RECORD DISTRIBUTION GROUPS AND RETAIL
Distribution: Senior Vice President • Vice President (sales)
JOB DESCRIPTION
Distribution executives manage sales campaigns and the distribution of music products. Alan Shapiro oversees the day-to-day sales operations of all WEA-distributed product (which includes all labels and divisions of Warner Brothers Inc., Elektra Entertainment, and The Atlantic Group), ensuring that product is in retail outlets on the planned release date, and managing a staff of more than 90 sales representatives.
CAREER TIPS
To be a successful salesperson, you must treat everyone like a potential friend. “People are willing to do things for you if you treat them like human beings.”
“My management style is to make people around me relax and avoid tension. I think if you joke with your fellow workers, you get a lot more out of them. It takes the edge off things.”
SPECIAL SKILLS
To be successful, you should be people-oriented, have a sense of humor, and be able to motivate people. Experience in retail music sales or record company sales is important.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
Monday morning Alan Shapiro's first point of business is to check sales figures for the previous weekend. He focuses on orders for new product, including quantities, and reviews which titles stores have and have not ordered. He calls his field staff to discuss sales strategy and reviews sales of special promotions and discount programs. Then he meets with his boss to review sales progress title by title. In the afternoon, Shapiro formulates activities for the rest of the week and talks with each record label about new releases, radio airplay, television appearances, and any other promotional information that might help the field sales staff. Throughout the day he handles phone calls and various managerial duties.
LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
“The toughest thing for me to handle is the intense pressure. There is so much money being put into records, and rightfully so, but when a record isn't happening, it's really tough to face the labels and tell them.”
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
“Our new releases come out on Tuesday and it's a whole new ballgame every week. Every day there are new stories to tell. Vitamin C added 85 radio stations last week and we picked up another 80 stations this week. Faith Hill is crossing over to pop and she has two Pepsi commercials. To break a brand new artist is very rewarding.”
POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH
“This is not an easy business to break into. I came up through retail, which is one way. My boss picked records in the warehouse. The president of our company put up posters. The CEO started out putting up posters; he was a merchandiser. You have to get in somebody's face and say, ‘Give me a shot.’ If you have any moxie on the Internet, that might be a way in. Everybody wants to be a vice president the day they come out of school. I think you have to work your way up and be patient, and jobs will open up for you.”
ALAN SHAPIRO, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT SALES, WEA CORPORATION
Brooklyn native Alan Shapiro first fell in love with music while listening to the great radio disc jockeys in the heyday of 1950s rock and roll. He went through junior college on a baseball scholarship, and then decided that he needed to finish his education in a warmer climate. When he left New York for the first time in 1966, and arrived in Houston, Texas to study market research, he was surprised: he loved it. When his tuition loan money ran out in his junior year, he found work in a Disc Records store, then just breaking into the Texas market. Although he was called into the Army Reserves after only three weeks on the job, his employer was sufficiently impressed with his work to promise him a position after his tour of active duty. Shapiro returned to his former work place as general manager, and as the chain expanded, he was promoted to district manager.
Shapiro became WEA music sales representative in 1973 and continued working the Houston market. In 1977, he moved to Western Merchandisers, the area's largest retail music outlet, but was lured back to WEA in 1980 as sales representative of newly organized Warner Home Video. He returned to WEA's music division a year later as sales manager of the Houston office, then moved to the Dallas office in 1987.
After years of resistance, Shapiro agreed to move to the Los Angeles office in 1990, where he was later promoted to vice president of music sales. In 1995, when he was offered the general manager position at Giant Records in Nashville, his employer agreed it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and released him with their blessing. In 1997, WEA contacted Shapiro and offered him his former position in Los Angeles. He moved back in 1998 and was promoted to senior vice president of music sales in 1999. www.wea.com
CAREER TIPS
“Seek out a mentor. Find someone who will guide you through your learning curve.”
“Loyalty is a critical thing to learn.” Never say anything negative about your boss or the team you work with. Support one another through good and not-so-good decisions. Look for ways to help others succeed, and it will come back to you in dividends.
“Manage your expectations. People come in and they get discouraged, or the job isn't what they think it should be in the beginning. Patience is important, and diligence and tenacity.”
Additional topics
Job Descriptions and Careers, Career and Job Opportunities, Career Search, and Career Choices and ProfilesCareers in the Music BusinessRECORD DISTRIBUTION GROUPS AND RETAIL - Distribution: Senior Vice President • Vice President (sales), Retail: Retailer • On-line Retailer • On-line Store Vice President • Manager Of Music