Tell us a bit about your journey into the music industry?
I started off as a ballet dancer as my first career. When I decided to change directions I didn’t know what else I liked in life, aside from music. My first professional experience was working for the Nashville songwriters association international in Nashville as events intern for the songwriters music festival Tin pan South. I learned about copyright, royalty flow, intellectual property and the people behind the big hits.
I then did various other internships in live music working for venues such as the Electric Factory in Philadelphia and Harpers Ferry in Boston in their booking departments. Following my move to Paris I decided to look for a job in music in Europe and happened to come across a job ad for a bilingual sales and music consultant to start up the French branch of a company called West One Music Group. The rest is history!
Can you talk about your role at West One Music Group and how it has developed?
I started off in 2011 as the only full-time employee of West One based in Paris trying to get us established and off the ground in France following our split from our local sub-publisher and our wish to pursue the growth of the company in France independently. As the business grew it became more and more essential for me to be where all the gears were turning, head office in London, so in 2014 I moved to London.
In the meantime, I also started trying to grow our business in Ireland as well as Belgium in parallel to our growth in France. As we have grown even more I have now picked up Benelux officially in addition to France. I’ve gone from being a lone wolf to having incredible teams of people to collaborate locally within each of these territories. The role has never been the same 2 years in a row. West One and the music and audiovisual industry are constantly changing and developing and my role has constantly changed and developed within it. Who knows where we go next!
What advice do you have for anyone starting out in the industry?
Ask questions ALL THE TIME and never forget that learning never stops. Also, this industry is a people-based business so building a network of smart, talented, creative people is key.
What is your favourite album on the West One Music catalogue?
Depends on the day and the style. Beatwarpology for electro chill vibes, very old The Scoring House. Dimensions for some really creative and virtuoso classical, Balanescu is pretty amazing. Ultimatum for some epic orchestral Jesper Kyd. Psychedelic Soul Party for vintage retro funk perfection.
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