It wasn’t what I expected I’d be doing after all these years of steering away from the music industry. I was raised in a family of musicians, from composer grandparents to a singer mother and a violinist father, and as such from early on was expected to become a pianist once I grew up. As a preteen, however, I was determined to forge a career path that was unique to myself and my own interests. At first, I wanted to be a lawyer, which slowly shifted to a more authentic passion towards communications and marketing. Nevertheless, my innate love for the music industry took over as I was applying for internships last fall, and was offered a position as a Marketing Services Intern at FUGA, the leading B2B artist- and label services company for independent musicians and record labels.
I must clarify I wasn’t at all hesitant about my choice of workplace. I was excited to combine a passion that I’ve grown up with and one that has slowly developed to be the main professional direction I want to pursue. Even more so, I was excited to be surrounded by geniuses who worked in marketing some very well-known artists, ranging from Cardi B to Björk and Martin Garrix. FUGA gave me the opportunity to take my first baby steps as a communications professional while working around topics and areas that had been in my periphery since I was a child. It was the dream combination of the familiar and the unknown.
Music marketing is no joke: it takes creativity, relationship-building, thinking outside of the box, and an analytical mindset to succeed in getting your client on the right playlists, the right radio stations, the hottest festivals, and in industry news. Perhaps my first moment of awe happened just as I finished my first week at FUGA and took part in the first priority projects meeting. The amount of back-and-forth sparring between the various regional marketing managers in our team was amazing to watch, and I was fascinated by how everyone sought to utilize every representative contact they had at Spotify, Apple, Amazon, YouTube, Deezer, and many more to land an up-and-coming artists debut album on as many editorial playlists.
This moment subsequently inspired my research project as well. I studied the effect of editorial playlist labels on Spotify on the listening intention of Gen Z audiences in Europe, and my main presumptions were supported. FUGA had it right, and as my internship progressed I was amazed by how omnipotent the principles I had learned in Persuasive Communication and Entertainment Communication were in the day-to-day operations of FUGA’s marketeers. I must admit I’m still too curious to commit to marketing and communicating in just one industry, and as such am excited for the start of my master’s program this fall. Regardless, this was an unforgettable experience that gave me a new network, new mentors, and an even bigger love for the music industry and all who work behind it.