Discography, here are the most sought-after job profiles by the majors

Listen to the audio version of the article

It was once said that if you want to do business, you have to learn Latin. Today we could say that if you want to work in discography, you have to study everything that revolves around the web: from social promotion to the distribution of royalties from streaming. The good news is that the discography is healthy, in Italy as in the rest of the world it has entered the eighth consecutive year of growth and working for a major is no longer a far-fetched ambition, as it might have seemed at the time of the crisis Napster.

As long as you have the right skills. «An eloquent figure», underlines Daniele Demartini, cfo and hr director of Universal Music Italia, «lies in the fact that until a few years ago we had just three people in the digital area. Now they have become ten». Knowledge of the web is an increasingly central asset, «both in terms of marketing support and in terms of music monetization. When promoting a new project, you need to use social media creatively. Just as, when talking to streaming platforms, you have to speak their language which has also become our language. When records were physical, record companies set trends. Now that music is liquid, we had to learn to follow the trends of the web». The search for skills of this type has significant age-related effects on companies: «The average age of the professionals we recruit has in fact dropped», continues Demartini.

The rule of lowering the average age does not apply only to the digital segment but also to A&R, the most classic profiles of work in discography: those professionals who scout, manage artists and repertoire. «Here too the average age of our employees has dropped», comments Emanuela Motta, head of people experience at Sony Music Italy, «and it also applies to the professionals who are in direct contact with the artists». The inclusion of young people is also important for another aspect: «It means introducing enthusiasm, new stimuli. Contamination between generations is something we insist on a lot in the company: the senior profiles have the experience and knowledge of the history of music from them. The younger ones bring the enthusiasm that is essential for us because we are not talking about a job that runs out during office hours. Together they create a perfect mix».

To sum up: «Today in the sector we take on a more specific approach than 30 years ago», underlines Raffaele Razzini, cfo and hr of Warner Music Italy. «Before, when you were looking for an A & R, you evaluated the candidate’s contacts, the relationships he had with the artists’ managers. We are now on the hunt for professionals able to read the trends that drive the sector. Which, again compared to 30 years ago, are immediately measurable».

Then there is a pre-requisite that has always been the basis of any recruitment campaign in the sector: «To be a great music lover», concludes Razzini. «If you get into discography, music is destined to become much more than your work». That much more that is called life.