RECORD COMPANY
Office Manager (smaller Label) • Receptionist
JOB OVERVIEW
At MCA Nashville, Willie Mayhoe is the face and voice of the company. She greets everyone coming into the MCA office, answers incoming calls, routes them appropriately, takes messages, handles concert ticket buys for the company, schedules appointments, and provides other office support.
PREREQUISITES
To succeed, you need good people skills, a friendly telephone manner, the ability to perform several tasks at the same time, and excellent organizational skills.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
“I have to be on the console at 9 a.m.,” states Willie Mayhoe. She fields all incoming calls, which can be an enormous task particularly on days when something significant has occurred in an artist's life and she has to screen calls from fans and the media. If the phone traffic is light, she may coordinate tickets for an upcoming concert, book the conference room, or make other appointments for label executives. She greets people arriving for meetings and directs them appropriately.
CAREER TIPS
“If you see an artist is performing somewhere or doing a showcase, go to that showcase and meet people. Introduce yourself. You might meet someone who has a friend that's looking to hire someone. Network and meet as many people as you possibly can.”
“Treat everybody with respect, whether it's the man coming in to deliver the paper, or the president of another company. I've known people that started out as interns or song pluggers that are now corporate executives.”
“Do not treat the receptionist like she's stupid. She can help you. She can get you in to see people. If you're nice to the person at the front desk, they are more likely to go the extra mile to help you.”
POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH
Find a school with a good music business course of study and network. “It's worth your time to enroll in just a class so that you can get the opportunity to do an internship and meet people. There are many people who started out as interns. I was one of them. Networking is key. Get out and meet as many people as you can.”
WILLIE MAYHOE, RECEPTIONIST, MCA RECORDS NASHVILLE
Among the citizens of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, families didn't come much poorer than that of Willie Mayhoe. She grew up in a household where no one else could read or write, and fell in love with the music of Tammy Wynette and George Jones at age eight. She dreamed of going to Nashville, even though she had no idea where that was. Later, she attended Ferrum College for a year, then took a job in a grocery store, and trained to become a manager.
Out driving on the evening of her 21st birthday, Mayhoe and a friend spotted Earl Thomas Conley's tour bus and followed it to a hotel in Salem, Virginia. The two planted themselves in the hotel bar and waited for a musician-type to appear. Mayhoe made her first industry contact that evening: Conley's bass player. When she told him about her love of country music, he offered to help her in any way he could. Inspired to make her dream a reality, she researched schools and was accepted to Belmont College. She packed up her few belongings, and with her final $750 paycheck in hand, boarded a Trailways bus headed for Nashville in 1987.
THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
“Being called ‘honey, babe, sweetheart, and dear.’ Part of the job is having to deal with people who think that because I'm the receptionist, I'm not intelligent.”
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
“When a new artist is signed to the label, I get to see them blossom from being an unknown to becoming a major superstar.”
In her second semester, Mayhoe landed an internship at MCA Records, in publicity and marketing. Her diligence and enthusiasm motivated her supervisor to pay her for extra assignments. After filling in for the receptionist at lunch breaks, she was offered the position full time when it became available. Impressed by the number of zeros in the salary, she quit college in 1988 to work full time. Over the years, Mayhoe has become known on Music Row as the voice of MCA. As the person who frequently decides who gets access to senior management and who does not, she is often referred to as the second most powerful person at the label. After seeing firsthand how every aspect of the music business operates, in 2000 she returned to college in the evenings to pursue a degree in entertainment law. www.umgnashville.com
Additional topics
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