This month we meet Executive Assistant Bea Kerlin, who talks about the importance of mental health awareness for artists as well as shares her new faves like Tank & the Bangas and Yellow Days.

Q: Hey Bea! Tell us your story – how did you end up joining Artist Services at Ticketmaster?

I’m sort of old hat! I was previously part of the furniture at Live Nation, having been with the company since 2001 in a number of different roles – most notably I was Paul Latham’s (COO for UK and Ireland) Executive Assistant for 10 years before cutting my teeth as a Promoter in 2012. After an 18-month stint promoting for Live Nation in my native home Australia, I called it quits to focus on my wellbeing after a nasty period of ill health and got myself back to my spiritual home in London mid last year.

Without any intention to rejoin the company, I ended up at Ticketmaster HQ temping for the lovely SVPs of the Technology and Product teams and had a crash course in a side to the live business I’d been relatively ignorant of! As my temp contract was reaching its completion, a couple of people suggested that there may be a case to create a role for me within the Artist Services team, utilising my experiences and contacts in the industry. I’m technically Executive Assistant to Sam Isles, the MD for Artist Services and TicketWeb, but I’m more affectionately known as the Bea-Keeper for the entire Artist Services team and get stuck in whenever and wherever I need to.

Q: Can you explain a normal day in the office for you?

Nope! There’s no such thing as a normal day. The only normal thing I do like clockwork is grab a very strong coffee when I first get into the office.

Every day starts innocently enough with a to do list that very quickly gets ignored! Whether it be completing some of the more traditional EA duties like managing Sam’s busy diary and travel, or lending a hand to producing sales decks and internal presentations, or project managing the many events we host in our in-house Imperial event space in the basement of HQ, there’s always a lot going on.

Q: In your opinion, what is the most exciting service that Artist Services has to offer?

We offer so many different revenue streams to artists, it’s hard to pick out one in particular. From artist presales and branded landing pages to music bundling and our data insight capabilities, we literally have an à la carte selection of services to choose from. From the earliest days of an emerging career, right through to some of the biggest stadium shows in the world, Artist Services has something to offer. It’s not just about selling tickets here.

Q: What are you listening to at the moment?

I consume new music like an addict and once I find something I love I tend to obsessively listen to it on repeat for days/weeks/months! I also seem to have retained a real soft spot for Aussie music from my time in Melbourne. Australia is producing some of the most exciting and interesting female artists in the world right now like Gordi, Amy Shark, Wafia, Meg Mac and Mallrat. Give ’em a listen!

I’m also currently loving Yellow Days, Julien Baker, Tank & The Bangas and Lizzo, plus old faves Phoenix and LCD Soundsystem. I’m very very excited for Gang of Youths’ new record, Go Farther in Lightness (out in the UK on 13 October), so expect that to be on exclusive repeat with me thereafter!

Q: What are the most interesting challenges faced by the concert and/or music industry today?

I think protecting the mental and emotional wellbeing of the industry in general is always a key topic for scrutiny. Although massive in-roads have been made in recent years, with the establishment of support groups and platforms like musicsupport.org who offer tangible support to every level of the industry, there is still way too much of a stigma attached to mental health issues. We all know what a dog-eat-dog world the entertainment industry can be but I’ve experienced way too many colleagues and friends self-destruct over my years.

Q: And finally, what are you looking forward to in the remainder of 2017 and in 2018?

Firstly, my holiday in November! Secondly, I am so unbelievably excited for Hamilton to open in London! I’m a theatre luvvie at heart!