August 1st, 2003, I was late coming into my internship at Compass Records. We all were. We were all at our homes watching Good Morning America. Why? Well, we were just about to witness one of our artists performing live on national television with Ringo’s All Starr Band. Yeah, that Ringo. The freakin’ Beatle. That year’s roster included Sheila E., John Waite (the “Missing You” guy), and Colin Hay, from Men at Work. Yep, that Men at Work. You may recognize some of their songs like “Land Down Under”, “Overkill”, and “Who Can it Be Now”. I was barely 21 and I was fortunate enough to be working with a brilliant group of people that were focused on relaunching Colin Hay’s career. They were repositioning him as a solo artist, helping distance him from the famous 80’s sound to allow his amazing songwriting to flourish.
The record had just come out the prior month and there was so much media appeal. It was receiving pretty heavy rotation on niche radio stations across the US and the team had managed to get him on the TV show Scrubs. How wild is that? Here’s the video:
All of that was great, but this was the big time. National morning television, and, oh yeah, he was with Ringo. To all of our surprise, of the four songs that Ringo played, he let Colin play two.
We sort of trickled into the office that day. I remember giving high-fives all around. We were really excited to be part of something we knew was going to be big. The momentum that surrounded this release and the remaining tour with Ringo had not only the ability to sell a lot of records, but it could entirely reinvent Colin’s career.
At the time, Compass had only three full-time employees and three interns (myself included). I’ll never forget what it was like to see what an amazing job just three, super-talented employees could do. They helped someone make an extraordinary career comeback. They handled everything including input on the actual recording, distribution, radio promotions, public relations, and advertising. As a residual to this success, they managed to sell a ton of records in the process.
I had the coolest internship I could have ever asked for. It was a defining moment that changed my life. The team at Compass was amazing. They didn’t have me doing typical intern grunt work. They were incredibly inviting and allowed me to actually help take care of what needed to be done. For this record, I was able to help set up interviews directly with Colin. Nobody treated me like an intern. They treated me like part of the team.
So, what did I learn from this experience?
Everything Has a Niche
Sure, there was some mainstream appeal for this record, but it just wasn’t a top 40, mainstream album. For Colin, those days had come and gone. The audience had changed. The record was “Americana”, not pop and it was largely acoustic. Although there was likely some crossover potential to former Men at Work fans, that wasn’t the main focus. Outside of the mainstream appearances with Ringo, Colin’s record had a niche appeal. It was up to the team at Compass to define that audience. We built a profile around the most-likely buyer. This included listeners of influential independent radio stations like KEXP in Seattle and KPIG in the Bay area. It included readers of roots and acoustic music publications like No Depression and Paste Magazine. It also included shoppers of stores like Borders.
They didn’t waste our time chasing every opportunity. That wouldn’t be productive. By defining our niche, the team able to funnel the modest advertising budget, and more importantly, the human capital, toward opportunities that would resonate with the target audience.
Roles and Titles are Not That Important
Although there was a Director of Marketing, Director of Public Relations, and Director of Radio Promotions, the roles and titles didn’t really matter that much. Everything was a team effort. The success that the team had come from the camaraderie they had built. One great idea would spark another. One big success would build to the next one. Their positive attitudes were infectious. They believed they could do great things and they did, with just three full-time employees. I was just an intern and they valued my opinion. They made a difference because they believed in themselves and they believed in the products they were selling.
Embrace What’s Happening
I left the music industry in 2007. I’d grown up a musician and I always dreamed about somehow being attached to something I loved. I wasn’t in the industry for very long, but I’ll never forget the time I had when I was there. It was exciting. People that work in the music industry are some of the best marketers I’ve ever met. It’s a really tough business, especially in an era of streaming. It’s a business that is incredibly lean, fast-paced, and innovative. We were early adopters of social media. We were followers of the latest up-and-coming media outlets. We were always looking for a new way to hustle because if you didn’t, you would be sunk.
Although everyone I know that has left that industry has never gone back, they are the most creative people I’ve ever met. They’ve been able to excel in new industries and I’m guessing that’s because the music industry naturally attracts creative people. Most of us just followed our hearts, not our heads, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
However, when you get involved in something so special, like the project I worked on with Colin, you tend to get wrapped up in the task. What is happening almost doesn’t seem real. Looking back on it, I still have a hard time believing that it was a part of my life but it happened. Even though I remember it all well, I do regret not embracing the moment more than I did. It was unreal. Sometimes you just have to stop, take a breath, and enjoy life rather than be so focused on your next challenge. It’s something I still struggle with, but I think I’ll get there some day.
Careers Need to Be Continually Reinvented
Colin Hay was someone that almost everyone knew. If you didn’t know his name, you knew his songs. However, even someone as famous and successful as him still needed to reinvent his career. If he hadn’t done anything after his time with Men at Work, he might not have been forgotten, but he certainly wouldn’t have had the satisfaction of a resurgence. He wasn’t afraid of putting in the work, going on the road, and continue doing everything he could do to stay relevant. Let that sink in. A guy that had one gold record and two platinum records in the US never quit. He wasn’t satisfied after that. His was relentless. He was humble. He was always learning. He believed he could do it. These were the reasons he was so successful.
Wrapping Up
I’ll never forget the kindness that I was shown by everyone at the label. With the experience I gained from that internship, I was able to step into a Marketing Director position at a record label immediately when I graduated college. Without this experience, I never would have gotten that job. Although my time in the music industry came to an end long ago, I’ll always take the hard work, positive attitude, and relentless pursuit of doing something amazing with me throughout my life.