Thursday 12 November 2015

Nuclear Blast Internship Diary - Day 11

Wednesday 11 November 2015




The penultimate day dawned with another good share of press cuttings and having to sort out Amazon prices of releases.

It was quite the same day as most of the time. The day to day feel had really set in so I have a good idea of what working 24/7 for a label feels like.

I haven’t made an entry for yesterday as it was the quietest day where my enthusiasm felt a little off and my anxiety settled in for a visit which made me want to leave the office as soon as possible.
Though what stood out for today, was several of the guys showing me what they do in their daily routines. 

Nick was the first to show me what he does, organising all the radio and TV arrangements for bands releasing new materials. It looked as though he had to build good relations with the stations to get the latest song some airplay.

There were some interesting anecdotes about censorship, like a Decapitated song couldn’t be played on Radio 1 over the summer because stories of ISIS beheadings were in the news.

Something about a Machine Head video being pulled for having a few frames of a woman’s nipple also made me wonder who has such a job like that? Who spends their professional time learning to read videos frame by frame to tell the publishers it won’t make the rounds?

Though it was very interesting looking at the itineraries for people like Kerry King each time he flies in and has to be interviewed by whichever magazine or station who want to promote the new Slayer record.

Then I was invited into Mark, the managing director’s office where he showed me his job – which never sleeps. Each day he has to deal with new CD and vinyl prices and knowing about live shows can be a real pain especially if the band managers can be really unreliable.

I did think: thank god for the technology we have today as a problem can arise at anytime from anywhere in the world, especially on a label with offices in the US and Europe. So it’s good if he can find a problem and fix it as fast as possible. Running a label does feel a bit like being a journalist, because the news world never sleeps either.


A fascinating look into how it feels to manage some of the most successful metal and rock bands on the planet. Maybe one day I’ll do a job like Mark’s, but only if I grow to deal with as big a workload as his. And if I learn to deal with musicians, whom most people here collectively see as generally difficult people to work with




Tuesday 10 November 2015

Nuclear Blast Internship Diary - Day 9



Monday 9 November 2015





My final week started with all the expected tiredness and mild hangovers that succeed a weekend of festival going.

Damnation Festival was a real blast and I feel quite happy to have interviewed Vreid and Primordial, two bands I’ve admired for some time now. It was a great place to hold a festival too – Leeds University has one very labyrinthine union ideal for many underground bands.

After entertaining the rest of the office with tales of my exploits up north, I got down to business.
We had a visitor from the head offices in Germany who was doing some IT work. He set up a new network which synchronises all emails onto one server so we can reach the guys overseas quicker when we get important news.
 
It was another day of predictable social media work and filing away press coverage, so I feel I’ve settled into the job completely now. And it always feels good doing work whilst the music you live for is playing in the background too.

I think these last two weeks have been the most influential of my recent life because I’ve become a heck of a lot more involved in the music industry than ever before. Working for one of the biggest metal labels in the world, attending gigs to review, spending time at my editor’s house and reviewing a festival complete with interviews have given me a real insight into what life is like for a professional music writer/PR person.

It feels as if I’ve never stopped working – everything I’m doing relates to metal and has given me a whole new appreciation for it. Plus it’s made me realise just how much my work can mean to other fans. Those who want to relive the moments of joy they had at the gig the previous week will eagerly await what I can scribble. And the diehard fans waiting for the next Nightwish video will cling to the blog I’m running and await for me to announce the news, no matter how good or bad a move it might be for their favourites.

I certainly think I could do this for a living, especially if I get a job that involves putting on shows or telling people what will happen next to their favourite artist. Working backstage at a show has never looked more appealing.