My name is Anthony Francis and I am a student from Atlanta, based in Boston at Northeastern University. At Northeastern, we are encouraged to learn via “Experiential Learning.” This year I decided to experience the world by moving to New York City for 6 months and working for AMP, a digital marketing agency.
In July of 2017 I moved to New York with 2 goals:
Develop my technical skills in analytics
Get involved in the music industry
Given my job as the Measurement & Analytics Co-op I knew I was positioned in the right opportunity to develop my technical skills. Prior to taking this job, my analytics experience was limited to the classroom setting. I had taken Marketing Analytics, Marketing Research and Business Statistics which gave me the skills to work in SPSS. But I had been craving the opportunity to translate my education to a business setting.
My time at AMP has been great and my boss has really helped me learn a lot more about the analytics world and how it plays into the greater marketing strategy. Not only did I get the opportunity to strengthen my Excel skills, I also got the opportunity to learn Google Analytics and Tableau. I was able to take the numbers calculated and transform them into a insights to help develop a framework for our clients in the digital marketing ecosystem.
While it was definitely a challenge developing my technical skills, getting involved in the music industry proved to be the more difficult task. Luckily after a month in New York I got the opportunity to become an intern at one of the best recording studios in New York, Jungle City Studios.
I would go to this internship 3-4 days a week after working at my day job. My shift started at 8pm and often went past 3am. Sometimes I would finish interning at 8am, go home to take a shower and head straight back to start my day job at 9:30am.
It was a very tiring but fulfilling experience. I got my first opportunity to work behind the scenes in the music industry. I learned a lot about the differences between working on the production of music and in the business of the music industry. I discovered that no matter how hard you’re working, someone is always working harder. I decided that no matter how tiring it gets, the music industry is something I always want to be apart of.
As 2017 comes to an end, I am beginning to set goals for next year. My goal for 2018 is to work smarter. For me, working smarter means working at a company where I can express my passion for both marketing and music. I want to #JoinTheBand because I see myself and my long-term career developing at Spotify and I believe this internship could be my first step to forever.