The Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) presents ‘I Work In Music’ – a new series consisting of educational and entertaining interviews with professionals from across the full spectrum of the music industry in Scotland.
In the second episode we meet Rosie Shannon, Production and Distribution Manager of Soma Records who gives us an insight into her career. Soma Recordings is a Glasgow-based techno and house label co-founded in 1991 by the electronic music duo Slam.
Filmed and edited by Danger Kill Productions.
Working for a record label or wanting to start a career in this area? Here’s some useful information/resources which will help support you along the way:
Resources
- SMIA Workshop Videos (topics include Music PR on a Budget, Music Industry Contract Essentials, Copyright and Monetising IP and Social Media Engagement and Digital marketing)
- AIM’s ‘Start-up Guide to Music Business’
- ‘How to Start a Record Label’ via The Balance Careers
- ‘How to Start a Record Label’ via Startups.co.uk
Events and short courses
There is a wide range of short courses and events which happen across Scotland annually.
- The Academy of Music & Sound
- Scottish Electronic Music Conference (SEMCON) (Friday 17th – Saturday 18th July 2020)
- Producergirls workshops
- Wide Days
- Resonate Music Conference (November 2020)
- XpoNorth
Funding
The following organisations offer funding in relation to recording and releasing music. Please check out their websites to see which funding schemes may be appropriate for your project:
We also ran a workshop on ‘Crowdfunding for Music Projects’, and we’d encourage you to check out the video to see if and how this could work for your project.
Sector-specific Industry Bodies
As well as accessing information and resources provided by the SMIA, we’d encourage you to look at organisations that exist to support your specific area of work in the music industry.
If you work, are looking to work or are interested in starting a record label, we’d encourage you to take a look at the Association of Independent Music (AIM) to see the services, projects and events they offer for record labels of all kinds across the UK.
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) represents the UK’s recorded music industry, which is one of the most exciting and thriving music sectors in the world. British artists account for one in eight albums purchased by fans around the globe. As a trade body, we champion the interests of our membership which includes more than 400 independent music companies and the UK’s major record companies – Universal Music UK, Sony Music UK, and Warner Music UK. Together, BPI’s members account for 85% of all music sold in the United Kingdom.
BPI organises The annual BRIT Awards with Mastercard show, The Hyundai Mercury Prize for ‘Album of the Year’ and the Classic BRIT Awards show.
BPI co-owns The Official Charts in a joint venture with the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA). The Official Charts is responsible for the commissioning, distribution, marketing and promotion of the UK’s industry standard music and video charts and sales data.
Further/higher Education Opportunities
There are a wide range of music/music business focused courses in Scotland to suit a wide range of interests and possible careers. The SMIA has Academic Partnerships with the University of the Highlands and Islands (Perth College UHI) and the Academy of Music and Sound Scotland.
Here are some additional further/higher education institutes that offer music courses:
- University of the West of Scotland
- University of Glasgow
- Glasgow Kelvin College
- New College Lanarkshire
- Edinburgh Napier University
- Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
- Riverside Music College
- SAE Institute
We’d recommend signing up to the Creative Scotland Opportunities newsletter to be kept up to date, and we’ll be sure to notify our members of any opportunities we’re made aware of as and when they become available.