🌅 Horizon Future Leaders – Ollie Rankine Q&A

As part of our new Horizon Future Leaders series of interviews, we are connecting with the music industry’s next generation of leaders to gather candid advice and insights into their career journeys. 

Horizon is CMU’s weekly newsletter that brings you a hand-picked selection of early to mid stage career opportunities from across the music industry, paired with insights and advice. Whether you’re looking for your first job in music or you’re ready to take a step up, Horizon is here to help you find your dream job faster. Horizon is focused on highlighting the best and most exciting roles we’ve seen and is made for people who are building their careers with ambition.

Getting started and progressing your career in the music industry can often feel overwhelming. Despite the wide range of positions and opportunities available, early-career professionals often face a daunting array of challenges. From the frustrating cycle of needing experience to be able to get the roles that help you build experience, to often intense competition from like-minded peers, the barriers in music can sometimes seem higher than in many other fields.

At CMU we spend a lot of time trying to explain and demystify the music business, and our Horizon newsletter is dedicated to helping the next generation of music leaders build and progress their careers. Our new series of Q&A interviews, Horizon Future Leaders, talks to rising professionals from across the industry: to hear firsthand how they started out and what they have learnt along the way, sharing practical tips and advice for anyone looking to build and own their future in the music business.

As part of our new Horizon Future Leaders series, we’re connecting with the music industry’s next generation of leaders to gather candid advice and insights into their career journeys. 

This week, we caught up with Ollie Rankine, Account Manager at Name PR.

From starting as a freelance journalist to becoming an Account Manager at Name PR, Ollie offers a detailed look at his career path in the music industry. He shares how his early experiences, from interning at Measure PR to co-founding the Plans For Nigel gig series, shaped his understanding of the business. 

Ollie also provides advice on building a network, adapting to the evolving digital landscape and staying ahead of industry trends, emphasising the importance of diversifying skills and perseverance in a competitive field.

Read the full Q&A with Ollie below 👇

What’s your current role in the music industry?

I’m an Account Manager at Name PR – one of the UK’s leading music PR consultancies. I manage industry-facing campaigns within the company’s music trade division, as well as overseeing some artist and events projects on the consumer team.

I also recently co-founded a London-based gig series called Plans For Nigel, which aims to provide the capital’s grassroots music community with a new hub to perform and grow their fanbases. 

What does your general day to day look like?

No two days are the same! I’m one part of a versatile press office that delivers tailor-made campaigns for companies of all sizes and spanning multiple sectors across the music business. 

Generally speaking, I’m responsible for leading account teams to ensure day-to-day operations are efficient and effective, which cover strategic planning, client communications, activity development and liaising with key media contacts.

Music business news is fast-paced, with our work often affected by rapidly unfolding events. This means being quick on our feet to capitalise on developments by injecting clients into hot industry topics to build their brand and position spokespeople as thought leaders.

These activities include issuing news announcements, organising interviews and placing clients at key industry conferences. I also help support Name PR’s new business processes by managing proposals and building relationships with prospective clients.

What steps did you take early in your career to gain experience and build skills to get you where you are now?

My route into music began as a freelance journalist writing for a handful of independent music magazines and local newspapers, which I still dabble in today when time allows.

Producing news articles, long form features and events coverage proved to be hugely beneficial in terms of developing my writing, building relationships with publicists, artist managers and journalists, and expanding my knowledge of music and pop culture trends. 

I’ve been lucky enough to report on artists and music festivals all over Europe, as well as meet some of my heroes along the way – interviewing Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie always stands out as a highlight!

What opportunities did you explore early on that were particularly valuable?

My first break in music came whilst interning at a great press agency called Measure PR. For six months I helped support client communications, campaign reports and general office admin, which taught me heaps about the basics of working in a busy press office.

I’m forever grateful to Measure PR’s Director, Steve Rose, who offered me a full time role at the end of my internship, and was a brilliant mentor in the early stages of my career. 

Under his direction, I gained my first experience of drafting press releases and pitching for new music and tour coverage. I’ll never forget the feeling of securing my first broadsheet newspaper feature with The Sunday Telegraph. The buzz of facilitating impactful pieces of writing has never left me!

Has the opportunity landscape changed since then?

Making your first steps in the music business has never been easy. It’s an extremely competitive industry and internships or work experience placements can be hard to come by. 

These crucial opportunities can often come with very low wages or be unpaid entirely, which raises concerns over encouraging greater EDI representation across all sectors.

It remains vitally important for the music business to continue breaking down historic barriers by creating access to networking and on-the-job training for industry newcomers, regardless of background, financial stability or how someone chooses to identify.

Are there any specific internships, projects, or initiatives that you would recommend to newcomers looking to pursue a similar role?

It would be remiss for me not to mention Name PR’s own internship scheme! We currently offer an annual paid two months scheme for University Of Westminster students, which provides valuable experience working with some of the industry’s most influential companies, events and artists. 

Our interns help with the day-to-day running of the company, working across music business and artist/event clients, and assisting with research, drafting pitches, writing press releases and general admin.

Others to shout about include AIM’s Amplify Apprenticeship Scheme, launched with Amazon Music, Women in CTRL and All Things People & Talent. The initiative was set up to improve diversity and inclusion across the independent sector, with successful applicants providing administrative and creative support to participating UK labels. Here’s to hoping it will return in 2025.

What advice do you have for building and leveraging a professional network in the music industry?

The age-old expression “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” still rings true in this business, and being proactive in connecting with the right people is so often the differentiator between a hopeful newcomer and the rest.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to industry leaders you admire and introduce yourself. I’ve certainly done my fair share of pestering label executives and journalists for a few spare minutes of their time. 

You would be surprised at how many are open to meeting for a coffee from just a well-researched and passionate email to express your ambitions. These conversations are like gold dust and have armed me with enduring advice that continues to feed into my career development years later. 

How has the evolving digital landscape impacted your role, and where do you focus to stay ahead?

It’s no secret that the traditional press is in a difficult place, with staff layoffs and key publications closing for good now a frequent headline in today’s news cycle. 

This, coupled with the democratisation of information on social media and online forums, means it’s important for PR agencies to develop new strategies if they’re to engage target audiences.

From an industry-facing perspective, many specialist titles that report on music business news still hold significant weight and reputational clout, with much of the global industry referring to a handful of dedicated news sources to catch up on daily events. 

But to truly move the needle, it remains crucial for PR to take on a holistic approach, which aligns breaking news with social media to maximise impact and reach. 

What trends or changes do you see on the horizon for the music industry, and how can early career professionals prepare for them?

Whilst the ways in which we consume content becomes more fragmented, traditional music promotions structures are evolving to meet an ever-changing media landscape. 

The problem with offering either PR, radio plugging or digital marketing as a standalone service is each lacks the scope and context to fully tell the story on their own. Campaigns with shoestring budgets also rarely have funds available to allocate a dedicated team member to each discipline. 

In an effort to bring greater efficiency and affordability to campaigns at all levels, shifts are happening across the business to combine these skills under new hybrid promotions packages. 

See Universal Music UK restructuring a new Audience & Media Division, and independents like Kartel Music Group launching new agency arms. Any professionals chasing a music marketing or promotions career must now diversify their skills to effectively engage audiences across platforms.

What’s one piece of advice you wish someone had given you at the start of your career?

Don’t be disheartened if things aren’t going entirely to plan. Life often throws you curveballs and very rarely follows the meticulously mapped out path in your head. Facing up to career barriers is normal and it’s the hard work and perseverance to overcome them that ultimately shapes your ability.