POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH
"One of the most important things is to learn
different languages. Oddly enough,
you find a lot of Dutch people in international
positions because of the Dutch educa-
tion system. You have to learn four languages
before you can graduate. If you aspire
to do something international, it wouldn't hurt
to at least have your Spanish,
German, and French handy." Strive to get any
position at a major publishing
company and then express your desire for
working international.
RON SOLLEVELD, VICE PRESIDENT OF
INTERNATIONAL,
BMG MUSIC PUBLISHING WORLDWIDE
Born in Java and raised in Holland, Ron
Solleveld is the son of the founding presi-
dent of Polygram Music. Even though he grew up
around the music business and had
his father as a connection, he began his
professional career at the bottom. He served a
six-month internship in 1967 as an assistant's
assistant of international repertoire at a
small music publishing company in Paris. "At
night I would go around to discothe-
ques, hand delivering newly released product.
Doing a little promotion."
After returning to Holland for mandatory
military service, Solleveld studied inter-
national business, earning a scholarship in
1971 that afforded him the opportunity to
study at Kent State University. "It was my
first encounter with American culture. It
was the year after the shootings at Kent and it
was still a pretty sad place, but it was
an amazing experience." While there, he
completed his undergraduate work and
earned a master's degree in business
administration.
CASE STUDY:
THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS
JOB:
"Saying `no' to people. Constructive criticism
is one thing, but some-
times there are people that come in and they
are incredibly happy with
what they have created, but it doesn't look
like it is ever going to go
anywhere. I hate to tell them and burst their
bubble."
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
"To see something that we built up in country
`A' cross over to country
`B,' and become a success there as well. We put
things together in
South America that became hits in Asia and vice
versa. I really like to
see when something crosses over. In other
words, developing worldwide
hits. That is a lot of fun."
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