We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kaylie Jacobs a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kaylie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style. Do you have an interesting story from that stage of your career that you can share with us?

I remember feeling pretty behind when I finally got to Pace University in 2020 as a transfer student (mid-pandemic). I felt like everyone had been primed freshman and sophomore year of college to start networking, interviewing, and securing dream internships. In a time where I felt behind the curve and had minimal resources, due to the pandemic closing a lot of these high-level positions, I decided to make it happen for myself. I went through my playlists and googled every artist I loved to find their management and record labels. I wanted to work on the teams of my favorite artists, so I sent cold emails out to every NY-based music company I could find. I got my first internship as an Artist Management intern by sending a cold email, and then I got my first campus representative job in college by sending a cold IG DM. My best advice is just to throw yourself into it and nurture the connections you find along the way, so you can lean on them for support and guidance when you may need it the most. Be curious, ask questions, and find a way to make your dreams come true.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Kaylie Jacobs. I grew up in Orange County, CA and always had a dream to work in music and move to New York City. At the age of 12, I was running an Ariana Grande fanpage on Instagram and dragging my mom to any and all concerts, fan activations, etc. This desire to pursue my dreams of working in music led me to my current position as a Marketing Manager for an indie record label called Fast Friends! I work with developing artists on release campaigns for their projects, which entails everything from creating captivating marketing plans to helping an artist’s vision come to life. With 4 years, now, of professional music industry experience, my proudest moments are always working with artists who I truly believe in. Getting to work on a project that resonates with you from a fan perspective always makes for the best experience for everyone involved. Something I believe that sets me a part from other music marketers, which is also a cliché I tend to fall into when describing my philosophy on marketing in the music industry, is truly paying homage to fans. In every meeting I walk into, I am thinking largely from a fan perspective. Making an album look and sound cohesive is always good and necessary, but having that campaign reward the fans in unconventional and exciting ways is truly what I strive to reach. Additionally, I have had a few freelance social media gigs, not in the music space, but other industries that benefit from a strong and cohesive social media strategy. Basically, my entire life is surrounded my music (and social media even though I try to help it), so sometimes it’s hard to strike a balance. At the end of the day, however, I get to work in an industry that makes me passionate and grow as a marketer.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In November of 2024, I made a decision to leave my marketing job at an LA-based record label because I was not happy with my personal lifestyle. I had grown up in Southern California, went to college for two years in NYC, and came back to LA for the most exciting and rewarding career opportunity I could have imagined. What I started to feel settle in was a complicated mix of “I love my job” and “I hate where I live currently”. Leaving this role in the midst of a terribly dicey job market was a massive risk, but I knew I needed to be back in New York at this current moment in my life, on the precipice of 25. I left my job, interviewed for COUNTLESS music jobs, and even just plain marketing jobs. I would advance to the final round for a majority of these, but things never quite came to fruition. So, in February of 2025, I decided to move and make it happen for myself. I could pay my rent with my freelance paychecks alone, but I also cold called a bunch of random places asking for serving jobs or front desk roles. Anything that I could use as a stepping stone, while I navigated the treacherous waters of job hunting in, not only NYC, but the music industry. A year after I quit my job in 2024, I was offered a Marketing Manager role that I would be able to pursue in my favorite city in the world. So much soul searching, doubt, and confusion plagued me over that year, but I knew this was the path I needed for 2025. I quit my front desk job that I was working part time, and I did it all on my own. Pivoting is natural, especially in our current market, and I had many moments where I worried if I would ever make it back into music again. Let this serve as a sign that it is not at all impossible, and if you want it bad enough, it will happen for you, too.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

On a freelance basis, I wish I had a more compelling answer, but it is truly my mother. She almost acts as my agent when she is out with her vendors and other clients who may need social presence in the homeowner’s association industry. When it comes to clients in the music industry, I have been so blessed to work with so many of my close friends creatively. Having an existing network of people who can assist in digital marketing, graphic design, videography, and anything similar, has been my main way of sourcing people to work on projects with me for the artists at our label. Would definitely recommend tapping into your network and seeing which skills the friends around you are searching for, you never know if you can be of assistance to them.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/kayliejacobs
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/kaylie-jacobs
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/@kaylie_jacobs