Interview With @defjamafrica Culture Specialist and A&R Manager: @thebrand_ZA Shares How He Became A Culture Specialist, What It Takes To Work In The Industry & More

My first question is, what is a culture specialist and what did they do?

It’s a position that was created by my CEO, Sipho Dlamini. We couldn't do a lot of things at the time because the pandemic was at its height but fast forward to February of this year, they chose me and Thabo Ngwenya to be Culture Specialists. Essentially what the Culture Specialist does is to understand the culture and when I say culture, I mean entertainment culture. You have to keep up to date with what is happening on the ground. For instance, there's this event that's happening in Tanzania that's run by 'Thulz AKA Thulani Maduse'. You have to keep abreast with things like that. We have to keep up with everything that is happening in the culture, like which genre is topping the charts and which genre will be big in the next 5 - 10 years. It's mainly about understanding the entertainment culture and reporting it to the business. 

Are there any educational requirements that one would need to meet in order to be an A&R?

I'd say yes and no because you can't really study to be an A&R. You can study music but that doesn't mean you know how to be an A&R. Just because you understand the technical aspects of music, doesn't mean you understand the type of music that sells. When you study music, they'll teach you the technical stuff and the music that's selling isn’t technical. Generally, we only hire people that have an undergrad or postgrad because at the end of the day we just want to see if you have discipline. I studied Public Relations and Communications at the University of Johannesburg and then after finishing that, I went to work for Sheila Afari Public Relations. That's when I was introduced to the entertainment market. 

I then went on to become a freelancer for three months and after that, I worked for Gallo Records. They felt that I excelled at the job and I was approached by Def Jam to work in PR and I joined Universal Music as a PR Communications Officer. If you can complete those qualifications, it shows us that you can get things done. In short, there aren't any educational requirements or specific qualifications that are necessary for working in the field but a qualification in media or public relationships is a great place to start. 

Innocent Nkosi (AKA Adequate The Brand) pictured at Sportscene's Put Me On Competition

In terms of your career, you mentioned you worked for a PR company, and you worked for Gallo Record Label. Which job would you say prepared you the most for what you're doing right now at Def Jam?

I'm not sure if you know Sheila Afari Public Relations. I didn't know anything about the industry. I didn't know what was what, I was just this kid from varsity that was hungry to learn and I was looking for a company to complete my Workplace Integrated Learning(WIL) with. The bursary I was a part of was funded by a variety of organisations and one of those organisations was Sheila Afari Public Relations. I asked my bursary if they could arrange for me to do my Workplace Integrated Learning with Sheila Afari Public Relations because I was studying PR. I didn't think I would end up being an A&R, let alone the head of a division at Def Jam Africa, in such a short space of time. 

I always show my mom your profile and say, hey, Mama, even me, I want to be a culture specialist. 

I didn't know I was going to be able to sit in rooms and make major decisions like who we are going to sign. Next year I’m going back to school to complete my post-grad. I believe in equipping oneself because you can never know everything and we’re working in an ever-changing industry. Improving yourself doesn’t mean you have to do a 3-year degree. There are so many online resources you can complete in your own time. I recently completed a short course on the fundamentals of Google. It taught me a lot and now I know how to better assist the marketing team.

What advice would you give someone who wants to work in the music industry?

My advice would be to work in this industry if you're passionate about it. It's a high-pressure environment with long hours and there are certain things that come with the job like being away from home. Sometimes you might find yourself going somewhere you don’t want to be but it’s the only way to get the job done. You need to be someone who goes above and beyond because this isn’t a nine to five job. If you don’t have a passion for the industry, then it won’t work out. You have to have a passion for it because that’s what keeps you going through those tough times. 

What is it that you enjoy most about your job? What's the most fun aspect?

The best part of the job is listening to music and being involved in the whole music process like being in the studio with artists and helping them decide which songs they should go with. I really enjoy that aspect of my job. 

What is the most challenging part of your job? 

My job gets challenging when it’s time to negotiate deals with artists. A deal is like any other legally binding contract. A lot of the time, we have to tell artists to seek legal advice because they don’t understand some of the terms listed in the contract. Artists who don’t understand what type of agreement they are getting into, end up complaining about the terms of the agreement later. It’s frustrating because we agreed on the terms for the deal and at the end of the day, we don’t force artists to sign deals and we discuss how we can help them achieve their goals before anything is signed. Artists shouldn’t sign deals that they aren’t happy with. If an artist has their own label and they have access to their own promotional resources like a video team, then your deal will differ from someone who can’t do those things from themselves. At the end of the day, we are in the music business and if we provide you resources to do things like music videos and other marketing activities then we will have to recoup our investment. 

I think artists don't think of a contract as a contract of employment.

Wherever you work they'll give you a contract. All parties who sign a contract are to act in accordance with the terms set out in the contract. When either party doesn’t perform their duties as stipulated in the contract, you can then terminate the contract because they are in breach of the agreement.

My last question to you is, what piece of advice would you give to someone like myself who is at an early stage of their or what piece of advice do you wish you were given at an early stage of your career?

I encourage everyone to equip themselves. Everything has gone digital. If you have to do your short courses at Udemy, then do them. People do short courses and get hired. Those are the tools you'll need. Do as many short courses as you can and equip yourself and you'll go far. I didn't think I was going to be an A&R Manager. I thought I was going to grow in PR because that's what I studied at the University of Johannesburg. I thought I would become a PR Manager or head of communications at Universal Music South Africa but I kept equipping myself with the knowledge that could help me succeed in the industry.