Career Advice
August 25, 2024
Designed by Fran Papageorgiou. Image courtesy of Marcelo Perez Vite.
MPV: I started my professional career back when I was studying my bachelors. I searched for internships that helped me find what I wanted to focus on in the future.
I worked in communications and visual merchandising with a luxury retailer in LatAm based in México called “EL PALACIO DE HIERRO,” a store equivalent to Harrods in London with a multi-brand strategy in the luxury sector.
Once I graduated, I pursued opportunities in the car industry, working for Mercedes Benz as a Communications Coordinator. I developed materials and campaigns promoting new car models, and worked with the marketing team for the buyers.
I then moved to ADIDAS and led the implementation of Adidas Originals in LatAm. I worked with the corporate team on a campaign that mixed music and sports by taking Snoop Dogg as a spokesperson and pushing the brand into the market with key store openings and a custom collection.
The success of that activation caught the attention of Sony Music México who offered me a position in their Digital Sales department. My first job at Sony Music was to develop a market for the DSPs (streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music). I took on the development of multiple local and international DSPs, specifically iTunes, which was the most important platform for digital music consumption at the time.
I worked with the regional team to bring Spotify to México / LatAm as Senior Account Manager. That experience enabled me to lead the new Business Intelligence team and work with Sony Music US as part of the regional task force created to support marketing and sales.
I then had the opportunity to work in the Digital Marketing Department which, alongside the Business Intelligence team, led me into developing creative strategies and supporting several local and international acts.
I worked with multiple teams at the time which is how I met my current boss who gave me the opportunity to move to London where I started as a Marketing manager, and then became Marketing Director. I led marketing campaigns across the Latin and Iberian roster to develop artists’ careers and promote their music around the world.
MPV: Identify your passions and strengths by taking any chance you can to work hands-on with projects and teams. That will help you understand the industry, your drivers, and build a pack of tools that will differentiate you from the rest.
Great communication, creativity, organization, and planning skills are needed and identifying where you shine brings leverage as no one is an expert in everything.
Also, develop a network and get your name out there. Reach out to experts and execs who might share their advice with you over a coffee. Set up 15 minute meetings at a location nearby - respect their time if you manage to get it, and you’ll have not only a contact but a nice first impression.
MPV: It’s a magnificent opportunity that will give you an insider's look into the operation of the best label in the world. Competition is strong, so some ways to stand out are:
MPV: Look for videos, documentaries or books/articles about how the music industry operates.
Understand the players and what they do, then find out what skills are needed and what career trajectory people in the industry had to take to get there. Knowing this would have helped me identify my strengths and interests quicker.
MPV: I positioned many of our Latin artists into remote places like Japan or China doing many “first times” for a Latin act in those territories, for example: first time a Latin artist was featured in a Chinese AAA magazine, first time a Latin artist jumped into an international stage and was part of a festival.
I have been lucky enough to take part in many projects and enabled many of our artists to take their music to new frontiers.
MPV: Maluma The First Take in Japan - the show format was already legendary with only the best Japanese artists, and a handful of international acts, invited to take part, however no Latinos. We pushed to secure Maluma as the first one. The video outperformed the forecast of the Japanese Media and overtook many of the local superstars, showing the strength of Latin Music.
For OZUNA, we did a massive event for one of his album releases in Madrid where we invited 20 markets to join us with their top media and influencers. We took over a warehouse and transformed it into a spaceship, where we welcomed guests with special performances, video mapping and a totally new ecosystem. In one section, a Michelin star chef from Puerto Rico (where the artist is from) prepared a dish for every song. It was followed by a one-on-one interview translated live into multiple languages hosted by the artist and the head of Billboard US. A few top media also got a chance to interview the artist for unique content.
MPV: Rauw Alejandro is not new to the game but is making huge waves with his new album that shows an artist on his way to become a legend.
Shakira is about to bring a lot of excitement for the fans with surprises linked to her latest album “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran.”
MPV: That we only party and have fun with the artist - some positions get to spend time with the artist but that’s only after a lot of work to make hits and bring the music to audiences. Experiences like awards and festivals that for others might be a time to have fun, are work and we must remain professional, focused and engaged to deliver the best we can.
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