Stephanie Evans

Stephanie Evans spoke to us about her Marketing Intern role at alternative music record label Music For Nations, under Sony Music.

What does a typical day at your job involve?

My job is an intern based role and some of duties include working with other departments within the label to keep up-to-date on current signings and releases within music. I also help with compiling digital assets and digital marketing initiative, and suggesting creative content and ideas for artist campaigns. My role also involves using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter etc. and more general admin tasks such as stock ordering and answering general queries etc.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

What I love most about my role is getting to be involved with alternative music, which was already my passion, and being part of the creative team that works closely with artists I love. The music industry is constantly evolving and changing with new artists appearing all the time, so it's a fast paced environment to be in which I thrive on!

My degree definitely helped prepare me for my role. It has given me so much experience in how the media industry works and has given me a realistic expectation on what to expect from a media based job. It's also taught me how to approach and interact with media professionals which was a huge benefit when looking for work post-graduation. 

Did you take part in any work experience while studying?

I undertook a lot of freelance work whilst studying. I was already doing live music photography many years before my degree, but the course pushed me to expand and learn new techniques in my craft and approaches to a business side of media. I started to take on more live music journalism to aid my assignments on the course too. This helped to build up my portfolio to show to potential employers and clients which certainly is an advantage. 

What advice would you give to a student looking to enter the media industry?

My advice to new students would be to take up every opportunity the University provides and to definitely take advantage of the facilities available such as Hires and Loans and studio spaces. These facilities let you get to grips with industry standard equipment that you may not otherwise have a chance to use and gives you an advantage over others.

Another thing is that social media has become so important, so utilise its ability to connect and reach out to people within the industry - it's become so easy to get in touch with anyone nowadays. I got a lot of my freelance work and clients through social media, so promoting yourself online (whether you do photography, design, marketing or anything creative), definitely push your social media profile is one key piece of solid advice I can give!

Another thing is to push yourself to take up any work offered, even if it's not your speciality, as a one off work done for someone for free could lead to potential paid work in the future - favours are always remembered. 

What can a student thinking about joining the Music Industries course look forward to?

BA (Hons) Music Industries is a really in-depth and interesting course which would be ideal for anyone really passionate about working in music, whether you like pop, rock or anything in between! The lecturers that teach the course are so helpful, knowledgeable and really passionate about what they do, so they are the best people to be teaching the course and you have a lot of fun with them as well. You get an inside look into how different aspects of the music industry works such as PR, A&R and artist management for example, so you can get good idea of the route you want to go down.