Heather McDonald has worked in nearly all aspects of the music industry, from independent record labels to acting as manager and buyer of a record store to tour booking and show promotion.
Experience:
Heather has worked in the music industry since her teen years. She started out sitting behind a record store counter, first as an employee and then as the manager of a small, independent record store. During her time at the record store, Heather worked closely with both major and indie labels on new release promotion and worked on in-store performances from artists across all genres.
Heather left the record store to move to Glasgow, Scotland, where she worked at indie label Shoeshine Records. There, Heather got to do a little of everything: dealing with manufacturing and distribution, securing international licensing agreements, artist management, tour booking, show promotion and album promotion.
Heather now works as a freelance writer, covering music for many print and web outlets. She also works in PR for various bands and record labels. She is currently involved in the set up of a label designed to give Caribbean based musicians opportunities in the US and Europe.
From Heather McDonald:
Besides my experience in the music industry, I am a huge music fan (yes, everything from post punk to reggae to hip hop to twee pop - and then some), who loves talking record labels, tours, collectible seven inches, and anything else you can come up with. My favorite part of the music business is that it is filled with people who follow their dreams with all their hearts, even if it means taking the road less traveled. I hope that I can share some of my experience and help more people who are passionate about music make a living doing what they love. Contact me any time with your questions or your comments about the site, or even if you just want to talk music or let me know what you're working on. I do receive a lot of emails, so I ask for your patience - I promise to get back to you as quickly as possible.
References:
- Mount Florida Writers' Society on MySpace
Heather's freelance writing/PR company on MySpace - Indie Music Jobs
Heather's article about working in indie music from Alison Doyle's About.com Job Searching site.