Music careers

"We need to have a good knowledge of the music we own because we sometimes have to come up with suggestions for all types of situations on TV at the drop of a hat..."

What is it you do?
TV Licensing Manager for Universal Music UK

What does this involve? Describe a typical day...
Licensing of Universal's huge catalogue to Various TV productions, finding opportunities within TV to get our music heard.

Roughly outline your career path
After University, I began working as a Copyright & Royalties Administrator, went on to become Film & TV Licensing Co-ordinator then on to TV Licensing Manager

What made you decide to make a career out of music and how old were you at the time?
I was really into music from an early age and decided from about the age of 13 that that is what I would like to be involved in as a career

What training or course has most enhanced your career?
BA (Hons) in Commercial Music at University of Westminster was a fantastic course as it dealt with all aspects of the music industry from performing and production right through to business and law.

How much has music influenced your life?
Music has influenced my life in many ways. Learning to be confident with creativity, boosting personal confidence, making new friends and earning a living doing something I really enjoy.

Do you have a particularly musical background?
The rest of my family is not very musical at all; they like music and listen to it, but none of them are really into playing musical instruments.

What was your experience of music at school?
I was always musical, whether it was at home playing keyboards or messing around with instruments at primary school. My interest really took off when I started secondary school. I originally wanted to learn the sax but there were no spaces in that class, so I decided to try the drums. I seemed to pick it up really quickly managed to work right through to Grade 8 level in a few years, so was playing in band doing the local gig circuit by the time I was 16.

What sort of music do you listen to for pleasure?
Anything really, I’m more into Rock music, Bands such as Foo Fighters and the Chilli Peppers at the moment, but love other artists such as Nirvana, Metallica, Marvin Gaye and James Brown. I’ve got quite a varied taste in music, if it sounds good I’ll listen to it.

Who or what has inspired you most?
Probably my drum teacher from school, he is a great musician and a fantastic teacher. We always got lots of encouragement to get out there and do the best we could. He lives for music and still performs a lot now in various bands up in the North East of England and teaches brass and percussion in all of the local schools. A very committed and very busy bloke!

What is the best thing about what you do?
Being involved in music and earning a living from doing this. Seeing things used on the TV if it has come from something I suggested to them.  We constantly have to listen to music in the office; this includes a lot of new artists, and loads of great back catalogue. We need to have a good knowledge of the music we own because we sometimes have to come up with suggestions for all types of situations on TV at the drop of a hat; comedy, drama, horror for example - we need to make sure whatever we send fits the mood of the production.

And the worst? 
Deadlines are sometimes really tight due to programme editing etc., and in a company that owns over 1 million songs, we sometimes get bombarded with urgent requests. This part of the job can be a bit stressful.

What is your advice to young people who want to make a career in music?
Show a lot of enthusiasm, get out and do as much work experience as possible. From my experiences companies are always interested in people that are prepared to go a step further to get what they want.

What is your dream job?
To make music and perform to people. I would love to spend my days gigging and not having to worry about the 9 to 5 routine. But it is great to be working in music, as it is something I always wanted to do, I guess I could say I have it already…

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