Two important life events have occurred with me in the past 24 hours:

• I saw Justin Timberlake play for the first time ever, in a teeny teeny tiny post-Brits show.
• I handed in my leaving notice at Red Bull Records

The first, while I’d like to say it’s my fantastic music industry connections that got me the hottest ticket in town, was actually down to my mother and her way of apologising for scooching across the Channel to France without me for a week. How she does these things I will never know, but I’m so glad she did – I can say without hesitation that JT put on the best show I’ve ever seen. Like, I’m talking Justin-Bieber-was-stood-behind-me-and-I-didn’t-notice-because-HOLY-SHITBALLS-CRY-ME-A-RIVER kind of good.

If you’d told me a few months ago that I’d be leaving Red Bull Records by choice rather than being forcibly uprooted and turfed out, I’d have probably told you to lay off the caffeine. And yet today it happened. The more time I spent working in labels, working on massive marketing campaigns and pushing songs on to the radio and going to award shows and getting a really shiny silver disc, the more I realised it wasn’t for me.

What drove me to want to work in music has always been live music and touring, and I always wanted to tour. Every day I sat at my desk I felt that slipping away from me. The people at Red Bull were amazing; friendly and hospitable and hilarious. The bands, too, were absolutely amazing and I will truly miss them. But still I long to be out on the road, or at the very least somewhere working on tours. So that’s what I’m doing. In the not-too-distant future, I’m going to be going to work for Tour Support. I’m sickeningly excited to be advancing tours and upkeeping a fleet of vans and generally a whole bunch of things that a normal person wouldn’t find exciting. I guess I’ll keep you updated on how that goes.

Of course, you’ll probably still hear a lot about RBR – if not from me then from one of my IATTG partners in crime Christina. But now maybe you’ll get to hear about another part of the industry, too. Have you ever taken a big leap in changing jobs? I want to hear about it! Tweet us at @IATTG all about it. And while you’re at it, buy tickets to see Justin Timberlake.

 

Alright. Let’s recap.

A few months ago I left a job at Artist Arena – I say left, my contract came to an end and there wasn’t an open position for me to fill there. I was hugely sad to leave and still miss the great friends I made there. Currently I’m working at Red Bull Records (a label first brought to my attention by my fellow IATTG intern and RBR rep Christina) in a marketing role. I’m here for another five months before I find out whether I’ll be staying on or once more living the life of the eternal intern. We shall see.

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The best thing about working for a site based in the US is being introduced to a whole host of bands that I’d never have heard about otherwise. In course, I’d like to present to you one of my favourite troupes of bright young things from over the pond in the UK…

Blitz Kids

Nantwich, UK

Genre: Alt Rock

Sounds like: The Xcerts, Francesqa,

Over the past week or so I’ve been spinning Blitz Kids so much on my stereo that it’s only a matter of time before the CD wears out. They’ve popped up on the radar in the UK for the past few years supporting bands like Mayday Parade and D.R.U.G.S. but it’s their upcoming full-length, recorded in LA with John Feldmann, that will cement their place as a force to be reckoned with. The material is catchy, smart and glorious cacophony and when it hits next year you won’t be able to avoid this band.

Catch their EP ‘Never Die’ out next month and their as-yet-untitled album in the fall.

Listen to: “Story”, “The Comedian”

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/blitzkidsuk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/blitzkids

 

It’s a funny thing, interning. Given enough time, you’ll start to get used to perpetually being “the intern” – and subconsciously start to accept it. The job market is so crowded that you’ll be relieved ‘just to be considered’ or ‘just to get a foot in the door’. But there comes a time where enough is enough.

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It probably won’t shock you that alcohol is a big part of the music industry. More so than in any other job you’ll meet clients over drinks, not coffee. Hell, the whole live music industry is based around going out at night. It’s hard at times to know when you SHOULDN’T be drinking. Luckily, I have amassed a small guide.

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Whether it’s being educated in a British all-girls grammar school, or perhaps a desire to be taken as seriously as my older counterparts, I’ve always focused on maintaining my email etiquette. Let’s take a brush over the absolute basics:

• Keep things simple. A lot of the time you won’t know the person you’re emailing. To begin, a simple yet descriptive subject line is a must. A simple salutation such as “Hello” or “Morning” are suitable starts, and “Thanks” is a nice sign-off before your name and signature. Crucially, if you don’t know someone’s name, DON’T guess it. This includes trying to guess it from their email address – recently I spent a good hour calling a poor woman ‘Chris’ before realizing that ‘Chris’ was, in fact, her surname. Read more »

This may sound like a foreign concept to a lot of people (and an overly familiar one to others) but sometimes, you might not have all that much going on in your job. Sure, most of the time you’re so busy that you wonder if you could buy more limbs on the black market to increase your typing productivity. But there’s those select few days where your boss is our of town, the emails have dried up and your to-do list is all checked off. What the hell do you do?

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Where you’d usually find my intern blog under the cut, this week I have something a little off-topic and a little more broad-spectrum. Of course, my job is still going strong (can you say Bieber Fever?) and all the advice I can reap from it will come neatly-packaged this time next week. Until then, I have a confession to make.

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The first thing that grabbed me when I started Working My Way Up The Music Industry™ was exactly how long was spent in front of a computer screen. You’ve got a release you need to market? Great, make an e-mail blast for it. Wondering how many tickets have been sold for that show you’ve been setting up? Best have a spreadsheet on the go. And don’t even think of trying to do any work out and about without a smartphone kept handy in your pocket.

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The first day on a new job can be, quite frankly, terrifying. Especially if it’s not just your first shift at the local diner – if you’re starting out in the music industry, you might be a little more than scared. I should know – today I had my first day working in a new internship at Artist Arena. Here in the UK we’re based out of the Warner Music International offices (Artist Arena is much smaller on this side of the Atlantic – in fact, my boss and I are the only ones). Walking into that marble lobby with all the security, giant video screens and 2001: Space Odyssey-esque pass gates is somewhat daunting, so here are the tips that I’ve collected over my various jobs that I use to keep a cool head and survive your first day:

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