This month Business Operations Manager Laurien Gloag talks Wimbledon, selling albums and listening to Jessie Ware.
Tell us your story – how did you end up joining Artist Services at Ticketmaster?
I’d already been working with Artist Services for around four years in my Business Development role at Sony Music, seeing what we do from a client perspective. When I first started at Sony, the notion of an album upsell alongside tickets seemed a pretty new concept, now I’d say most of our campaigns have an upsell element. I’ve always loved live music and events, so when the opportunity arose to join the team in 2015, I jumped at it. Over the years they’d been so fun to work with, and ticketing was the area of my label sales role I’d most enjoyed – it was a natural progression. Pre-Sony, I’d worked for record labels since graduating, starting in Sanctuary’s Marketing department, before heading over to Polydor for stints in Digital and A&R. I then joined the world of music video delivery (IMD Fastrax), followed by a spell at Metropolis Studios. My roles have really varied across different sectors of the industry over the years, but it’s been incredible to experience so many facets of the music business first hand. There’s nothing like listening to a freshly mastered new album in a mastering suite surrounded by five 7-foot-tall studio quality speakers!
Can you explain a normal day at work for you?
I don’t think there’s ever a normal day! Although what we do operationally is the same, each campaign we work on can vary immensely in terms of scale, set-up requirements and timeframes – we always remain flexible to adapt to unique situations and client requests. My days usually involve working with our clients to pull together all the details our Ticketmaster and TicketWeb Client Account Managers need to set up a presale/album upsell/VIP packages/passcodes (whatever we’re running). I work closely with internal teams to get everything built, then provide clients with event links (or a bespoke designed tour landing page), and liaise with our Marketing teams to ensure we support client marketing goals as needed via our various channels. Once tickets go on sale, I check everything works and report figures, staying on hand should roll dates or limited edition upsell inventory need adding/amending, and I also help advise our socials teams if any queries arise.
Artist Services is a pretty hard term to pin down. What’s the most important thing you think we can do to help an artist’s campaign or career?
Definitely listening to the needs of that particular artist, their campaign and how their label/manager/agent/promoter is hoping to develop them as a result of an on sale we’re collaborating with them on. It could be a small breakout regional show, or a worldwide tour we’re helping set up, featuring a myriad of unique requirements across markets. I mentioned adaptability before, and that is definitely a crucial skill we offer in order to get the very best out of every campaign and communicate to fans effectively. Supporting that artist at every stage from the beginning of their career to selling out a stadium tour is also something we can offer across our platforms – we want to be involved throughout their transition.
What has been your favourite campaign to work on?
There’s been so many over the years (both when I was a client and now I’m here) it’s hard to choose! Nostalgia-wise, Westlife’s farewell tour was the first Ticketmaster/Sony album campaign I ever worked on – we sold around 13k albums. From the label side, it was amazing to see how powerful aligning ticket presale access and an album could be. That campaign was closely followed by Steps, which again, the album sales Ticketmaster achieved were the difference needed to secure the No.1 spot. Presently, working on development acts and smaller shows on TicketWeb is always fun. There’s the opportunity to create blog pieces and exclusive content to really build artist development, enabling our subscribers to hear all the latest new music and make a lasting connection with that artist – that’s a key area for us.
What live event have you enjoyed or are most looking forward to in 2017?
Pregnancy has meant my festival and gig going has been a little restrained this year! The Great Escape was good fun, we went en masse and saw some amazing new acts. I missed Deftones and Maximo Park gigs whilst on my honeymoon, but I have tickets to Interpol at Ally Pally in September (as long as baby doesn’t make an early appearance!). I always absolutely love Carnival having grown up in West London, whether just checking out the sound systems and floats, or heading to one of the many parties. I may need to sit it out this year though – not sure the bump is quite ready for the bass!
Laurien, as a Wimbledon local, what’s the best thing to do in that part of London?
I’m a Hammersmith girl, so Wimbledon always seems very leafy and quiet to me! If you fancy getting away from the urban sprawl, then there’s some lovely pubs in Wimbledon Village and Common, so it’s great for summer drinking with friends or cosy winter walks followed by roast dinner. For the energetic amongst us, they run regular 5k and 10k runs through the Common (a few of the team here have competed). If you’re a tennis fan, then obviously there’s the amazing two weeks each summer where it’s one of the most vibrant places to be in London, even if you just opt to eat, drink and enjoy the atmosphere in The Village, swerving the Championships altogether.
And finally, what are you listening to at the moment?
All sorts recently. I’ve been playing some of my classics to the bump (getting in there early with honing music taste!) as well as checking out the new artists we’re working with at the moment, to get a feel for their sound. This week I’ve been listening to the new material from Four Tet and Arcade Fire, plus I’m looking forward to checking out Jessie Ware’s new stuff.
