Cat's Mother of the Month - Julie Weir

If there’s one thing you can’t beat, it’s having a good old chinwag with someone who loves music just as much as you do, has a brilliant story to tell and a whole load of nuggets of wisdom to share. Meet Julie Weir, expert of DIY (business style) and current label head at Sony’s Music for Nations. Across 3 decades in the music industry, Julie’s successes include sold out arena tours, festival headliners, top 10 singles and a number 1 album. 

I begun by asking Julie about her role and responsibilities as label head at Music for Nations, a rock and metal-focused music label.

She started by telling me: “I exist in a very lucky position. Music for Nations is one of the smallest and most specialist labels inside Sony. It’s like we exist in our own little bubble. We get a great degree of freedom in such a structured label.” 

She then went on to explain that there’s isn’t much she doesn't do in her role (I can believe that!). “I manage a very small team. There’s the Junior Product Manager, Tom Critten who is a great asset to the team, and a very creative thinker. For once I feel like I can actually delegate! He always preempts what I’m going to ask for next so when I do ask, it’s already done. Then we’ve got our intern Steph, who is a fantastic creator of content, brilliant with socials and photography, very creative, and someone who has grown in confidence a lot being in a small team.” 

I was shocked to learn that this frontline label really is just the 3 of them... sharing more about the MFN crew, she told me that the interns get to do everything across the board so they don’t just get stuck doing one single thing. “Everyone gets to have a creative role here. In these industries, people should have a broad view and be able to do many different things. As long as they can handle it business-wise, it’s fairer for them to try anything they want. It really benefits the business... we get things done faster and don’t have to rely on others too much. Our reputation is really growing inside the building as a forward thinking and creative marketing entity.” However Julie made it clear that this doesn’t mean they work in complete solitude. “We work with the statistics and insights team, production, digital marketing, and the people who look after video creative very closely as well. We work with others for various assets. But generally, we come with solutions and ideas rather than problems, because as it is, everyone has so much work to do and not enough time to do it. We’re very self-sufficient as a label.”

Next I wanted to dig a little deeper into Julie’s past ambitions. Did you see your career heading in this direction? Was it always going to be working in the music industry for you?

A very instant “YES”.

“I grew up loving music. My grandad was in a band, he played the accordion and piano. My mum played the piano too. I wasn’t musical myself, so the logical thing was to get into it, but to work behind the scenes. That meant I wouldn’t have to get on the stage and perform, I think part of me would die inside if I did that, I’d be way too nervous. So props to all that do! ”

At 16, Julie told her parents that she wanted to work in the music industry and like many other mum and dads, their response was that she should go to university - which she did end up doing, although she admitted that to this day she hasn’t used her Bachelors or Masters much at all. “The degrees did prepare me for a lot of different things though. Mainly the transferable skills and the people skills have come in handy.”

“With my career background, I always thought I’d work in an independent company. But working at Sony and heading up Music for Nations here, I know that running the company I did beforehand really set me in great stead. I understand the industry and I know a lot of people. Back then I had to get up and do everything on my own.”

What are some of your proudest achievements over the years?

What Julie said she’s done in the rock and heavy metal world was nothing short of impressive.  

“I signed Bring Me the Horizon and then licensed the band to Sony after that. I signed Lostprophets, worked with them for 16 years and sold millions of records. I’m very proud of the work we did with them. My work with Bullet for My Valentine also broke them over here. Very recently at Sony we worked the new Tool album. It was a really challenging campaign because the band hadn’t released anything for 13 years and had nothing on DSP’s (digital service providers like Apple or Spotify Music). But we managed to achieve a number 4 chart position with a physical release that was an 80 pounds retail as it had its own TV screen……unbelievable.”

“Oh and I used to do an event called SubVerse - It was a truly all ages rock club for kids. We used to do 3 bands a week, it was only a fiver to get in! We had Bring Me the Horizon, Funeral for Friend, Bullet for My Valentine, Dev from Blood Orange amongst others…and it was great to see kids enjoying rock and alternative music and being so open to different artists.”

Looking at it as a whole, she said, “I’m proud that I’ve existed in the music industry for nearly 3 decades and I’m still doing what I feel is my passion. My life and work co-exist. Despite the landscape changing a lot, I still really love it and feel lucky to be doing what I do. I mean taking people from playing to a crowd of 50 to then 70,000 is pretty amazing.”

I then questioned what experience or learning in the past Julie’s found useful in her current role. 

Julie had already mentioned in a previous response that she found the people and transferable skills she learned at uni to be helpful now. But she also had a few more to mention. 

“Being able to navigate a landscape that’s continually changing. Where I work now, it’s a lot more secure than running an independent label. It’s such a different world and a hard world. When it works it’s amazing but when it doesn’t, it’s really a kick in the teeth.” 

“Also, as part of Sony’s how-to-grow-people approach, I had a mentor for 12 months in my second year here. I’d never done anything like that. It’s about inviting your peers to comment on you and I was in pieces for days about the results. It’s a build me up, tear me down kind of thing, a self-reflective experience. It enabled me to take a step back and reflect from various different positions - not running my own company anymore enabled me to have a different view. I actually have a tattoo on my leg: Be Curious, Not Critical and I got that phrase from my mentor.” 

What does this mean you wonder? 

“Everything always used to end with me. But the ideas that come to me now exist in a bigger structure. I have to look at different ways that they could work instead of shutting them down straight away. I now have a more moderated standpoint and its useful to be reminded to always look at the bigger picture and wider effects….”

Through having a little peek at Julie’s LinkedIn profile before our chat, I discovered that she had recently become a Diversity & Inclusion advocate with the Creative Mentor Network. I was interested to find out more so I asked her about what that entails. 

She told me, “we need a new generation of creatives coming through the industry. This incentive with Sony is to get people through the door who are from varied backgrounds, that may not have a route to access the jobs that they would want in music or other creative industries . I got paired with a mentee who came in initially wanting to be a musician and it enabled her to develop her aim. She went into a more journalistic area and has already had 2 things published. She’s now looking at things from both a cultural and political standpoint and has a very unique approach.”

Reflecting on the scheme’s importance, Julie explained that in her opinion, sometimes all people need is a sounding board. Something which facilitates them to be able to make their own decisions. “I wholeheartedly recommend it as an incentive. You learn a lot about yourself - it’s really opened my mind.”

My next question was, what advice would you give to someone who wants to break into a music label?

“If you want to work in music, work out which part of music you want to be in - whether that’s management/A&R/content creation/digital/PR etc. Solidify a path first. Do some research and approach people in a friendly manner - can we have a coffee? Maybe a zoom meeting? I was wondering how you got into XYZ? Stalk someone on LinkedIn (oh I feel so much better for having a nose around Julie’s page just before this!). If you’re sending an email, make sure it’s personable, even if you’re an artist or musician and not someone who wants to get into the business side of things. Make sure what you’re sending is relevant, you have a good bio, a decent headshot or promo photo (even if its just a phone pic). Make sure there’s music to listen to and it’s of decent quality. One good thing that’s come out of COVID-19 is that peoples’ defenses are down, they’re open and have recognised the need to reach out and help people. Finally (and most simply of them all), be a human being and treat people the way you’d like to be treated.”

To round up, I was interested to discover why Julie joined The Cat’s Mother initiative and what she personally gets out of it. 

“For me it’s about giving something back. I feel privileged to be here for so long and still be doing it. And I genuinely like people! A sounding board/chat/honest, good, constructive criticism in a friendly manner can really go a long way. People don’t necessarily need answers, just guidance.” 

“I wish I had something like this when I was young. When I said I wanted to work in music, it was like ‘pfft, good luck’. Growing up as a female in Cumbria, any career support just wanted to point you towards the bank, social care etc… which definitely wasn’t for me!” 

“The Cat’s Mother is a great network. Everyone I’ve met has been great. People can speak from personal experience so you get both an objective and subjective view. The network is a safe space, and that really is valuable.”