after.

2.The second most important attribute, according to our members, at 63.6% is that, as a recruiter, our responsibility should be to ‘clamp down on unpaid internships and therefore discrimination’.

Our WEXO directors are doing their best – they have previously tried to unite all internship companies into an alliance with such focuses, and have addressed audiences at locations ranging from 10 Downing Street to London Universities. We are also a committed partner and regular attendee of the initiatives and meetings instigated by Martin Bright and his team at The Creative Society. WEXO is always encouraging its clients to pay interns for reasons both legal and moral , yet our stance remains that encouraging and incentivizing our companies to pay is more proactive than naming and shaming those that don’t.

3.The next 2 most popular requirements addressed the need for more jobs. At the end of last year, WEXO was in final round discussions for a paid internship programme with a very large media organization, which represents 250 of the most exciting creative companies in London, but unfortunately this time round, this has not come to anything.

We are however still in discussions with various other types of organizations and are particularly excited about the potential surrounding our ‘How I Made It In’ recruitment events that worked so well for WEXO and Rightster last year. We’re also encouraged to see lots of interest already from companies looking to hire in 2013 and we’re looking forward to increasing what we have on offer for you. It should of course be noted that WEXO continues to believe in its niche within the creative industries and surrounding SMEs, for this reason we have no intention of simply listing graduate schemes and deadlines for all the big-corporates. (Unless that is what you really want !?!)

Interestingly, the least popular option in our survey was the need for careers advice. Initially we found this statistic a little surprising especially given that Tray and Bella (our Recruitment Directors) run a careers mentoring business on the side! On reflection, we feel that candidates often overlook how they are going to get to their destination in the excitement about the destination itself. All too often people fluff applications and interviews when they could have been better prepared – we’re looking forward to doing a Careers Advice session at KCL in a few weeks and this is perhaps something to think about for YOUR NY’s resolutions!

…Aaaannnddd fiiinnnaaaalllly…. the winner is Georgina Ireland – congratulations! (Please message us your address so we can send you your new Kindle Fire HD!)

Ailsa Renton – Marketing Intern at WEXO & University of Leeds graduate.

After graduating from Oxford University this summer, I was unsure which direction I wanted to take in my career plans. I was keen to work in fashion retail and PR, and thought that finding an internship would give me the experience I needed to help me move into this industry.

Within a few days of signing up with WEXO, I found an internship with Claudia Bradby Ltd, a luxury jewellery business based in Hampshire. The business is small but expanding, and was looking for a PR and Marketing intern to help them move forward – particularly in their use of social media.

After my interview I was offered the internship on the STEP scheme at £250 per week, and within a few days I started work. From my first week I was given real responsibility; I took over the business’s Twitter account, and was able to make suggestions and changes as to how the company used social media, which in turn soon brought increased traffic to the website.
I also was given other responsibilities across different aspects of the company. Before long I was not only responsible for Twitter, Facebook and the company’s blog, but was processing wholesale and retail orders, updating and controlling the website, and liaising with customers and stockists – including John Lewis.

I’ve got used to producing weekly analytical reports on the website, highlighting successful points and also areas for improvement. In terms of Marketing and PR plans, I’ve been able to have a real impact on the business by approaching influential bloggers and the press, and even working with the Royal British Legion on the Poppy Friendship Bracelet the company has produced to raise funds for the Poppy Appeal.

This internship has given me a huge amount of experience of retail and PR, and has provided me with opportunities I would never have otherwise had. For example, I was lucky enough to attend a workshop with M&C Saatchi’s, which both exciting and enlightening.

WEXO have supported me throughout my time at Claudia Bradby Jewellery; by advising me before and after the interview and keeping in touch, they have made sure that I have made the most of my experience. However my career progresses from here, I know that this internship has given me invaluable skills and experience for the future.

Camilla

This paid internship was facilitated by STEP – the UK’s leading placement programme for students and recent graduates (originally set up and sponsored by Shell UK). WEXO is an Associate Partner and delivers the full suite of STEP placement programmes, administering the student/graduate training allowance, saving host businesses the burden of time and paperwork…

What a night! Last night was the night when two became one… digital media company Rightster and matchmaking machine WEXO, teamed together to form a perfect bond for jobseekers – WEXO, a company that matches talent with opportunities was present alongside the snowballing Rightster, offering jobs and paid internships for those deemed worthy.

Fifty of whom we believe to be the savviest candidates on the job market, made their way to our prim, proper and yet totally unpretentious neighbour, Adam Street’s Private Members Club just off the Strand.

The evening began with lashings of elderflower cordial, pocketfuls of popcorn and excited nattering from all those invited. Not your ordinary careers event it is fair to say, gone were the lecture room, the speakers with their monocles and the overhead projector. Instead, we welcomed an enthusiastic buzz surrounding our #HowIMadeitinDigitalMedia event, with both the path-finding grads and interns and the fantastic team at Rightster looking forward to what the evening had in store for them.

At 7pm sharp, all bums were on seats and the room was chock-a-block – Charlie Muirhead, CEO of Rightster gave his introduction before Robin proceeded to welcome our more than highly esteemed panel:

• Richard Williams – Former director of multiplatform programmes at ITV and the BBC
• Danny Wadeson – Hi Fly Nest, thefourohfive.com, The Line of Best Fit (Biz Dev / Film Editor)
• Belinda Parmar – CEO of Lady Geek and Lady Geek TV
• Tabitha Goldstaub – Founder of the Rightster Academy (Head of Client Success)
• Duncan Hammond – Business Development Manager for Guardian Select

The following hour and a half was led around the questions referring to the digital media industry which the candidates submitted with their applications – whether it was asking advice on how to make it in the industry or if someone wanted an opinion on whether Africa, in the near future, could become fully digital.
For those looking for a career in this industry – it is definitely worth a read on for some interesting advice and thoughts from those in the know…

Primarily, it is clear that those present believed the future is inevitably heading towards a wholly digitalised world. In fact, it was decided that in as little as 5 years time – the industry we now refer to as ‘Digital Media’ will be known solely as ‘Media’ alongside a generation that won’t see digital as being anything different – a mobile phone will become a phone etc.

Many of the questions that were put to the panel surrounded the concept of whether a digital world would destroy the tangible mediums that we currently use in society. Duncan Hammond justified the success of the digital newspaper takeover because people no longer buy a paper to see the morning’s breaking news, 50% of their readers read the Guardian around 9pm! Nowadays, the world receives its breaking news online – only this week, Obama’s election win was released to twitter and email before any other medium – therefore they want their newspaper to have rolling news which is only possibly through a digital platform.

Another reason for the expected rise in the digital newspaper came about in response to the potential business possibilities within a ‘Digital Africa’. Duncan Hammond informed us that The Guardian’s online audience is made up of a third from the UK, a third from the US and a third from the rest of the world. Hammond then highlighted that The Guardian would not be able afford the creation for the infrastructure for traditional print media outside the UK, therefore the only opportunity would be to create a start-up digitally.
Leaving behind the panel’s thoughts on a digital future, we then moved on to how they made it in digital media and any advice that they could give to our aspiring savvy candidates.

Belinda Parmar thinks that ‘women drive the digital revolution’, and her personal mission is to “end the stereotyping and patronising of women within technology” – (backed up with some gleaming digibabe statistics – 57% of the twitter audience are women and women over 55 is the fastest growing segment on Facebook). However, getting back to helping graduates, Belinda, herself a Twitter fiend, gives her thoughts on the importance of social media. She encourages everyone to be on Twitter and Facebook because she, like many employers, use these as accessible forums to reference a candidate as soon as they apply. The general consensus for job seekers is that you NEED an active online presence in order to go into any industry, not only to go into digital media. Belinda stated that twitter is now a revered platform and has become a circle of trust when it comes to reviews and a referential database.

Moving away from social media, Tabitha Goldstaub understands that not everyone can afford to do work experience, however she is determined that this shouldn’t stop anyone from entering into their desired industry. She believes that you should make your story and make it worthwhile – whether it is working for ANY company that desires an extra pair of hands or be it behind a bar – you can tailor the experience to make it worthwhile. Even behind a bar, you can improve your communication skills and sales experience for example – not everything has to be gained through work experience.

This is the same for a Master’s degree – Tabitha does not feel that a master’s is the be-all-and-end-all of starting one’s career as she relates her experience at Rightster to having completed 15 Master’s degrees. She has experienced and battled through the tough times which she says is very important rather than just learning about what could go wrong sitting on the back bench of a lecture hall.

Some snippets of advice for any ambitious students is to do as many extra curricular activities as possible, if there is a careers fair with a low subscribed activity then sign up so you have the possibility of becoming a big part of something small! Richard Williams’ suggestion was to do something that you love to make you stand out, such as the college radio, television or magazine. This ties into Danny Wadeson’s fantastic guidance to think about who you are, not the industry that you want – as long as you stay true to yourself, you will do your best and find your way that suits you best.

Finally, some advice for anyone wanting to go specifically into Digital Media is to study computer sciences, not languages, to join a debating society or similar where you have the chance to present yourself and to build your personal profile by signing up to tumblr, YouTube and any other channels that are available to you and to your potential employers.

To find out more about what was said on the night and to hear tips from some of these esteemed industry players, keep your eyes posted for the event footage going live on WEXO TV…

Our thanks to Adam Street Private Members Club and the brilliant representatives at Rightster for their cooperation.

Continuing the digital theme, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to remain in the loop about future exciting events and opportunities!

Ailsa Renton – Marketing Intern at WEXO, & Leeds University graduate

‘53% of 16-24 year olds would rather lose their sense of smell than be parted from their mobiles or laptops,’ – a statistic that was brought to our attention at this fresh and brilliantly insightful event.

To elaborate further, very bright and early last Thursday 25th October, WEXO made its way to the rather fashionable Old Street to make their acquaintance at The Beans Group debut of the potentially annual event #Youth100.

We made the transition from the gloomy outdoors to the bright and bubbly interior of Google’s new ‘Tech City’ Campus where we found ourselves amongst a crowd of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed representatives from many of the most popular brands in the UK.

This event came about because The Beans Group realized the hubbub of interest surrounding the obviously successful marketing of the UK’s top brands. They therefore decided to combine their congratulations for those brands with an occasion to help the smaller or less successfully marketed companies with ideas on how to better market themselves using the #youth 100’s chosen brands’ very own tips.
The following tips, combined with some interesting perceptions from respected individuals in the marketing sector, are some of those that really stood out for me:

Primarily, the host suggested that the likely reason for the student’s hype around these particular brands is that they are cheap but with the added bonus of customer satisfaction – they received what they were promised #goodvalueformoney. The brands that were proven to fit this bill perfectly were:

* Amazon – Convenient and the best prices on the market
* H&M - Don’t look cheap yet at the height of fashion
* Greggs – Cheap but tummy-filling
* Converse – The anomaly – not cheap but good value for money due to their durability.

However, Sam Delaney, the voice of the Duracell bunny adverts, hosted the event alongside Chris Maples, (Spotify), David Kisilevsky (McCann Erickson) and Ben (Red Bull) who were the chosen representatives to enlighten us as to their company’s true marketing success. When The Student Beans Group posed the question to the panel – this was their response:

Red Bull attributes much of its marketing success to its early relationship with students. Ben mentioned that Red Bull thought of youths as the perfect consumer due to being able to overindulge them with marketing and then once they fall in love with the brand, they will hopefully always remain faithful to them.

Red Bull’s marketing realization was that adding value to a brand in the case of students and young people is no longer a desire for freebies but instead one for exclusivity and shared experiences. This is why they put so much trust within their brand ambassadors on campus rather than in the brains at the head office – because the young people know the cool places on campus!

‘Business is about access not ownership’ is the reason for the meteoric rise at Spotify, according to Chris Maples who explains how they have kept on top of their marketing:

Spotify associates its marketing success with its ability to keep updated with the current trends in the technological market. – for example they are on both TiVo and Sonos. Chris Maples determined correctly that technology moves so quickly, especially in the youth market that in order for brands to survive and complete – they have no other option than to make themselves available and accessible on any social platforms that these youths are able to get their grubby mittens on.

Spotify, in particular, also mentioned that we should remember to respond to our target audience – Spotify have an app that helps to build a customer’s playlist (like Genius at Apple). It engages with those that originally found Spotify challenging as they struggled to understand their ‘genre’ of music and geared the app towards those who could not remember what they had listened to and liked previously on the site. This links the brand now to more than just its young audience and avoids what David Kisilevsky fears too many brands do – which is marketing wholly towards one ‘tribe’ with a ‘one size fits all’ approach because that can damage the brand with irreparable PR.

David from McCann Erickson especially focused on this idea of friendship linking into the responsibility of a brand. He asked what the point of a brand was from the eyes of a youth? It is believed that young people become closer affiliated with a brand that has the potential to engage a community; therefore the more successful brands are able to reach beyond the ‘beacon of trust’ and develop more of a foundation merely using the concept of friendship. David in fact regarded this as one of the most significant technologies that brands should be grabbing a hold of.

As a whole, the panel agreed that technology is no longer only a discretionary thing but it is undeniable that marketing is now very much leading towards the world of social media – and we have to keep up!

On this note, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook – presumably you wouldn’t want to miss out on WEXOs fantastic chat and opportunities!

Ailsa Renton – Marketing Intern at WEXO, & Leeds University graduate

How I Made It In Digital Media

We are very excited here at WEXO Towers about our next WEXO TV event on Tuesday 6th November, “How I Made It In Digital Media” and are pleased to see so many applications coming in (please be patient while we proces them all). For those of you that have been reading our recent blogs, we strongly believe that the internet economy holds the solution to both UK Plc’s economic impasse and youth unemployment. According to BCG the internet accounts for 8.3% if the UK economy (£121Bn in 2010). 76% of people would consider giving up chocolate for an entire year in order to maintain their Internet access (see recent blog)! For those of you that want are still attracted to the traditional employment options like PR, marketing, advertising, fashion, music, investment banking, etc Rightster and other digital media companies offer opportunities in all these areas and as these multiply so the more traditional roles will decline. Make sure you are on the right side of the fence…

This event takes a slightly different format to our previous showings (How I Made It in Fashion 1 & 2, How I Made It In Advertising and How I Made It in Food!). This time round, we have a sponsor in innovative new digital media company, Rightster, who are using the event as part of their Recruitment campaign to find the some of the UK’s sharpest and savviest graduates and undergrads. There will be opportunities for 10 or so Graduate Jobs starting in January and also internships and further roles starting in the Summer of 2013. See here to find out more about the roles on offer and to apply to come along.

The event will feature key players from some of the biggest names in Digital Media including The Guardian, ITV and cricinfo.com. Successful applicants will be able to hear them talk briefly about how they ‘made it’ and then ask pre-polled questions followed by drinks at the renowned Adam Street Private Members Club.

So what is Rightster?

Rightster is a cloud-based software and services company that simplifies the distribution, marketing and monetisation of live and on demand video content. They work with a whole host of exciting names including The British Fashion Council, The Guardian, ITN and ELLE. Here’s Founder and CEO, Charlie Muirhead talking about it at a recent MIPCOM industry event in Cannes:

Here’s Founder and CEO, Charlie Muirhead talking about it at a recent MIPCOM industry event in Cannes:

Next week we will be publishing the biographies of the 5 confirmed panel members…

In 2004 when Facebook emerged onto the scene, it made Myspace look like a damp squib and swallowed the attention of almost every 13- 30yr old like a thirsty beast…

At least that’s what I thought. I was instantly repelled by this tool, which I saw as insipid and self absorbed.

Seven years on, such mediums have become ingrained into seemingly everything we do, dictating trends, our social lives and somewhat worryingly, our opinions. Once I began working in the business of music however, I realised the importance of accepting such utilities and their potential as marketing platforms. In reality they were far more engaging and ubiquitous than I had possibly imagined.

Reluctantly setting up a Facebook account and then a Twitter account I realized how out of touch I’d been, and that in actual fact I could simply login, enter a world of possibilities, and make it as vacuous or advantageous as I wanted.

Foremost, what is social media by definition? Complete Music Update, a music business periodical, specifies that Social Media sites are web-based tools that enable you to:

A.Have an online presence.
B.Publish content, words, pictures audio and video.
C.Network with friends, fans & followers.

Most music analysts and record biz opinion editorials advocate that new school acts need to be net-savvy. They must be, because that’s where their fans are. If you reach out to people online and cement the relationship with them via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail etc. it’s much more efficient than traditional methods.

Needless to say it’s instant, so much so, that it’s almost tangible. Your fans give you their undivided attention and money if you keep them engaged. You can even build a demographic of who your fans are.

Take Taylor Swift for example. She is phenomenally successful in the States and she’s nurtured her fan base through social media interaction. Taylor is constantly tweeting her thoughts, actions and throwing a bit of self-promo into the mix. All this time she’s building rapport keeping her fan base in touch and ultimately, fixated. 18,925,068 Twitter and 34,603,710 Facebook followers later, we have no option but to credit her for ‘engaging’ her fans.Keeping on top of this online presence, she had the biggest digital sales a woman has ever had with ‘We are never getting back together’

“ In the storm of media attention following the single and the announcement of the new album, her overall online activity has seen an upward swing. She added 138,000 Facebook fans and 254,000 Twitter followers to her overall fan base during the charting week.”
William Gruger for Billboard.com

Not bad for one song.

Similarly, Amanda Palmer, the controversial, yet savvy punk- cabaret musician who made 1.2 million dollars from Kickstarter, an online funding platform for creative projects says:

“I tweet all day. I share my life. My REAL life. The ugly things, the hard things. I monitor my blog religiously. I read the comments. I ask for advice. I answer questions. I fix problems. We’re entering the era of the social artist. It’s getting increasingly harder to hide in a garret and lower your songs down in a bucket to the crowd waiting below, wrapped in a cloak of sexy mystery above. That was the 90s.”

I recently signed up for a course on Social Media and music to see whether there was a trick I was missing. Do the band I co-manage need to drop their instruments for laptops and focus 70% of their energies on procuring fans via the web? Or should they continue to exert themselves organically – getting attention from playing live gigs whilst vying for the approval of renowned radio pluggers, journalists and labels?

This poses the question, that in all of this media furore, is there still a market in traditional media or has social media monopolised all?

Andrew Keen, the Author ‘The Cult of the Amateur’ believes the internet is debasing culture and quoted:

“Out of this anarchy, it suddenly became clear that what was governing the infinite monkeys now inputting away on the Internet was the law of digital Darwinism, the survival of the loudest and most opinionated. Under these rules, the only way to intellectually prevail is by infinite filibustering.”

During the CMU course, I learnt that whilst certain services are becoming obsolete in the digital age, The Fly, a free music magazine, still circulates 100,386 copies a month, and many magazines and newspapers still have a sizable and loyal readership (though those who publish content online have bigger readerships than before).

Then we looked at radio. For many, traditional radio will always be the key driver for the consumption of music, and internet radio still has to gain momentum. After all, the net still needs to reach the kitchen, dashboard and bathroom so we have not yet suffered a TOTAL invasion from online media.

Other acts and artists have used their online presence to their advantage in other such ways.
On 10th of October 2007 Radiohead released ‘In/ Rainbows’ and fans were asked to pay as much as they saw fit for the album. The majority of fans paid the normal retail price and only a minority paid the 1p minimum. Other legacy acts like Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Prince and The Smashing Pumpkins have used the web to offer an optional way of paying for music. Why? The general feeling was that it was their way of getting their own back on the decaying record labels who had milked them for everything they were worth. It certainly had huge marketing ramifications.

Prince released his album 3121 digitally for free in the UK and subsequently sold out all his London concerts. Here, Prince has hit the jackpot with his ‘If you can’t beat them join them’ attitude. At a time where record sales are in such rapid decline, maybe live shows are one of the few solid and unencumbered ways to stay ahead in today’s music industry and so we must come to a compromise: Accept technology but make money at the same time.

Whilst the profiles of certain acts have seen an almighty launch as a result of digital media, what are the con’s of music & Social Media? Undoubtedly responsible for the declining cost of music and artist’s work, maybe there is too much information now, thus creating more competition and pushing real creative talent (with less business savvy) into the shadows? Or has the Internet given independent artists that wouldn’t usually get an opportunity to be heard a better platform to spring from?

Dominique Edmonds – Executive Assistant at WEXO, Co-manager of Mano de Dios & BIMM graduate

Someone somewhere was trying to say something last Thursday. I tend to wake up in the week days to the wonderfully illuminating BBC Radio 4 Today programme at 6am* (the first 30 minutes gives you your daily dose of everything you need to know about current affairs, business and sport – in that order with some weather and a newspaper review thrown in for good measure). I miss Ed Stourton but I feel at ease with Evan Davis (Dragon’s Den), there’s something quite matronly about Sarah Montague and Garry Richardson (Sports) might be no Christian O’Connell but especially given the hours he works (and the fact that he’s been doing it since 1981) he can crack impromptu gags with the best of them.

Sandwiched between details of David Cameron’s David Letterman interview (I would never send my son to Eton and there’s no way he sounds like James Bond) and news that the FTSE closed lower on Spanish economic woes (really?!) was the announcement of a new website, Unistats, that seems to help young people (including my cousin, Charles, 18 and currently working down the local boozer) work out how much they can earn from different courses at different universities (interesting for sure but taking this as gospel might be like believing that Nick Clegg wasn’t going to raise tuition fees). Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to search for the course most likely to introduce me to a life of bling and Bollinger but here are the outcomes for 3 options:

1. 1) Politics (MA Hons) at Edinburgh University (my degree): 71% Satisfaction, Average Salary 6 months after graduation: £18,000 (though last weekend’s Sunday Times 2012 University Guide dropped it from 27th to 39th on poor teaching!)
2. 2) PPE at Oxford (David Cameron’s degree): 93% Satisfaction, Average Salary 6 months after graduation: £25,000 (same as Computer Sciences at Bristol University which our developer studied but apparently he is 3% more satisfied)
3. 3) BA in Global Cinema at Sterling University: 81% Satisfaction, Average Salary 6 months after graduation: £15,000

As I overtook yet another bus on my way to work (how is it that since the Olympics, the traffic lights seem to have gone on strike – someone privatise them – and even if i do end up furiously mopping my brow on arrival, it still seems to be possible to get to work on a bike twice as quick as on a double decker), I then passed a new army recruitment advert with an array of different soldiers on it looking like they were pursuing an array of unsoldierly careers. The advert said: “What do you want to be?”. Anything but a soldier these days I thought, given that reports indicate that 8,000 (including many serving in Afghanistan) are to lose their jobs in January with the army shrinking by about 20% come 2020.

I discussed this further this morning with Tray and Bella, 2 of WEXO’s directors who also run Careers Mentoring company, Tinker Tailor. Bella’s father was a General in the Marines and as a child I always wanted to be a soldier. Having spent a bit of time watching reruns of Spooks recently, and in the hope that I might get an invite to the new Bond premiere this month, I think in my next job I might become a Spy. In my experience, ruthless research, undercover networking and the occasional one liner often get you all sorts of offers. And I reckon I can do a pretty good Sean Connery impression too.

Robin Kennedy, WEXO Co-founder & CEO

* NB – if you’ve had a big night you can catch it later on BBC iPlayer or even better download the TuneIn Radio Pro app on your IPhone and record it (please don’t tell me you’ve still got a Blackberry, they’re for riots and the company that makes then is slowly following Nokia to the dogs.)

The music business is an incredibly tough nut to crack, whether you want to be at the forefront performing or behind the scenes grafting, it’s an uncompromising, difficult industry to get into. So much so, that if was a nut; it would definitely be a Brazil.

We were recently approached by a young school leaver wanting to work in music production but unsure of how to go about it and what (if any) courses to take. He wanted to know which of these options to take:

• Study a music degree at a good university like Leeds ? Start blossoming a network of muso friends, only to come out 3 years later to find the technology has advanced and that he’s up alongside 20,000 other budding hopefuls fighting for a work placement?

• Go on a condensed £8K crash course, with the newest technology and top of the range facilities?

• Do it organically, save up for the equipment, set up a blog and scrape some work experience out of a local studio?

In this climate, the pro’s and con’s are endless so WEXO spoke to the experts and a few people in the same shoes:

Jamie (a WEXO Leeds grad) thinks the course you choose is dependent on what you want to to specialise in.

“If we are talking big London institutes, LCM is much more creative with less of a focus on the numbers side of production. While this may seem appealing, a more engineer- based course will leave you better off in the long run.”

He also stipulates that it’s a good idea to have a contingency plan to prepare for the aftermath.

“You need to be prepared to leave your skills gained to one side, and find ways to relate your degree to other things,”” he adds.

Jamie also quotes the SSR in Manchester as one of his top full time degree choices. Why? “My friend went there and, because of it, is now about to take his Pro Tools operator exam, and is one of the youngest people ever to take it”. Jamie credited his success to the course at SSR.

Gronk, a performing artist, and producer finished at Alchemea in December and would highly recommend it.

“The course is 9 months long and costs in the realms of £8k, for that fee you get a laptop with a copy of ProTools (industry standard) and intense classes, it’s easily equivalent to a good music production degree”

He continued, “Industry opportunities are scarce, but I’m currently interning at the Royal Academy of Music so its diploma does carry some weight. For an extra couple of thousand pounds it may be worth doing the live production course available as a bolt-on, as there seem to be more immediate working opportunities in live sound production now the studios are all closing down”

At any rate, it might be considered less of a risk than your £9k-per-year university degree these days (sad but true …?). Youth (pictured here) didn’t go to University and neither did David Gilmour (who has worked as a producer as well a musician), even when it was free, despite his father being a lecturer at Cambridge.

Similary, Simon (an engineer at Sarm Studios) rated Alchemea. “We’ve had some graduates from there at Sarm and they were quite capable. Also LIPA graduates have been good. I also agree that the environment of these institutes can be very important to remain in for networking purposes, and 3 years can be more advantageous than 9 months”.

Saying this, Simon also commented that he’d had mixed opinions of SAE and wouldn’t recommend the production course at ACM, a school that helped nurture Newton Faulkner’s talent. He concluded that a more engineering oriented course is more useful in the long run if you want to produce.

Jamie wished he had done one of these instead of the 3 year LCM degree. “One thing that makes your time more enjoyable is everything outside of the degree. Being at a music college means making a lot of like-minded friends and of course, the University lifestyle is always hugely enjoyable.”

Fair point, but surely you develop stronger relationships at Uni given a longer period in which to do so?

“That for me was one of the most advantageous aspects of studying music production at University, the networking. If I was urgently looking for a cellist, I’d only have to make a few phone calls to my University mates, and chances are, I’d be able to get hold of one. This is what I feel the intensive courses can miss out. The proximity between fellow students and sharing the passion we all have. Being with the same people for three years helps you develop real working relationships and helps develop you as an entrepreneur, which is extremely beneficial when you leave.”

It’s a hard choice to make, however, there is always a course suitable for some although not for others. And while you’re thinking about which one to do, there’s a lot that can be learned for free on YouTube! It all comes down to what you like about production – the science or the art. Once you’ve got over that hurdle, comes the real challenge. Like the nut, the music industry takes a lot of hard work to get into, but with resilience and commitment, you’re always rewarded at the end.

Dominique Edmonds – Executive Assistant at WEXO, Co-manager of Mano de Dios & BIMM graduate

I’m reluctant to begin with another drawn out proclamation summarising the current state of affairs that plague the graduate job market, so how about a concise one instead.

Amidst a cloud of continued economic folly, unpaid internships and the shock horror of GCSEs grades falling for the first time in the exam’s 24-year history – one would assume the tough route is not to everyone’s taste. Unsurprisingly. Whichever side of the mobile political fence you pitch your tent, most would not argue that a healthy, competitive environment uncovers those most suitable for a career in their chosen field.

Countless articles dictate (or advise) which “buzz words” the ideal interviewee must utilise to impress, whilst evenings are elongated by carefully considered multiple-choice personality test answers. I find the importance of a candidate’s life-attitude and ambitions is often lost in the panic of being represented in the “perfect” light. Everyone is eventually bracketed into one jumbled mess. Granted this is by no means the sole fault of the employer, but a circumstance that has arisen from political and social failings over the past years.

I believe it is actually in the hands of the modern graduate to alter this saturated work environment. Take every opportunity to further yourself through being pro-active, and fervently express that desire and ambition to anyone you converse with. Much success I have so far had in my admittedly restricted career has occurred through such discussion. I am currently writing this from WEXO towers due to Robin and I connecting on musical ambition and his intrigue in how I have structured the next year for myself (naturally open to change). Another interview turned into an expressive and fruitful debate, which led to me receiving a number of useful contacts, and advise, despite not wanting to fully commit to the particular career path.

Hindsight is a wonderfully tortuous thing

I am a great believer in the notion of not beating around the bush – being direct with someone always goes a long way. On the back of that I am a 23 year-old graduate from the University of Leeds with a First in World & Popular Music. I often struggle when conjuring the drive within myself to proceed; yet I do not feel I lack ambition and my passion for Southeast Asian culture is leading me closer and closer to a move to Cambodia in order to pursue my love of journalism, music and social development. Hindsight is a wonderfully tortuous thing, thus I cannot stress enough the importance of expressing a genuine interest in your career choice and never being caught up in gaining ‘required’ experience for experience’s sake.

One anecdote I would like to conclude this blog with is how I came about my internship at Songlines music magazine, and why it is a prime example of what I have so far stated.

Songlines, Glastonbury & Persistence

I had interviewed the Cambodian-American group Dengue Fever over Skype for my dissertation in early 2011, and naturally decided to go and meet them at Glastonbury that year in the Songlines tent (West Holts stage). One thing led to another and with a beer in hand I got talking to the publisher of the magazine about who I was and why an internship at the magazine would be a fantastic opportunity.

Left at that, I went on a rather extended post-graduation holiday and returned in September to get stuck into the rest of my life. I was then based in Somerset, and emails to the magazine fell largely on disinterested eyes to my great disappointment. Unaware of the unstoppable flood of emails magazines have to deal with at the time, yet determined that this magazine was the perfect environment for me and a reason to move back to London, I decided to get archaic and send a letter. Behold! Two days and a phone call later and I was on my way to London to meet the assistant editor. I was explicitly told that this was the best move I could have ever made and immediately demonstrated my pro-active nature that is so desired within the media industry.

Networking

Nine months later and I continue to reap the rewards from the placement. Networking is a terribly over-used term, but still means so much in this industry. Expressing your related interests or perhaps even more importantly convincing someone of something new is your ticket to another opportunity. I continue to work at festivals, gigs, artist signings and events where I am able to connect with members of the public and music press. Nothing is more invigorating than going into work everyday to something you enjoy. Through working at Songlines and the opportunities that have occurred since (record labels and artist management), I have become very apt with InDesign, Photoshop, CRM/SEO management, website and social media development – none of this I would have forced myself to learn at home alone over such a short period of time. From a music perspective, the amount of new musical treats I have been introduced to is already uncountable.

I have not said anything that could be classed as a euphoric and game-changing statement, perhaps this blog even verges on common sense, but the opportunities do exist. Granted necessity dictates and money does not allow everyone to do exactly what one desires at that specific time, but this should not ever hinder ambition.

Ed Craggs

You’ve heard WEXO Founder, Robin Kennedy’s, take on unpaid internships, this week our social media team give you their take…

Upon leaving education with degrees or the equivalent, graduates are ideally looking to take on their first full time employment contract. Unfortunately all candidates, regardless of the number of degrees, certificates or badges they have, are being flung into the worst job market since the 1940s! The result of this is that internships are fast replacing graduate schemes as the first rung on the employment ladder.

However, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Many graduates find this transitional period useful. Some use it to gain experience in an industry they know they want to work in. Others trial various sectors to help work out what it is they want to do as a career long term.
The difficulty arises with the issue of pay.

A large number of companies offer interns a sum way below the NMW or worse, nothing at all! This is for a number of reasons, the main ones being:

   1)  In the economic climate, the company is trying to save money by getting an intern in to help with workload instead of hiring an additional member of staff on a salary.
   2)  The demand is there. So many graduates are so desperate for the experience and are unaware of their other options that they are willing to work for free.

Priced out of applying

These underpaid internships are actually prejudicial against those who can’t afford to effectively ‘not earn’ for 1 – 3 months at a time, which is A LOT of people! This is an issue, which has been discussed by parliament for a number of years. The ridiculous thing about this system is that no one really benefits from it. By pricing people out of applying, these companies are shooting themselves in the foot. Who’s to say that the next Steve Jobs isn’t be amongst the group of talent that didn’t apply for the position due to financial limitations? It really is a lose/lose situation!

What does WEXO believe?

This is where WEXO step in. We believe it is only right that if you, as an individual, are adding value to a company, you should be paid at least the National Minimum Wage (approximately £210 a week). Anything below this is intern abuse! This is what we tell all the companies that post positions on WEXO. Just because below average pay is the norm, it doesn’t make it morally OK.

Educating the employers is half the battle. WEXO now want to spread the word amongst graduates, that there are great internships, with great businesses that are willing to pay you what you deserve. They do exist, so avoid being exploited and look for them. WEXO work very hard to find these types of roles for you so make the most of them!

Have a read of some other blogs about the internship debate here:

Intern Nation? How Do We Skill Up Young People To Get Jobs?
The Ever-Present Dilemma Of Unpaid Internships…