I get questions just about everyday since I got the Warped Tour pit reporter position. Tons of people ask how I got the job, what sort of experience I have, how can they get into the music industry, how can they shoot photos at concerts, so on and so fourth. I hope this will be useful, and I hope that something can be learned I suppose. I have a feeling this will get a little lengthy, but how to try and start a career can’t be answered easily. Also keep in mind this is how it worked for me. Some people work their ass off to get into the music business and some people are lucky. I’m a little of both.
I got interested in the whole idea of the music business when I started going to concerts in 2003. I was 14. I knew I had to be a part of it. Knowing how I felt seeing my favorite bands on stage and how much all of that meant to me, I just wanted to do whatever I could to make other people feel the same way. First word of advice- it’s never too early to get started. At 15, me and my friend created a website where we posted alternative music news and covered local shows and bands. It wasn’t fancy, but it was something. And really, that’s when the networking started. I met K-1 Royal(a member of which is my best friend today) and got involved helping them out. I booked some shows, did promotion, did photography, put together a press kit, let them practice in my garage for 2 years- whatever I thought would help them out. I believed in them. Truth be told if they didn’t break up, there’s no doubt they could have been big. Regardless, my time in high school was dedicated to those guys and I loved every second of it. When you are young, pay attention because there’s where it starts. Every band ever started out local. Get to know those guys, ask how you can help. At local shows, asked who booked them. Talk to the venue, rec center, church or whoever booked it how you can help out, too. You’ll learn to look at the audience of the show and how you can reach them. Say at a show, you see a group of kids you always see hanging out at the coffee shop. You can easily deduct that a flier in the coffee shop is going to help promote a show similar to that. It’s simple and may seem silly, but that’s where it all begins.
Now, alot of people ask me if they think college is necessary or helpful to the music industry. There is an argument that the time you spend in college, you could be making connections and working your way up. That is true. What do I really think? College prepares you for bigger things sooner. It’s expensive, most classes are stupid but I don’t think college is really just about academics. For me personally, I didn’t have anything else in mind when I finished high school. I say if you are serious, after high school, look for an internship or go to college. If you don’t wind up with something, go to college. You will have crazy opportunities that you can’t get anywhere else. I went to James Madison University in Harrisonburg,VA. I was a Media Art and Design major with a concentration in Corporate Communication with a Music Industry minor. My second semester in college, through some “activities orientation” or whatever it is they make you attend to discover all of their clubs, I got involved with the University Program Board. They did all of the big concerts and event planning for the campus. I saw they had booked Taking Back Sunday with Jimmy Eat World the year before so I was sold. I volunteered on the committee, then next year applied for marketing chair. My very good friend Chris was the Director and I asked tons of questions. I followed everything he did, spent alot of time in the office with him planning. I applied for his job and got it the next year in college. As the Director of Center Stage, I oversaw a 40 person committee, arranged hospitality, organized volunteers, security, ticket takers, will call, planned and executed marketing and promotional strategies- everything to make the show happen. I got to book Gym Class Heroes for a 3200 capacity venue which is the height of my college career. If I didn’t go to JMU, there is NO way I would have learned that much- but I only learned that much because I was hungry for it. I wanted to know how everything ran so I put myself in that position. You can’t wait for everyone to tell you everything. 75% of it is asking questions and figuring it out.
During college I also worked at Hot Topic and a bar/coffee house. This was on top of all of my activities with the program board. They may seem like stupid jobs, but I learned to make everything an opportunity. Hot Topic to me became more than a retail job. It was a chance to talk music with different kids every day. I learned to listen to different music. I kept up with CD releases and up and coming bands to stay up to date with the kids that shopped there. I also went to shows to do fashion reports for our district. It helped determine not just what “styles” were good in our area, but what bands were more popular geographically. Also what other music people were in aside from the band that was playing. At the Artful Dodger, the bar/coffee house, I took advantage of the PA we had and spoke to the owner to book shows. Some went better than others, but I booked a show every single week for months. I started paying attention to bands tour routing to do one-offs, I learned more about negotiating deals (within a very, very small budget I may add) and turned the place into a venue. When I graduated, I took the initiative to make sure shows kept happening. I set up a meeting with our Music Industry head about setting up an internship. I made the little proposal, made the application and voila! I made my own internship. The 2 girls I hired to keep booking then got college credit *and* shows kept happening. It was all just a way to figure out how I could keep in touch with the industry on some level. I never stopped.
The question asked most: how did you get your job? Before I really get into this, I think that no matter how prepared you are, luck plays a role. So I worked my ass off. In college I learned everything I could about the concert industry. In my music industry classes, I was all about learning royalties, management, labels, etc, etc. At the time I graduated, I felt like I was ready for any job I could grab in the industry so it was a matter of finding it. This is where luck plays a big role. The best you can do is keep your eyes open all the time and know where to look. You never know what you may find. The easiest way to start is by looking up things about your favorite bands. Who manages them and what company does that person work for? What label are they on and are they associated with any other labels? Do they have sponsorships? Are there other projects going on involving that band? When you find out those things, you should probably start following them. I loved Say Anything, right? Looking more into them, I found out they were managed by Randy Nichols. Randy works for Red Light Management. Randy also managed The Starting Line and Underoath. It’s good to know these things- as well as interesting. I think it can only put you in a better position. Anyway, by following these labels and companies, you never know what could pop up. That being said, I got my job with Warped through Twitter. Just because I was following the @warped09 account, I saw the post that they needed a new pit reporter. It linked back to the website. They accepted the first 250 applicants and you had to send a resume, video, photography and a short essay. They called me about 2 weeks later. I DID NOT know anyone with 4Fini (Kevin Lyman’s company) or Vans- I am asked that often, too. I will say however, alot of people get started just by knowing people. Most bands getting started take a friend out to do merch, said band blows up and now the merch guy has met other people on tour who may want him. A big part is about knowing people- which is why I said it’s never too early to start networking and building those skills- just don’t overlook luck being on your side.
This job popped up right in front of me only 2 months after I graduated college. I never expected to fall into this, but it happened. And because I spent the time trying to understand everything that I could and prepared myself, I could do my job better. I used more of my Corporate Communication coursed than I ever thought. I could help with marketing and I could help with the website and I could help develop new ideas- being able to do more than one thing is incredibly valuable. That’s not just an economy thing. You can be asked to do alot of things regardless of what job you may end up with. If you are doing marketing for a label, you may get asked to manage a band. Who knows what the hell could be asked of you- just be ready to do it. And try. At the end of the tour, Sarah and Kevin asked me to put together an online marketing plan and timeline for the 15th Anniversary movie. This was in no relation to my pit reporter job, but they wanted me to do it. I haven’t done a marketing plan in real life before- only sorta/kinda in college. I stepped it up, kept doing my pit reporting and figured it out at the same time. I worked double time, but it’s just what you have to do sometimes. Not knowing if they were going to like it or accept it, I put everything into it to prove myself. Turned out well, the accepted it and I got to keep working for them a little longer.
Also, and I feel like this should be labeled as a “disclaimer,” but know what you are getting yourself into. Music may mean your life, but the music industry is something different. I learned that early on. You can do it for the love of the music, believe me, but it’s hard work. And it’s messy….especially considering its current state. Labels are doing 360 deals with bands. If you don’t know what that means, look it up. Radio is struggling. No one is buying CDs. My point is that because not everything makes money like it use to, people can get cut throat to find it. On the flip side, it opens the door for more creative ways to market and brand music. Wether you like it or not, if you want to somehow work in the music industry, you sometimes have to look at music as commodity. A band can only stay a band and get their message out as long as they have the means to do so. A majority of those means is money. If a label doesn’t have money to help a band tour, then that band’s music can’t get everywhere. See what I mean? All of the people who work for Warped Tour love it. It is about music, it is about the bands, it is about the kids- but it can only keep doing it because it funds itself. There’s a bottom line to everything, in every job, and this is no different. It’s just a perspective you have to keep in mind.
I’m not sure what you may or may not get out of this, but this is my story and my take on everything. I honestly do want to help everyone asking because I think it’s vital to keeping the industry alive. You kids are the future for everything. This addiction to music starts when you are a teen- it happened to me at 14. That’s when it hit me that I wanted to make a difference. It takes young, dedicated people to make this all happen. It needs fresh ideas, it needs new life, it needs passion. Unfortunately, some of that can die with age. Obviously not everyone seeing as Kevin has been doing this his entire life and still kicking ass. All I ask is take this with a grain of salt because everyone’s future is going to unfold differently. I’m really looking at this from someone else’s point of view because I realized after thinking about it, I did something similar. I was fortunate enough to have my good friend doing what I wanted. I was able to follow in his foot steps and asked what I needed to. I wish everyone the best of luck in what they want to do, but keep asking questions and keep trying. This Warped Tour thing is the first things I’ve done in this and I may know 2% of how everything really works. I have alot, alot, alot to learn– I am by no means pretending like I understand this world in and out. There are so many pieces of it and so many ways to look at it- this is just my story and that’s all I can offer.
Thanks for all of the support. It’s crazy to hear from people they want to be like you when they grow up. It’s crazy to hear that you are someone’s inspiration. I never thought I’d end up like this. You guys have made my life truly special and hell, I’m just getting started. I hope you all do amazing things.
Tiffany Mink 