Meet The Team: Poppy Aphiaa Nicholas
Hey! Tell everyone something about yourself that they wouldn’t find out otherwise.
I was born in a Military hospital in Kenya and delivered by all-male midwives or... midhusbands? I also have double-jointed thumbs! :)
Did you always know you wanted to work in the music industry?
Tbh no. I always knew I wanted to write about music amongst my other interests like fashion and food but I never thought I'd end up in a proper music industry career. I didn't think I had enough in the way of experience or connections to get in, so I'm still pretty surprised myself.
What was your path into the industry?
I took Multimedia Journalism as my undergrad degree because writing was pretty much the only thing I was confident that I was good at. After graduating and living as a struggling freelance writer for a year and a bit trying to land a staff writer gig at one of my fav music magazines (and failing miserably) I became disenchanted with my dreams. So I decided to try my luck at music PR jobs instead.
I had the degree, I had the communications skills down and I understood what PR was about so I just went for entry-level PR gigs since I didn't have much experience and luckily, after many a sleepless night and rejection emails, someone was kind enough to take a chance on me and now I'm here loving life at Latch! WooHoo!
Was there a particular learning curve you remember encountering at the beginning of your career?
Oh absolutely, graduating from uni was probably the biggest wakeup call to the realities of life that I've ever experienced. I knew Journalism and PR weren't easy careers to get into but I REALLY underestimated how hard that was and I also underestimated the state of the job market when I was leaving school too. A lot of publications I wrote for and interned at shut down, I had to work multiple jobs at once to sustain myself as freelancing wasn't always a guaranteed income. I really didn't think it'd take me two years post graduating to get my foot into my career but better late than never. Determination and resilience is the key!
What is your current role?
I'm the new Music PR Assistant at Latch!
What does that entail?
At the moment, I'm still in training so my day-to-day is mainly writing press releases and reviews for artists and clients, updating the mailing list and assisting the PR Heads with any admin or other bits. Soon I'll be taking on my own clients and running campaigns independently and trying to get my clients the best coverage possible through my network.
What is a common misconception about the job that you do?
I think a lot of people think PR is all parties and free gifts and celebs and more parties but that is sadly not the case majority of the time. It takes hard work, confidence, good connections and a tonne of people skills.
What was the last track that you listened to?
The last song I listened to was actually by a Latch client called Nicole Chambers, her song 'I'm Fine' has been on repeat since I first got it in my inbox!
What is the most rewarding part of working on artist projects?
It may sound cheesy but probably client satisfaction. When a person comes back and is super-duper happy with what you've done for them, that's the best feeling. A lot of the artists are starting out their careers so it's awesome to be that leg-up for them into the music world and you never know, in a few years that client may end up being the next big thing!
What are the changes you want to see in the music industry?
Personally I would love to see a lot more diversity and inclusion in the higher levels of the music industry. Diversity, in my opinion, can never be a bad thing; diversity of thought, experience and outlook can only help to broaden and deepen the work that's already being done. I'd also like to see more praise and attention given to producers, DJ's, and engineers, especially the women!
Tell us about something you do outside of work.
Outside of work I absolutely love to bake and cook, a new recipe is like making a new friend.
What artists should people be keeping an eye on?
Ohh I'd say Arlo Parks, Kamal and GreenTea Peng all from London, UK and I'm absolutely loving their stuff, big vibe!
Follow Poppy:
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