Jasmine is a force of nature. At only 24 years old, she is The Music Federation's Head of PR, working across a wide roster of bands and artists. How did she get there? As a teenager, Jasmine was dreaming of finding a job that would allow us to be surrounded by the bands she loved. Her love for writing pushed her to pursue a career in journalism, one she started at the age of 16 when she created her own blog and would review live gigs. 

In the episode, Jasmine discusses many of the projects she's been and still is involved in, including curating the latest New Moons charity compilation album, launching The Music Federation’s Safe Space policy, and starting the Fangrrl PR & Promotions business, while also sharing great advice for young women looking to develop a career in the music industry.

Following a degree in Economics and Mathematics, combining his passion for Music, Business and Data, Jeremiah built a career that's been and still is going strong. Cutting his teeth as part of the commercial team at Universal Music, he then joined Warner to lead the Commercial Analytics team there. Currently, Jeremiah is Head of Data & A&R Analytics at Atlantic Records UK. Leading the label’s data efforts, he works across Commercial, Marketing and A&R teams to aid with strategy and decision-making using data.

Jeremiah is also passionate about working towards increasing access to the music industry, with a particular interest in people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. During his career, Jeremiah has put in place numerous internship programmes to support young talent from such backgrounds.

Saidah Blount moved to NYC to study Political Science but soon realised music was really the industry she wanted to work in. Starting out as a music journalist, working for and with the first few web 2.0 agencies, Saidah experienced the glorious New York musical scene; think anything from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Strokes to LCD Soundsystem and Rich Medina - she was there and yes, it was fun! Saidah landed a few amazing jobs, including the ones at The Fader and NPR, where she was able to work with some of the biggest artists around. Now at Sonos Radio as Executive Producer, Saidah spends a lot of time researching and listening to new music, while working with her 'killer' team curating amazing radio shows.

In the interview, Saidah talked about her career, from the beginning up to where it is today, and also touched on important issues such as ageism in the music industry. Last but not least, Saidah shared a few tips on how to turn your playlist curator art into a sustainable career and also on where to find new music - beyond the Spotify algorithm. 

Sean Adams started out as a music journalist, launching a newsletter back in the late 90s, which then became Drowned In Sound, a pillar when it comes to online music magazines. Sean has also delved into artist management (for the likes of Ed Harcourt and The Anchoress), social media production (for BBC Radio 6), and has more recently launched his 360° creative consultancy CCCLX Music.

In the interview, Sean goes back to his very first steps in the industry - from starting a newsletter back when email was a new thing, to releasing music by artists such as Kaiser Chiefs and Marta Wainwright, to working for the BBC as a social media manager and producer, contributing to shifting towards a more inclusive conversation about the music industry. Sean's passion for music really is the denominator of his career and what still drives him to reinvent himself and his work, always keeping artists' interest at the centre of it all.

Raissa Pardini is a multi-disciplinary designer, type artist, and art director hailing from Tuscany, Italy, currently based in London but previously active in Berlin and Glasgow. As a musician, DJ and record collector, and overall music expert, Raissa mainly works for clients from the music industry, including artists and bands like Paul Weller, Maneskin, Idles, Khruangbin and many more.

Raissa also expanded beyond music and has collaborated with brands such as Adobe, MTV, and Dr Martens, while also getting some of her work acquired by the V&A museum in London.

In the interview, Raissa explores her creative process and general approach to working with artists/bands and also shares some crucial advice for emerging artists looking to find their brand identity and visual approach - with a focus on social media content.

Charlotte Hatherley is a session guitarist, composer for the moving image, and singer-songwriter, also known for being a former member of the rock band Ash. Charlotte joined the ICMP faculty in 2019 teaching on our BMus Popular Music Performance course (Guitar), then moving on to our BA Music Production for Film, TV, and Games.

In the interview, Charlotte delves into the ins and outs of scoring, talking about the "Imogen" movie, her most recent session work, playing bass and guitar for Imelda May's album "11 Past the Hour" (also joined by Ronnie Wood and Noel Gallagher), as well as being a woman and a mother in the music industry, touching on the issues that touring mothers with kids have to face. 

Welcome to the Interview Series, a number of conversations between Lara Magnelli, a member of the Marketing team at ICMP, and a variety of guests from the music industry. From producers to marketers, to music supervisors and session musicians, Lara has been asking them about the music business, their work experiences, their career paths, and most of all about their top tips to succeed in such an industry.

Original music by Lasse Corus (ICMP BA Creative Musicianship alumnus)

Sam works as a music consultant, event producer, music educator, and creative producer. His career has seen him work both on a local and international level, producing events, setting up venues and recording studios, and much more. His experience also includes working on multiple projects in Sub-Saharan Africa.

As a Music Business Teaching Fellow, Sam teaches at ICMP across different programmes and has recently written and launched our new BA Live Event Management course, together with ICMP faculty members and music industry professionals Jamie Johnston and Ken Foreman.

Obsessed with music since she was a little girl, listening to Stevie Nicks and Carole King with her mom, Megan really kicked off her career when she decided to move from a small Irish town to Nashville (USA) first, then London. In the past few years, Megan has collected great successes, including landing a few tracks on top Netflix shows and also touring the world, supporting artists like Sir Tom Jones and Jamie Cullum.

Jason took his first steps in the music industry as the lead singer and songwriter of the indie-rock phenomenon Battle, releasing two acclaimed albums and touring internationally throughout the mid-2000s. After the band split up, Jason started his solo career which peaked in 2015 when he put out the first-ever cinematically release album, 'Whiplash Dreams'. Since then, Jason has been busy teaching at ICMP and working with young UK and international talent, whether as a co-writer or producer.