Associate Director, Merchandising at Sony Music
What’s it like to work with celeb singers like Ricky Martin, John Legend and Nicole Atkins? The Grammys made us even more curious as to what goes on behind the scenes in the music industry, so we were excited to interview Tara Master from Sony Music, whose job is—you guessed it—to work with Ricky Martin, John Legend and Nicole Atkins.
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Tara MasterAssociate Director, Merchandising Sony Music New York, NY |
How did you snag your job?
I was an intern for a music management company, college rep for Virgin Records, and then I interned at the Atlanta office for Sony Music in my last semester. After moving back up to New York after college, I sent my resume to Sony Music’s NY office and landed my first official job here. It took a few years to move into the department that I’m currently in, but it all led me to where I am now.
Describe a typical day on the job.
For the most part I work 10-6 unless I have a concert after work. I work with all of Sony Music’s record labels to figure out our marketing plans for new releases, tours and thematic campaigns, both online and in stores. I also design some of the items we place in retail stores and online for our artists. We also have a lot of events that take place during the day where our artists are performing in stores, so sometimes I am out of the office working those events.
Tara working with John Legend!
You must work with a lot of celebrities. Who is/are your favorite(s)? Why?
I recently met one of our artists Nicole Atkins (see Claudia’s interview with Nicole here!)—she is down to earth, and it was so fun to talk to her and get to know her better. I also just saw Ricky Martin perform live for the first time and spoke to him after the show. My favorite thing about the artists I meet is when you can tell that they really love what they do and see how happy they are. It’s also great when you get to have normal conversations with them and see how funny they can be!
What is your favorite type of music?
I really like all kinds of music. In the last few years I have gotten into country music—all it took was one trip to Nashville and I got hooked. But my go-to music is anything rock!
Tara’s office
Any advice for someone looking to go into your field?
Mostly everyone I work with started as an intern. In anything you do, you really should have a strong passion for it—also know that you often don’t get your dream job right out of school. Take any job to get your foot in the door and see where it takes you; you never know where you will end up!
GIRL TALK TIME: What do you think of Tara’s job? Who is your favorite singer? Have you ever worked/would you love to work in the music industry? What job would you like to see featured here?
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6 Comments
Post a CommentI totally aggree with the post right before me…..Sounds like an amazing job though
Sounds like a wonderful job. Although, it seems that at times it may be stressful. Do you ever have to work after hours even if you aren’t able to? I know that if you love your job you will never work a day in your life but does it interfere with your personal life?
Maroon 5! My fave all time band.
What a great job and great advice Tara! I truely agree with her that an internship in while your in school can definitely help with getting you experience in a field if not getting your foot in the door to a big company. That is what happened to me with my first job out of college. Of course it wasn’t as exciting as her job.
Tara’s job sound so fun! I would love to try it for a day even though I’m not interested in that field. I have so many singers that I can’t pick just one. I want to see a fashion designer’s job!
Awesome story. Tara has a cool job & I like the fact that she worked hard to obtain her current position. In addition, she gave great advice for those seeking employment in the same field! Thumbs up Tara!