Artist Relationship Manager

Job Description

Abbey Road is one of the most famous recording studios in the world and remains to this day a vibrant recording, mixing and production studio. The Studios business (recording and mixing) is split between individual artist recordings and larger film scoring and classical recordings.

Abbey Road Studios has been part of the Universal Music for over 7 years and is a much-treasured asset, which has benefited from significant financial investment creating new studios, a retail store, an education business and new digital services. The Abbey Road brand has huge brand recognition worldwide and this is something the management team plan to harness to expand the appeal and business opportunities for the studio going forward.

Skills & Experience

Reporting to the senior management team, you will lead and manage the recording and mixing operations for rock & pop repertoire at the Studios, championing Abbey Road as the ultimate creative & inspirational destination with unparalleled facilities for rock and pop recording. As artist relationship manager for the Studios, you will focus on building on the existing rock and pop client base of the Studios by leveraging your artist and management relationships and proactively engaging with new prospective clients to ensure Abbey Road is their first choice by providing a warm, approachable, professional and high quality service. You will be responsible for all activity and resourcing on projects you book. It is essential that you build a strong relationship with the whole booking team to ensure a cohesive client approach with consistent messaging and commercials.

Strong Services Proposition
• A true Studio Ambassador - warm welcoming face of the studio, providing personalised service
• Anticipate and deal with operational issues as they arise, determining urgency and using initiative to actively problem solve to clients’ satisfaction
• Working with catering, marketing & digital departments so that the clients receive the best service possible in the Studio and enabling creative experiences
• Liaise with all clients when they are in the Studios to guarantee client satisfaction and personalised experience

Business Development Through Artist & Label Relationships
• Develop strong relationships with all existing rock and pop clients, understanding their artist or roster requirements and developing strategies to increase their utilisation of the space at more regular intervals
• Create targeted list of potential clients domestically and internationally and seek to build relationships with artists and managers direct
• Knowledge of when international artists are in town touring and reach out to offer Studio services
• Leverage existing relationships with UMG A&R and establish excellent relationships with UM UK front line labels EMI, Island, Polydor, Capitol & Decca to promote Studio services
• Build a network across UMG labels and Studios in key territories
• Develop marketing strategy with marketing team and Studios booking team to expand Abbey Road’s appeal to a new generation of artists

Studio Sales, Booking & Marketing
• Maximise pop Studios occupancy (Studio 3, Gatehouse and Front Room as well as mix rooms) and ensure appropriate staffing levels to deliver successful sessions
• First point of contact/liaison for all rock and pop clients. Proactively engage customers to sell Studios services and potential add on services (i.e. up-selling mastering etc)
• Responsible for all rock and pop bookings, must optimise work allocations and ensure all bookings information is kept up-to-date and entered into the studio booking system
• Knowledge and understanding of artist requirements and technical staffing requirements to achieve creative goals
• Develop operating standards at the Studios to meet clients’ needs and promote excellence within the Studios
• Proactively review commercial model to ensure revenue and utility is optimised

Budget Ownership
• Responsible for delivering pop Studios revenue and profitability on or above target and supporting the wider team to deliver the full Studios budget
• Work closely with the FD to ensure all forecasting and accounting is accurately captured and up to date for regular reporting purposes
• Ensure final invoices for accounts are correct and recorded with finance before being issued to clients. Chase any outstanding monies as necessary
• Approve all relevant purchase invoices within departmental budget

People Management
• An experienced and intuitive people manager, able to flex style and approach to lead and manage a varied team and set of clients
• Foster and encourage learning and professional development for all Studios employees

Team Player & Collaborative Spirit
• Work in partnership with rest of the bookings team as well as marketing, digital, brand partnerships and events where relevant
• Collaborate with Studio Facilities Management to ensure the technical capabilities of the Studios are always up to Abbey Road’s high standards and appropriate for the client base
• Create solid relationships with the Abbey Road team and develop a detailed understanding of the business, brand and history to gain traction quickly

Person Specification
• An Ambassador with intuitive relationships and management skills
• Recording and mixing knowledge
• Good industry understanding and existing artist and management relationships
• Strong commercial capabilities including negotiation skills
• Solid operational, marketing and PR skills
• Ensures client satisfaction is at the core of all activity
• First class organisational and leadership skills
• Driven and results orientated character
• Unflappable, enthusiastic and pro-active
• Committed to customer service and operational excellence
• A flexible approach to problem solving
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Tenacity and ability to create warm leads from initial contact
• Personable and warm character
• Passionate about music and knowledgeable about a variety of genres, acts and artists
• Professional, proactive and flexible approach to work – which may include out of office working hours including weekends

Your Benefits
• Group Personal Pension Scheme (between 3% and 9%)
• Private Medical Insurance
• 25 paid days of annual leave
• Interest Free Season Ticket Loan
• Holiday Purchase scheme
• Dental and Travel Insurance options
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Salary Sacrifice Cars
• Subsidised Gym Membership
• Employee Discounts (Reward Gateway)

Just So You Know…

The company presents this job description as a guide to the major areas and duties for which the jobholder is accountable. However, the business operates in an environment that demands change and the jobholder's specific responsibilities and activities will vary and develop. Therefore, the job description should be seen as indicative and not as a permanent, definitive and exhaustive statement.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-r0226e-18-117-153-38-42 in your application.