Sarah is an experienced International Director with a history of working in the music industry leading her to become the Head of UK/IE/AU/NZ/CAN for Tunecore. Speaking with us for International Women’s Day, it’s over to you, Sarah…
Tell us about your background, your upbringing, and your introduction to the world of music.
Music came as a blessed relief to me, set against the background of a comfortable, but pretty cultureless, upbringing in South Essex. In the mid-90’s just as Britpop was breaking, it became my new religion as a hungry 13-year-old, devouring anything and everything by Suede, Delicatessen and later Placebo. Realising there was more to life than just guitars I started to dive into artists like Björk, opening my eyes to a whole world of cross-genre creativity. I was very lucky in that I had parents who encouraged me to follow where my heart was, and that was music.
How did you get into the music industry?
I’d always loved writing, and when I discovered music I wanted to write and build a community around it. Remember – these were the days not only pre-socials but pretty much pre-Internet! Yes, I’m a dinosaur! With that in mind, I started my own fanzine ‘Froth’, which led to all sorts of amazing experiences, like being called out on John Peel’s radio show!
London called, and I moved here to study Journalism at City Uni. They had amazing links with industry, and I ended up doing work with The Face and Time Out. Invaluable experience!! After a stint working on the music section at Time Out I wanted to move into the recorded music industry, and my writing made me an attractive candidate for Matador Records. There I was Head of Press, working some of my all-time favourite artists like Interpol and Cat Power. Every day I felt lucky to be doing my job! From there I moved into the Beggars Group and worked in their international department for 13 years, traveling across the world working with artists such as Adele, from the beginning, The National, Radiohead, QOTSA and hundreds more. I ended up as Director of International there until the department was very sadly dissolved. My learnings from this whole journey – good, bad and in between, have set me up for strong view on where I want to be, and what I expect/demand.
From there I moved into Artist Services at The Orchard, and then International at Universal – leading me to running Tunecore for UK/AU/CAN for the last 18 months! It’s great to be working at the point where tech and music meet, and democratising the distribution experiences from artists big and small!
What were some of the barriers you experienced, or still do experience, as a woman in the music industry, if any?
Being both a woman and a mother in the industry it can be immensely frustrating, and you have to have both a thick skin and a desire to change things. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been asked to make the tea, take the notes or set a room up, despite being a senior leader. These assumptions are slowly getting better but lay close to the surface. At Tunecore we run a survey every year called ‘Be The Change’, and it clearly shows some of the issues still facing women across the industry – imposter syndrome, harassment and lack of representation. You have to be able to see yourself elsewhere to be able to strive towards that, and I’d like to think if there’s a 20-year-old me out there somewhere then the work I’m doing is helping to scythe a path for them.
As a mother in the industry the assumptions that people can hold, that we’re less productive, less ambitious, less focused, couldn’t be further from the truth!! Find me a mother who can’t do 15 tasks in super-fast time! There’s nothing that spurs you on like having a little person to work for, and inspire, and presumptions to quash!!
What would you say to your 16-year-old self about being a woman in music… what to expect, the difficulties, the excitements?
I would say go for it! But have your eyes open, before they’re opened for you. The benefit of age and experience has shown me where my boundaries are, which are moveable and which are solid. The quicker you can work out yours and stick to them, the quicker you’ll find yourself in a position you truly embrace, and terms you can work by.
What other exciting things have you been working on lately, either work or personally?
Tunecore and family life take up 110% of my time 😂, but I’ve also had my eyes opened over the last 6 months. I very sadly lost my mother at the end of last year, and it resulted in some inevitable and needed soul searching. I’ve taken more time for ME. There were no more hours in the day to use, so I’ve given up drinking and am embracing early mornings, be that for reading/exercising/reflection. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some well-being expert, but something has to give when you’re in an industry that demands every hour from you, and your emotions are off-kilter. I’ve gone back to learning another language, which falls squarely in the ‘me time’ box. All of this has led to better focus and productivity for me at work.
What can we look forward to from Tunecore in the upcoming year?
We’re in exciting times – we’ve literally just launched SPLITS, which allows clients using our platform to prescribe the royalty splits between the main account holder and other band members/collaborators at the point of upload. No more faffing with having to work out and send money to people – all taken care of and gifting them more time to do what they’re best at – CREATE!! Along with having launched Unlimited Pricing last year, which now allows artists to release an unlimited amount of music for one annual price, we’re truly smashing the competition!
