Lauren Fitzgerald (Popular Music)
Lauren graduated in 2012 and is now a Digital Channel Manager at Columbia Records UK.
What does your job involve?
Digital Channel Management is a new and rapidly evolving facet of the Marketing team of a label. The job is to devise and implement social media strategies for our artists. Because of the nature of the digital space, and the industry’s relationship to it, the job can change day to day and varies artist to artist, dependent on how they want to approach their online presence and what our objectives are for that particular campaign. One day you can be hiding clues across the internet for fans to figure out the announcement of a tour, the next you’re building a Where’s Wally style interactive website to celebrate the launch of the video.
Ultimately, I am the middle-man between the fanbase and the label. It is my job to be the frontline of communication with fans via our online messaging, to work closely with artists, management and the marketing team to create online content that will resonate with that fanbase, and to measure their reaction to it to register how our campaign is progressing. If we have thousands of people online waiting to see what our artists will post about next and anticipating the next song, video or tour announcement, then I’m doing a good job!
How did your course prepare you for your job?
The most valuable thing I learnt from the course was the ability to think about and analyse the people and the culture that surrounds music; why do people like music? what role does it play in their life? how do we interact with music on a daily basis? These questions are key to building a fanbase around any artist. It taught me to be able to put myself in somebody else’s shoes and try to understand their experience and what music means to them.
It also provided me with a great introduction to how the music industry works, the roles available within it, and the changes and challenges it faces with the evolution of how people consume music.
What are your top tips for students wanting to work in your field?
Use your time outside of lectures to explore your interests and develop your practical skills: present a radio show, write for an online blog or start your own, start a club night, or start DJing at parties / club nights. Try as much as possible. It’ll turn out that you’re good at some things, and others not so much (I had a rather embarrassing attempt at ‘music vlogging’). The key is to put yourself out there and create something you can market yourself. You’ll start gaining some first hand experience of how the industry works, and developing a CV that proves you can build a brand.
What was your best experience of studying in Liverpool?
Being surrounded by people that are infectiously passionate about what they do; the staff, the students and the entire music scene in Liverpool. There is a buzz of creativity in the city, it’s full of people that have decided what they want to do and are hustling to get there. But it’s also an incredibly inclusive environment which allows you the space and support to chase whatever it is you want. Everybody wants to see each other succeed.
Get in Touch With Lauren
Lauren has kindly offered to speak to any students that are interested in Digital/Marketing record label work. Please see her Linkedin profile.