SECTOR SPOTLIGHT - MUSIC INDUSTRY
Voices from the Industry
A Day in the Life
with Nadia Khan
AIM Board Member Nadia Khan who
manages Lethal Bizzle amongst other
artists and is founder of Women in
CTRL an initiative for women in the
music industry tells us about her day…
Helen Smith –
Touring Production
Coordinator
As a music manager to three artists,
owning and running independent record
labels and my own platform for women in
the industry Women in CTRL my days are
really varied and busy.
I start every day off the same by making
a list of tasks I need to do that day, and
prioritise what needs to be done. Most
days that goes straight out of the window
as soon as I get started as I’ll get phone
calls or an email with something urgent
that needs to be done instead!
As a manager, day-to-day I will be looking to close business deals,
schedule releases and pull the team together so it involves a lot of
personal contact with labels, promotions teams via email, phone or
face-to-face meetings. I will also have calls with my artists to discuss
campaigns and deals with them, updating them on everything and
making sure they know what’s in their diary and planning for new
projects. My artists may have things they need me to do for them, a beat
that they want to use or ideas for merch designs or social media that I
need to go and action.
I’ve also got my own platform Women in CTRL so for that I do a lot of
planning for live webinars, booking guests, creating content for social
media, writing blog posts with advice and information and building the
Women in CTRL community. I also host my own live webinar every week
which is exciting, and I love bringing different women together to discuss
and share knowledge. It’s empowering for me as I work in such a male
dominated job role, and love to speak to other boss women!
As an independent label owner I’m planning artist releases, and scheduling
release dates, pitching promo and building projects from scratch. I also sit on
the Association of Independent Music (AIM) Board so we have regular board
meetings I need to attend to discuss various issues in the industry.
Every day is completely different. I could get an email with an amazing
offer for a TV show for my artist, or a last minute booking in Dubai that
I need to drop everything to arrange, or one of my artists goes viral on
social media with a post and we have to take action straight away.
It’s very intense, but so rewarding as you’re
thrown different challenges every day. I’m
always learning new things and it’s never
boring. I’m really passionate about my love for
music and that’s what drives me every day.
Helen has organised tours for some of the
biggest artists in the world such as Dolly
Parton (see photo!), David Bowie, Lady
Gaga and Drake. She plans things like
hotels, catering and crews at home before
the tour and then works on the road along
with the rest of the technical crew and
artist(s). She is responsible for:
Logistics – dealing with crew, artists, hotels,
flights, buses & bus drivers (all types of
transportation)
Day-to-Day – facilitating everyone’s needs.
From crew laundry to organising backline
hire / purchases
Liaising with the venues, local promoters,
local crew. Allocating backstage rooms,
making sure that the team have all the
facilities within these for the artists, crew and
management. Which will include wifi and
food for crew and artists.
Organising and informing crew calls, day
schedules, show times, transport information,
and any notes about the show.
Helen says “I went straight in as the tea girl
and the champion of the fax machine - Try
to be a people
person, and
common sense
really does go a
long way. Most of
all enjoy it and
be happy.
Check out Nadia’s site:
https://womaninctrl.com
Scan the QR code to check out
AIM’s Start-up Guide to Music Business
www.careermap.co.uk
Careermag for School Leavers Issue 15 | 19