We recently connected with Gordon Jamieson and have shared our conversation below.
Gordon , appreciate you joining us today. Do you have a hero? What have you learned from them?
My Mother is My hero. She immigrated to the UK for a. better life and more opportunities. she didn’t speak english. she worked hard, she was resilient, ended up speaking english fluently and raised 2 children. She sacrificed a lot.
When i immigrated to America i often thought about how difficult it must have been for her. that got me through many dark times.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I work in music management. I started my own management company.
i began 20 years ago in London because i wanted to be a recording artist. Studios were very expensive so i figured id do a degree in music technology where i had access to recording studios nearly all of the time so i could record demos. When i finished my degree i tried shopping my demos around with no luck. The industry in the UK was very small and it was all about who you knew. So i decided to try and find work in the music industry, applying to record labels for anything that would get my foot in the door. Again no luck.
I managed to get an internship with a radio promotions company packing CDs/ Vinyl for a company in west London. it was boring work but i was hearing names of big execs floating around on phone calls and it kept me motivated. The company closed down after three months of me being there and so i had to leave. My supervisor Jo ended put me in contact with another big promoter in London and i started another internship.
This internship was different, The guy i worked for 9Chris Rock) had a lot of connections he handled the account for the universal music group account in the UK. I told him that i had a dream of going to New York to pursue a career in music and he promised that if i worked hard he would get me a connect in NYC.
6 Months later after a lot of free work, he introduced me to the head of marketing at SRC records called Kirk Harding ( Burna boy’s Manager) he put in a good word for me. Kirk gave me his info and told me to call him when i came to NY.
3 Months later – living at home with my parents/ no job in the field i wanted to work in – I went to New York to pursue my dream. what was supposed to be a 6 month stay has been 20 years.
Kirk got me an internship at SRC records ( Steve Rifkind) which led t a job which led to some income so i could record in NYC and release music.
My personal music career allowed me to learn skills that i could then carry forward to a career in management.
If im most proud of anything its not giving up. working in music after so many years is a blessing.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
In London 20 years ago it was very difficult to find work in the music industry. but it wasn’t impossible. I just had to find other ways to get in. I kept being told no. i didn’t give up despite moving to a new country where i didn’t know anyone that in itselff is extremely difficult. I knew what i wanted.
When i got my internship in NYC and then work i was working with some of the most powerful people in the industry and the biggest artists in the world. I wouldn’t have been able to do that in London. Its been a long Journey
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
in any industry people need to be able to trust you. In my industry when you are working with famous people its important that people trust you and depend on you. I have always been honest, trustworthy and hardworking.
