Music Business Spotlight - Chloe and Rachael
If you’re looking to gain the experience and knowledge to start a career in the music business industry, then our Music Business courses will allow you to benefit from real opportunities, experienced and dedicated staff, and strong industry links.
Studying at one of the best equipped facilities in Scotland, you will be prepared for working in various sectors of the music industries. Now in their final year, Chloe and Rachael chat to us about their journey at UHI Perth, and they also tell us about an exciting event they have coming up in April.
Can you introduce yourself?
I am Chloe and I am from South Lanarkshire and my name is Rachael and I’m from Glasgow.
What course are you studying at UHI Perth, and what year are you currently in?
We are both studying BA (Hons) Music Business and are in year 4.
How did you hear about UHI Perth?
Chloe 🗣️ I found out about UHI through my college, New College Lanarkshire, when looking to progress my studies within music business.
Rachael 🗣️ The same as Chloe – our lecturers at NCL highly recommended the course when looking to progress our studies.
What were you doing before you came to UHI Perth?
Chloe 🗣️ I had been studying Music Business from NC to HND level at New College Lanarkshire.
Rachael 🗣️ I studied Music Business at HNC/HND at New College Lanarkshire.
Why did you decide to pick this course?
Chloe 🗣️ I left school at 16 with really no idea of what I wanted to do or be. I did a course for a year, which I really didn't enjoy, and hit a bit of brick wall but when looking for a new course, I stumbled across Music Business. I have always loved music but having never being very musically talented, I hadn't thought of it before as a career option until that point.
Rachael 🗣️ I decided to study music business as I’ve always been a huge music fan, and wanted to pursue a career within the industry, without being a performer. Initially I was encouraged by my school to study biology at Uni, however I knew this wasn’t the right choice for me. I dropped out two weeks later, and immediately began looking for music business courses online. I got in the following year, and it was the best decision I’ve ever made!
What is your favourite thing about the course?
Chloe 🗣️ The course and its modules are very adaptable. There's lots of opportunities to make it your own and tailor it to your own interests. For example, my role within my honours project is more focused on events management whereas Rachael focuses more on marketing and branding.
Rachael 🗣️ I love how much variety the course offers and includes material about all areas of the industry. It doesn’t focus on one specific sector, and allows us to gain enough knowledge and understanding of each area before we decided which sector, we’d like to work in.
Has there been any standout/memorable moments from your course?
Chloe 🗣️ My most memorable experience was when I hosted a small music industry networking/live music event for my creative project last year. It was my first experience as operating as an event manager, alongside some friends, it was stressful at times but so rewarding in the end. It was a great learning experience and documenting the journey has been really useful to look back on for this year's events.
Rachael 🗣️ My most memorable moment would have to be putting on our Heel Toe networking event/gig in March 2022. It was my first experience of putting on a live gig (due to COVID) and it was so much fun, but also a really useful experience.
What knowledge, skills and experience have you gained from your course that will help you when you leave UHI Perth?
Chloe 🗣️ Being at UHI has encouraged me to step outside my comfort and has helped me gain a lot of confidence, both within myself and my work and capabilities. There's been a lot of opportunities to gain hands on industry experience and gain contacts within the field which I'm sure will be handy for my future!
Rachael 🗣️ We’ve had a lot of opportunities to gain practical, real-life experience, as well as networking with others, which will be useful further in our careers. I’ve also been able to develop my research and writing skills over the years which again I’m sure will come in useful further down the line.
Have you undertaken a placement or work experience whilst at UHI Perth?
Chloe 🗣️ Last year, I had the opportunity to work with Solas Festival and helped out managing their social media platforms. Other than that, I have gained lots of work experience in the form of freelance work to support my coursework.
Rachael 🗣️ I’ve been able to complete some freelance work whilst at UHI, which has allowed me to gain essential workplace skills.
You both run Heel Toe Promotions. Can you tell us a bit about the project and how it came about? As part of your final year project, you are hosting a student run inclusive music industry networking event, can you tell us all about it and how other music industry students can get involved?
Chloe created Heel Toe Promotions while studying NC at New College Lanarkshire. Over the years, she's used the brand as a way to try out new things including events, PR and Marketing which has really helped with this year's projects and events as the platform was already there to help give us a boost. Heel Toe Promotions is currently many things; a blog, a platform to showcase upcoming talent and new business ventures within music, a podcast, and an events company!
Our main focus with Heel Toe Promotions is currently our inclusive and student friendly music industry networking event, Heel Toe's Meet the Industry. It is also a fundraiser event for an amazing charity, the Clutha Trust and is taking place on Sunday 30 April at 12pm.
Heel Toe's “Meet the Industry" aims to be the catalyst of creating new relations between upcoming and inspiring musicians, creators, and music industry workers to help promote new business, collaboration, and innovation within the Scottish music industry, encouraging growth and opportunity. We already provide our audience with an online networking space that allows them to share themselves, their work and services as well as find and make new industry contacts, friends, fans, and a support system. We believe our next step should be to give our audience a space to attend our in-person events where attendees can network while enjoying live music by local musicians, small industry related businesses trade stalls and educational talks given by local creators and students.
Our reasoning for doing this is as students ourselves, we find the networking events offered to us are very daunting and personally, we feel very out of place and after doing some primary research, we found that this was a common issue within our grassroots level peers. Also, to mention, these networking events are oftentimes expensive despite being so important and sought after by small musicians and aspiring industry workers. Working in the music industry (or aspiring to), networking is a very important aspect and having the opportunity to create contacts is crucial which is why we want to host our own event ran by students, hosted by students and to create an inclusive event available to all including students, young people, up and comers and disadvantaged individual. Our event is ticketed but is "pay what you can" meaning attendees can pay as little or as much as they'd like, from upwards of one pound.
We have lots of opportunity for students to get involved whether be a performer or they would like a trade stall to show off their work and businesses, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Here's a link where you can check out and follow along with our project, contact us, or find tickets for our upcoming events.
Have your lecturers been supportive during your studies?
Chloe 🗣️ Our lecturers have been very supportive and have helped us along the way, not only through our classes but keeping up to date with our project and its progress on socials etc.
Rachael 🗣️ Yes! Our lecturers are always open to our ideas and support us in being creative with our research topics and reports.
Any other achievements you have gained on your journey?
Chloe 🗣️ As previously mentioned, in the past few years and during my studies, I am definitely more confident within myself and my work. I’m really proud of the work I produce now, and I believe they're notable improvements within my work and its standards.
Rachael 🗣️ I’ve learned so much about the music industry during my studies, and also been given the opportunity to do as much practical work as possible (which is something that was very daunting to me at the start of my studies!). I’ve gained the confidence to put myself out there more within the industry, and to be proud of my achievements within my studies.
What do you like about the campus/facilities?
Chloe 🗣️ I like how there is multiple buildings, meaning I have the option to explore and find new study spots. Having a comfortable and new space to work in can really help encourage me to work better. Also, I've been a vegetarian for many years now and I've never been a fan of the food options provided to me by previous schools and colleges, but UHI always have something an interesting and new to try!
Rachael 🗣️ I really like how accessible and inclusive the campus us! Again, similar to Chloe I like that there’s a good variety of places to study and complete coursework.
Have you enjoyed studying at UHI Perth? Any highlights?
Chloe 🗣️ A highlight from studying at UHI was when I got to visit the Hydro prior to the Stereophonics gig. It was so interesting to see the production and hear what goes on behind the scenes, the stage management had some fun memories and stories to share with us as well. We also were unexpectedly given the opportunity to attend the show later that evening, so it was great to see it come full circle.
Rachael 🗣️ I’ve really enjoyed my time at UHI! I loved being able to see the set up for the Stereophonics and 1975 gigs at the Hydro. It was really insightful being able to see all the work that goes in before the show, and hearing stories from some amazing people in the live industry!
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of your studies?
Chloe 🗣️ I really enjoy going to gigs and finding new music to love. I also enjoy other means of art such as drawing and design.
Rachael 🗣️ Outside of Uni, I love playing clarinet, and spending time with my dogs! I also love listening to music and going to gigs.
What are your future career plans?
Chloe 🗣️ I hope to work with the events industry and get a bit more experience with marketing. It would be great to carry on working with Heel Toe also, they may be some ideas in the bag!
Rachael 🗣️ I’d love to work in social media and marketing within the live industry, and also continue with Heel Toe!
And finally, what advice would you give to someone thinking about studying at UHI Perth?
Chloe 🗣️ I'd say just go for it; you never know until you try! Also, as someone who commutes to UHI Perth from Glasgow, it's really not as daunting as it seems - just make sure to get an early night!
Rachael 🗣️ I would definitely recommend it! The Music Business course has been absolutely fantastic, and the lecturers are brilliant – definitely go for it!
