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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 educa-
tion 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
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