RECORD COMPANY
Executive Office (smaller Or Independent Label): General Manager • Operations Manager • President (independent Label)
JOB DESCRIPTION
These executives oversee the day-to-day operation of the record label. At independent label HighTone Records, Darrell Anderson not only manages, but performs many of the tasks under his direction. He oversees radio promotion, marketing and sales, stock maintenance and shipping, and management and training of staff. He is also the first step in the A&R process.
PREREQUISITES
Two important qualities are the ability to multi-task and an engaging telephone personality. “When I hire people, I want to talk to them on the phone more than I want to meet them in person because I want them to convince me that they ought to have a job on the telephone.”
CAREER TIPS
Develop a confident, but friendly, telephone personality.
Once hired as an intern or in any entry-level position, talk with those around you and learn the responsibilities of each person. Stay busy and look for opportunities to assist others with their workload. Make yourself indispensable.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
Darrell Anderson arrives at his office around 6:30 a.m. His first chore of the day is to check the label's web site and read through his e-mail. Sometime in the morning, Anderson meets with the label owner to discuss ongoing projects. Throughout the day he talks with label artists and venue personnel about purchasing tickets to the artists' performances. He contacts radio stations to set up advertising campaigns, and checks on the staff to be sure they are meeting deadlines for promotions, mailings, and other projects. Through it all, Anderson resolves any problems that may occur.
POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH
“Intern. Intern. Intern. Intern. Everybody who is working for me right now started out as an intern. You get an idea of whether you're going to like the job or not, and the company finds out if they like you or not. If you're in a city where there is a record label, find out if you can stuff envelopes, answer telephones, do anything that needs to be done, so you can surround yourself with people who are in the business.”
DARRELL ANDERSON, OPERATIONS MANAGER, HIGHTONE RECORDS
Darrell Anderson got his start at age 15 in a suburban California “mom and pop” music store, selling records, cassettes, and eight-tracks. “It was halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento. It was a little store that my father had helped the owner build. My mother was their first employee, my sister their second, and I was the third.” At 18 years old, he was promoted to store manager, and when the shop later became part of a chain, he transferred to manage a store in Ohio. He quit after five years, returning to the West Coast with plans to get out of retail. The next year, realizing that he missed the business, he went to work for the small Rainbow Records chain, teaching employees how to sell records at five locations in San Francisco and Oakland.
THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
“People can't believe this, but going to shows is my least favorite thing. I get up at four in the morning. When you go to a show that starts at midnight and you have to work the next day, it makes it a little tough. I got into the record business because I like records, not concerts. I love seeing the artist and I love seeing them play, but I don't like the hours you have to keep to go to shows.”
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
“Working for a company where I'm not embarrassed of what I do. I get to work records that are good records. I can hold my head up and say, ‘We may be little guys but we make good records.’ I work with nice people, who are intelligent and hard working. I like surrounding myself with people who have convictions.”
In 1987, after seven years with Rainbow, a local record salesman urged Anderson to interview with a music distributor for a position doing promotional work with local radio stations. After a year on the job, he heard that HighTone Records was looking for someone to do national promotion. He applied, but was told that the position had been filled. When that person quit a month later, Anderson was offered the job and over the past 12 years has risen to the position of operations manager. He oversees marketing and radio promotion for the label's roster of artists. www.hightone.com
Additional topics
- RECORD COMPANY - Chief Executive Officer • President/general Manager
- RECORD COMPANY - Chief Operating Officer • President • Chief Executive Officer
Job Descriptions and Careers, Career and Job Opportunities, Career Search, and Career Choices and ProfilesCareers in the Music BusinessRECORD COMPANY - Executive Office (major Or Large Label): Chief Operating Officer • President, President/general Manager • Vice President/general Manager