Welcome to #shoutout where we find and interview members of the music industry, entrepreneurs and tastemakers – all bringing you a glimpse of their expertise to inform, inspire, educate and help.
Introducing Claire Rose – who has been an Outreach Manager for PRS for Music, for over 6 years for London and the West of England. In her role, Claire meets with songwriters, composers and music publishers to ensure they are making the most out of their membership and therefore maximising their royalties. She also meets with labels, artist development companies, managers and other industry organisations to discuss the importance of PRS for Music and where it sits in the wider industry. If that wasn’t enough, Claire is also teaching Music Publishing, part-time, at the university she graduated from, Bucks New University.
Interview
Who are you? (name and role please)
Hey! My name is Claire Rose and I work for PRS for Music as an Outreach Manager, looking after London and the West of England.
Where are you based?
I live in South London.
How did you get into the music industry?
I’ve always loved music and was brought up on punk and northern soul. Unfortunately, I was never musically talented but just knew that I needed to pursue a career in music, even though I didn’t know what that even looked like! I studied music and live event management at university and shortly after I graduated, I moved to Bristol where I lived for around five years before eventually making my way to London. During my first year of living in Bristol, I was in awe of the incredible, diverse music scene and I started to look for music-related jobs. I saw a job being advertised online for an Outreach Manager for PRS for Music, an organisation I studied at university.
To be completely honest, on paper, I was underqualified. I had no experience coming out of university, no one does really, and the annoying thing is practically all employers who state they support emerging talent ask for it. Unless it’s an unpaid internship, it’s unbelievably unrealistic and completely off-putting to potential applicants, especially young people. This is something that still frustrates me to this day.
Even though I was underqualified (on paper), I applied for the job anyway. I knew I could do it, and do it well. I got an interview and all I can remember is talking for about two hours. I even remember talking about karaoke, I honestly still have no idea why. But, it worked! And I was offered the job, I’m now in my seventh year at PRS for Music
Tell us about what it is you do? (elevator pitch)
PRS for Music represents the rights of over 160,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers in the UK and around the world. On behalf of PRS members, it works to grow and protect the value of their rights and ensure that creators are paid whenever their music is streamed, downloaded, broadcast, performed and played in public.
In my role as an Outreach Manager, I meet with members, potential members, publishers, managers, record labels, music charities and talent organisations and talk to them about PRS for Music, why they might need to join and how they can make money from their music. I also put on music industry events and sit on industry panels at events such as BBC Introducing Live and Brighton Music Conference.
My team also run an Emerging Talent Programme, which is built to help us identify future talent from a diverse range of genres.
I am also a representative for PRS Foundation, our sister funding organisation, and I do a lot of work to support the next generation of women, trans, gender fluid and non-binary music industry professionals.
Who does this help and how?
All our activities are created with the aim to help our members maximise their royalties and progress in their music careers.
What advice would you give someone starting in the music industry?
Ask questions, there is no such thing as a silly question.
Do your research and keep up to date with industry trends and changes.
Even if the job you’re applying for suggests you’re underqualified, but you know you can do it, apply for it anyway!
Who would be your most played artist of all time?
Haha, probably Cher and Post Malone.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently planning events and activities for 2022. It’s going to be an exciting year which I hope is full of events, gigs and festivals, and actually seeing people in person, not over Zoom.
