TV Promotions, Parlophone
I was working for Siren & Ten Records when I got a call from Parlophone asking if I would like to come and work in the Promotion dept. I leapt at the chance and started in 1988 as a Promotions Assistant. I had to help in TV and Radio and generally fling myself around making sure that mail outs got done and telephone requests were dealt with. Parlophone has always had an amazing roster of great bands, so it's been really easy to enthuse about our records.
At the end of that year I was promoted to National Radio Promotions Manager and the job was just fantastic. I had to take our releases to Radio 1/Radio 2/Capital Radio etc and get them played on the radio. We had to plan our record releases with interviews, live sessions and above all to get the songs rotated on the airwaves. Life used to revolve around 10am on a Friday, when the playlist was published!! In the early days we would all stand in Radio 1's reception, until the lift door would open and out came the head of music's assistant with the playlist.... you would get one and in a mad frenzy start looking for your song... it just HAD to be on the list....! These days it comes via email, much less stressful. The rest of the week would entail going to see the producers for appointments. The producers would have to hear about 100 new records a week. With pluggers beating a path to their doors you'd have to find a way to make them play your records.
Sessions were a good way to get started. Blur, Supergrass and Radiohead all started off doing sessions for Radio 1. We would go down to Maida Vale Studios and record 4 songs that were mixed and then broadcast a few weeks later. There is something really exciting about hearing your record played and for a DJ to be talking it up. However, expecting a record to be played that gets dropped because the DJ talked to much was agonising!!!!
I stayed in radio for 12 years. In 2000 I was promoted to Head of Television which has been a very good move for me. It still requires exposure for the artist, working out campaigns, sorting out which TV show for which artist, TRYING not to upset anybody with every TV show wanting to be the first to get a new video/performance. Television takes a lot longer than radio - there are the camera rehearsals, run-throughs, more camera rehearsals, the make up and then the actual taping. Sometimes it can take the best part of a day for 3 minutes of film!
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