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on how late it is (sessions can stretch all the
way to midnight), Johnson will either
return to more paperwork at the office, or take
the rest of the night off.
POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH
Jobs working for a producer are limited, but
they are a good way to develop skills
and meet producers. Get a job or internship in
the A&R administration department
at a record label, where you can learn the
business side of production.
SCOTT JOHNSON, FORMER DIRECTOR CREATIVE
SERVICES,
SONY/ATV MUSIC PUBLISHING
After law school graduation, Scott Johnson came
to the realization that the legal
profession was not for him. Instead, he opted
to combine his love of music with a
career. Johnson enlisted his father to
facilitate meetings with some of his friends in
the music industry in order to solicit advice.
"I wasn't asking for a job, I just wanted
to talk with them about what I needed to do to
get one." Sony/ATV Music presi-
dent/CEO Donna Hilley was one of the executives
who consented to meet with
Johnson. "She told me that nobody was going to
hire me because I didn't know any-
thing about the business." But recognizing his
genuine desire to learn, Hilley offered
Johnson a deal: if he would work for her as an
intern for six months, at the end of
that time she would hire him if she had an
opening, or help him find a job.
On the first day of his internship, a creative
department assistant announced she
would be taking maternity leave and Johnson was
given the temporary slot. A month
into the job of answering telephones, typing
letters, and other administrative support
duties, Hilley recognized his hard work by
awarding him a permanent position. Once
on the job, he became familiar with all the
company's staff writers and producers.
CASE STUDY:
THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS
JOB:
"I like my job, there's nothing I don't like
about it. I don't mind the hours,
I don't mind the time."
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
"The most exciting part of my job is being in
the studio when a song is
first going down. When the musicians are out in
the studio rehearsing the
track. The first time a singer sits down and
gets to sing it. To be there in
that studio when the song comes to life. When
it's played back through the
monitors. When you hear that song on the radio
six months later and then
you see it climb the charts to number one.
That's one of the coolest things,
to be there when the music is basically
born."
VOICES
OF
EXPERIENCE
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