Universally Speaking

Hey all,


It's been a little while since I last posted, and so so much has changed in that time! Due to some re-shuffling in the office, I was offered a temporary position as a Promotions Coordinator in the Melbourne office of Universal Music. The position lasted for one month, during which time I feel as though I learnt more than I had during my entire 3 months as an intern.


Rather than being on the cusp of the company, I was thrown into the mix as a full time member of the staff, dealing with the media and liaising with the other offices around the country. Fortunately for me, we had some high-profile artists on tour during that time, which gave me plentiful opportunity to experience parts of the industry only come alive for big acts.


While there were many highlights for me, one of my favourite moments was working on a "Meet and Greet" for Justin Bieber at Rod Laver Arena. For a tour of this profile, the Director of Publicity - International Artists was flown in from Sydney to supervise publicity surrounding the event, and it was like nothing I have ever experienced before. Bieber fever was certainly in the air, and all of a sudden I was faced with mega fans that were so full of anticipation and excitement, they literally could not contain it. If you saw any of the Bieber press during his time in Australia, you might be able to gauge how intense these fans were. My responsibility was separating the competition winners (those with wrist bands) from those who were hanging around trying to sneak into the Meet and Greet. Security was incredibly strict around this event, and people were everywhere. Ultimately, we found that it was necessary to be firm and explain to the fans that this was a pre-organised event, where no other people would be admitted. After several attempts at this, security intervened and separated the crowd. During this it was incredibly important to keep a cool head and not be swayed by the teary eyed girls (and mothers) who wanted to be a part of it.


Luckily for me, I was able to watch the actual Meet and Greet, and my boss was kind enough to take a photo!

Although I am continuing my position at Universal after this unit is over, I feel as though it took a unit like this to really force me to think about where I want to head with my career and what it means to take on Public Relations as a career.

Anyway, I'm going to sign off for now...and continue editing my report, but I hope you have all enjoyed your placements as much as I have enjoyed mine.

Until next time,

Katey 

The Future of Music Festival

Sorry to disappoint.. but this isn't actually about Future Music. With the passing of Future Music in Melbourne last weekend, it seemed like a relevant title that didn't sound too business-y and might entice you to read my post! 

On a more serious note, I was faced today with the proposition: What is the future of the music industry? Think about your iTunes repertoire for a second.. How many of the songs in your library were actually bought on a legitimate website or off the iTunes store? I'm not one to say that I have never used those programs myself before, but after interning in the Music Industry I have become so painfully aware of the effect that this is having on the industry itself that I have gone cold turkey on my FrostWire. 

You might think, "it's just one song", but as my supervisor put: what gives you the right to help yourself to someone else's work and deprive them of their livelihood? Why do you believe you shouldn't pay for what isn't yours?

Faced with the prospect of having any direction after my placement, I further questioned what would need to happen to the industry if 1) the physical CD faded into the distance and 2) if we moved into a fully digital world. Knowing that we are half way there already - with our iPhones, iPods and iPads (I'm a fan of Apple) what encourages someone to go out and buy an album from a record store? Renaissance lovers would argue that it's the experience of buying and being with a CD (or vinyl) that shows you love music. Given that I am not one of these people (the afore mentioned love of Apple products should prove that) I have to wonder why, as a person involved in the publicity and promotion of music, would I still be relevant if we could promote everything online?

Well there's my thought for the week, please feel free to comment on this post as it's definitely a topic that's been playing on my mind.

Happy interning,

Katey.

Settling In

Hi again,


I know I only posted a couple of days ago.. but I hit the post-first-month mark with my internship on Friday and I thought I'd share.


As the title might suggest, I'm beginning to settle into my position at Universal. Although I've been there for a little while, last Friday I felt as though I was finally getting into the groove of things (pardon the use of 80's vocabulary). For me it was a combination of 1) knowing my responsibilities 2) having a deadline for said tasks and 3) feeling comfortable enough to speak to my supervisors (or anyone in the office) about concerns or uncertainties that I might have. This is certainly made easier by the fact that a couple of the people in the office have been in my position before.. but I have also felt incredibly welcomed by everyone else who is curious about the far, far away land that is Perth.


One of the things that I have recently noticed about my placement is how much knowledge all of the Promotions team need to have about the product (the music) they are trying to place into radio's hands. These are the people that are giving you the 'new music' that you can't get out of your head. They have to have such a unique understanding of the stations' demographic, the band, the specific song they are promoting and why they station wants it for every single station in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and regional Australia nation wide. Not only are the values of each station distinct to the area they are based, but every station also has a different purpose that we are trying to say a new song conveys. A more obvious example of this would be a Christian station. Take Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' as an example. While it might be extremely popular in their area, it just doesn't convey the values that their station wants to uphold. It might not be that the particular song doesn't appeal to them / doesn't speak to their values, but the artist's history, particularly Lady Gaga's stance on gay marriage (most recently Prop-8) clouds their enthusiasm. I know this might seem VERY obvious, but it is also incredibly important in placing songs with stations.


Although this is quite a short post, I wanted to throw the incredibly broad "How are you doing in your placement?" question out there. Now that you've asked, I am feeling a little apprehensive about my report and was wondering if anyone wanted to share their experiences about how to approach the incredible task of The Final Report.


(Comments would be most appreciated!)


Speak to you all soon.


Katey

The UMA Experience

Hi all,

This is my second post about my internship at Universal Music, and I have to say that I have definitely opened my eyes A LOT more since my last post!

Having been at Universal for around a month now, I feel as though I'm starting to get my bearings, but the industry is VERY fast paced, and you have to pay attention or you will miss something. Not only do the people in the office work ahead of schedule (by around three weeks) but they also have to revisit their schedules weekly to go over last minute changes. After meeting the Senior Victorian Promotions Manager at our branch meeting last week, she explained that any day of hers can range from doing out-of-office Artist Promotions with major metropolitan television, print and radio stations - (remember these interviews can be syndicated nationally...and we can't forget about all the regional stations that are also taken care of from Victoria!) to ensuring articles, images and sound bites accurately represent the artist and the label, to keeping office moral up (the latest suggestion: a tennis match to relieve stress and frustrations) and supporting everyone to get their work done on time.

My duties so far have included formulating press packs each week to be given to major buyers of our artist's music, distributing new albums to press, compiling press clippings from Victorian sources and doing anything else people ask of me. Each week we also hold branch meetings and discuss the new songs/ videos out for the week.. last week it was Brian McFadden's 'Just The Way You Are (Drunk At The Bar' (one word: wow :| ), as well as an absolutely amazing album from a UK artist called Jessie J.. which I have been listening to non-stop since I got it!

Overall, I guess what I have learnt the most about here is that the work that goes into the artist promo placements is absolutely huge. Now when I walk past a JB Hi-Fi store and see the big posters of artists and news that they are signing in-store, I realise that not only would that idea have spawned weeks, possibly months in advance, but each poster has been meticulously placed to ensure maximum exposure to the public.

What I am really realising about my internship is that this is the side of Public Relations that I really enjoy. Not only am I being given the opportunity to see the innermost workings of a music label - but I can also be around a really inspiring and creative industry (which is something that I wouldn't easily trade)

Until next time friends!

Katey

Life Of A Music Label Intern

Hey everyone,


This is my first blog about my experiences at UMA (Universal Music Australia). Over the course of the semester, I hope to give (and get) a bit of an idea about how the Public Relations sector of a major music label works. 


The publicity department of UMA are in-house, meaning they deal with ALL things Universal, as well as representing the needs of other labels that Universal Music Global are a part of. So along with promoting the needs of their artists, they also work on aspects of publicity for many more.


As would be expected, I was incredibly nervous before my first day, but as soon as I got there I was made to feel welcome by the amazing team in the office. To get my day started I was helped along by one of the Promotions Coordinators, who coincidentally was the last person in my position.


My day consisted of organising press material into marketing presenters for internal and external use, along with many other tasks. Marketing presenters are basically teasers for press and retail to make sure they know when a new album/EP is released and give them a little information about the band or song's inception. These presenters are compiled at least two weeks in advance, meaning that we're working on mid-February already!


My next task was mail - and LOTS of it. By distributing promotional posters to music stores nation-wide, we're putting an artist in the mind's of the consumer before their tour or album goes on sale. 


One of the things that I noticed in the office was the amount of effort that is put into the running of a music label. The term "overnight success" is thrown around quite a bit, but I don't actually think that exists. Sure, it's an incredible company to work for, but a lot of work goes into liaising with many other companies/publications to make sure they get the job done.


This is all I've got for now, but hopefully I'll post some more interesting insights as I progress with my internship.


Please comment and let me know if you have questions!


Katey- Bentley Campus