Work Experience at Nuclear Blast Records, London (22nd April to 2nd May 2014)

On my first day I was extremely nervous and I was terrified that I would get lost in the middle of London! However, I managed to get to the Nuclear Blast office in plenty of time, thanks to careful route planning and Lisa’s helpful instructions. When I arrived I instantly found out that everyone was really friendly and that there was always someone to help me if I was unsure of what I was doing. As there was always music playing and people talking, it was a very relaxed yet focussed environment in which it was easy to feel comfortable in. 

Using the Nuclear Blast Tumblr page to promote
links related to bands.

One of my main tasks during the two weeks was updating the Nuclear Blast Tumblr page. I was often emailed press releases, album information, interviews and news regarding Nuclear Blast bands to post, using relevant ‘tags’ to help Tumblr users easily find the content that they were looking for. This content would either be from someone at Nuclear Blast or from other websites, such as Metal Hammer and Dead Press. Sometimes the content would be emailed to my intern email address, but other times I would have to search online using specific Google Search tools to find specific links about Nuclear Blast bands. Another part of editing the Tumblr was to embed videos, links and pictures into the posts, meaning that I had to use my knowledge of HTML and editing. With every Tumblr post a ‘tweet’ on Twitter also had to be sent out, which meant that I had to create a ‘tweet’ which would make people want to read the Tumblr link and to tag any related websites and artists into it too. I was also asked to find funny and interesting content to post on the Tumblr page to entertain the ‘followers’ of the page and to inspire others to follow the page too. With the posts I was told to either post them immediately or to schedule them for specific times or dates, with some needing to be scheduled multiple times a week or month. As Tumblr does not have a specific feature to do this is one go, I had to patiently create posts over and over to schedule. 

One of the best parts of work experience at Nuclear Blast was being able to listen to albums which had not yet been released. As someone who is a huge music fan, it was amazing to hear songs weeks or even months before the general public. As Lisa knew I enjoyed writing, she asked me to write some track-by-track album reviews of two new releases: ‘Runes’ by Bury Tomorrow (http://gigreviewsbyjulia.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/track-by-track-album-review-of-runes-by.html) and the debut self-titled album by Killer Be Killed (http://gigreviewsbyjulia.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/track-by-track-album-review-of-killer.html). Once I had finished writing the reviews I sent them to Lisa, who thought they were ‘awesome’. From this she has now decided to make it a regular feature for interns to write album reviews and blog posts about their time and Nuclear Blast. I was also told about Slayer signing to Nuclear Blast before it was announced to the press and public, which made me feel like I was involved in what was happening at the record label. 

Spreadsheets were another big part of my time at Nuclear Blast. On one of the days in my first week Managing Director Mark asked me to price-check specific Nuclear Blast releases on Amazon. There was a spreadsheet sent to me, with the previous prices already written in. I had to search for specific CDs, digipacks, vinyls and DVDs and insert the new price into the spreadsheet, with a specific

One of the spreadsheets was
used to record information about
when bands from Nuclear Blast
were played on the radio.

colour-code for whether the price had increased, decreased or stayed the same. Also, I had to note down how many copies of each item were available. By doing this task it allowed me to understand how quickly prices online can change and how physical media is still important in the music industry. I also had to edit a spreadsheet which had names of companies associated with specific Nuclear Blast bands, adding contact details for over eighty different websites and companies across the world. The third spreadsheet I had to use was for bands from Nuclear Blast who had recently been on the radio. Holly would send me an email that she had received from the radio presenters which listed what bands had been played, where and when, and I would insert them onto the spreadsheet. By doing this, there is an easily accessible account of what bands had been given airtime recently.

During my time at Nuclear Blast there were many new albums being released, which needed to be sent to the press to review. I was able to assist with this by putting the press release sheets and CDs into the envelopes ready to send. The albums which the record label send to the press are all watermarked, meaning that there is a specific reference on there for each person. By doing this, if the album is leaked before its release date, Nuclear Blast can instantly find out who did it. I was told that if this happens, as well as the label never working with the specific person/brand again, the band and Nuclear Blast can also sue them. With this in mind, I had to carefully ensure that the correct CD went into the correct envelope.  I was also taught how to use the franking machine and I also put the parcels into the specific post-box. 

One of the more obscure tasks I was given was to transcribe lyrics to a song. Holly needed the lyrics to the new Slayer song ‘Implode’ as national radio stations have to have the lyrics to a song before they can play it, so that it can comply with whatever restrictions they have in place (e.g. swearing or violent material). I had to listen to the song over and over to try to understand the lyrics, which I then had to type out and send over. Although this may sound easy, in many songs (especially in the metal music genre) it is often hard to completely grasp or hear the lyrics. 

Searching magazines for
content related to Nuclear
Blast.

Magazines are a key part in promoting music and bands. For once of my intern tasks I was given a variety of different magazines, including Kerrang, Rock Sound and Classic Rock, which had sticky

notes on where any Nuclear Blast band was mentioned. I then had to carefully cut out the page, scan it in using the scanner, then write on the post-it note what band it was, what magazine it was from, when the issue was published and what the feature involved. I then put the page in a plastic wallet and into the correct folder, alphabetically and chronologically ordered. By doing this, the record label has both an online and physical copy of any media which involves Nuclear Blast, meaning it is less-likely that they will lose it.

Overall, my time at Nuclear Blast has been really enjoyable and has confirmed that I definitely would like to work in the music industry once I graduate university. During my time here I was able to develop my knowledge of how the music industry works, gain new computer skills and meet new contacts for the future. There are many horror stories about work experience and internships in the journalism industry where students are only given menial tasks and ignored, but my internship at Nuclear Blast proved that they treat aspiring writers with respect and make them feel involved in what is happening around them. This experience has inspired me to work even harder at university as I now have experience of what it is really like working for a record label, which is definitely a career option for when I graduate.