Student Spotlight - Molly Clark
Not only has Music Business student - Molly Clark - set up her own publishing company, but she has also recently signed fellow Perth College UHI student, Carmen. We had a chat with Molly to find out more about her studies, and to hear how ‘Good Golly Publishing’ came about.
What is your name, and where are you from?
My name is Molly Clark, and I’m from Larkhall, South Lanarkshire.
What course are you studying at Perth College UHI, and what year are you currently in?
BA (Hons) Music Business, and I’m in my fourth year.
What were you doing before you came to Perth College UHI?
When I left school in 2015, I started to work my way up my qualifications so I could get to university. I started at NC Music, then I followed this up by HNC/HND Music Business and this got me to Perth College UHI to get my full Honours Degree. In terms of working within the music industry, over the past few years, I have been volunteering at different events such as Celtic Connections and Resonate. From 2017, I have also been volunteering at Radio Lollypop - which is based within the Children’s hospital in Glasgow.
Why did you decide to pick this course?
From a young age, I always had a passion for the music industry. When I left school, I didn’t know Music Business courses existed - this is why I started studying just music. However, I then realised I didn’t just want to be playing in the industry, I also wanted to work and do the business side of things. So, this is how I started studying Music Business and progressed to university level. When it came to choosing a university to go to, I really wanted to be accepted to the University of the Highlands and Islands. I had been told that the Music and Music Business courses are rated the best in Scotland, and this is where I wanted to be for my final studies.
What is your favourite thing about the course?
Even though you have set assignments to achieve within each module, my favourite thing about my course is you also get to choose what your projects and report topics are about. This means everyone in my class is doing different stuff at the same time, and it also makes the course more fun as you get to choose what you’re more interested in - and base your work around it.
Are the music facilities on-campus good?
Personally, I haven’t used any of the music facilities on campus during my studies, as I never really had to for the projects I was doing. However, we were always told that they were there if we wanted to use them - for example, the studio to record our bands etc. But from what I seen on our tour of the campus on induction day, all the facilities are very professional looking and had the very best equipment provided.
During the pandemic, how did the style of teaching change? Were your lecturers supportive during this time?
Studying during this pandemic has definitely been a new challenge, not just for myself, but also for my lecturers and classmates - but I think everyone has adapted well to the situation. Most of our teaching time this year was done through WebEx meetings, which was a new experience. I thought it was great at the beginning, as I didn’t need to drive 2 hours to and from university anymore. However, as the months have gone on, it’s been very hard to stay motivated and engaged with work while doing it from home. But my lecturers, especially my supervisor Andrew, have been great in supporting me with weekly phone calls and catch up meetings during it all. Rik and Andrew both have been amazing help and, if it wasn’t for them, then I would have struggled adapting to the new teaching way. Even though we aren’t in classes physically at the moment, they are always there by email or a phone call, and reply within minutes of me reaching out to them if I need ever need help.
Has there been any stand out/memorable moments from your course?
I’ve had the honour to meet so many great and talented people during my studies at Perth College UHI. However, my most memorable moments have to be my class mates and the friendships I’ve made for life - mostly though the class messenger group chat – long live, Miami Dyce Fan Club.
Any other achievements you have gained on your journey?
Getting a degree in something I love is definitely an achievement on its own, as I didn’t leave school with the greatest grades to start with. So to see myself working up, and now nearly graduating from university during a pandemic, is definitely my biggest achievement so far in my entire life. Working alongside hardworking people, and seeing their successes, makes you want the same achievements and to do well for yourself.
You run Good Golly Publishing which represents Scottish songwriters. Can you tell us more about this, and how it came about?
Good Golly Publishing came about after taking an interest in music publishing in my third at Perth College UHI. For my final fourth year honours project, I opened up a company in the aim to get more experience and skills within the publishing sector and then make a career out of it.
Good Golly Publishing is based around the Scottish Indie/Pop scene, where its aim is to represent songwriters within this specific genre. Our roster catalogue is made up of chilled easy listening songs, that give a calming and stress-free mood to our songwriters following. The company comes with many responsibilities, however, its main duty that is taken seriously is making sure our roster is getting fairly paid for the written material that's being heard by the general public. This is done through Good Golly Publishing being a member of The Performing Rights Society (PRS).
I have a personal interest in music getting placed within films, adverts, and software games. In the future, I would like for Good Golly Publishing to expand and get their songwriter's works involved in 'sync' opportunities with music supervisors - where I have already started researching and forming bonds with these professionals.
I also take pride in our roster and do whatever I can to get our songwriters music heard. As all of our signed songwriters are artists themselves, the company has a few contacts within playlist holders on Spotify. This is a big deal to an up-and-coming artist, as the more people that listen to their music, the more they become known within the industry.
Carmen Eliza
You have recently signed Perth College UHI Popular Music student, Carmen Eliza. Can you tell us a bit more about this?
So, I meet Carmen though Andrew, my lecturer, as Carmen went to him asking if he knew anyone she could work with, and he passed my details onto her. I honestly can’t state enough how great it has been working with Carmen. She is so talented, and I am so honoured she chose to work with myself and Good Golly Publishing to represent her. I feel because we were both students, we have learned so much from working alongside each other. We have also definitely formed a relationship for the future - we work so well with each other, and will continue after our studies.
We asked Carmen, how she felt about the partnership:
How did it feel being signed to Good Golly Publishing?
Previously being in bands ‘AlmostFolk’ and ‘Carma’, going solo has been quite challenging. I had been working really hard over the past few years writing new material and managing everything on my own, so when I got signed to ‘Good Golly Publishing’, I was just over the moon to have that extra bit of support. Molly has been super encouraging and she gives me a lot of confidence in my material, and has been great at sharing my music across to more people. As well as things like: PRS, playlists, and radio play - which I wasn’t too familiar with. She’s really pushed me in the right direction, I feel so grateful and hopeful for the future.
How has it been going?
It’s been going great! I feel like we make a great team, and it’s nice to be signed to a record company run by a woman, especially. I feel really safe and secure, Molly is such a great person who encourages you to keep going. We’ve only connected online via zoom and messages since Covid came about, but I already know we’ll get along, and I’m looking forward to meeting her in person. I’m delighted with the way she has promoted and shared my music and she’s always coming up with new ideas to share things.
Any plans for the future?
I love song-writing and have done for a long time. I released my first solo EP last year, and I’m currently self-recording one to be released over summer. I’m so excited about it. I’ve also got a few online gigs coming up, the next one will be in July with Discovery Music to raise money for ‘Tiny Changes’, supporting mental health. I may also get into busking over summer, if the weather keeps up. I have plans to do a masters in Music Therapy at Queens Margaret’s, when this year finishes - fingers crossed. Regardless, I definitely want to keep writing songs and gigging - hopefully I’ll get to keep working with Molly too!
Where can we find your music, and follow you?
Spotify
My Website
Links to all my accounts can be found, here.
Molly, where can we follow Good Golly Publishing?
What are your plans, for after you finish your course?
So, after I graduate, I plan on taking time out and working full-time at my current job, and running Good Golly Publishing from the side. I will also hopefully keep trying to get as much work experience within the music industry as I can, which could then develop into a career opportunity - as it has been a lot more challenging in the climate were living in right now, with everyone working from home. After the pandemic is over, I want to go back to university and get my Masters in Music Business. Then I will look for a full-time job within either: publishing; a record label; or radio; and maybe then go into teaching. The joy of being in the creative industries, there are so many sectors and experiences to try out and your career path can change all the time if you wanted it to.
Have you enjoyed studying at Perth College UHI?
Yes, I have enjoyed studying at Perth College UHI, and I couldn’t have picked a better university. The students and staff are just amazing, and the scenic views are also amazing from the campus.
And finally, what advice would you give to someone thinking about studying at Perth College UHI?
I would definitely recommend people to study at Perth College UHI, if they get the chance to - especially the Music or Music Business courses.
Make sure you make the most out your student experience, and get involved in as much as you can. Get yourself out there and volunteer as much as you can to gain the work experience around your career path, as well as learning about it.
