In this Culture Bar Podcast, we talk to current and past interns of HarrisonParrott who went through the Creative Access process, a company that enables people from communities under-represented in the creative industries to access careers, progress and reach leadership. We ask our panellists for advice on how to secure an internship, how they found the whole process and what they are hoping to achieve or have achieved following the internship. 

In this informative conversation, we are thrilled to be joined by five wonderful panellists:

Alisha Kaur is currently our Accounts Assistant but started at HarrisonParrott as an Accounts Assistant Intern.

Kaya Brown originally started as an intern for touring and artist management. Now she works in the HR department as HR and Operations Coordinator.

Mia Musa-Green is currently our Intern Artist Coordinator for the vocal team.

Matthew Law started working at HarrisonParrott as an Artist Coordinator Intern, then stayed as a permanent staff as an Artist Coordinator.

Lucy Madaras was also an Artist Coordinator Intern at HarrisonParrott.

This episode is hosted by HP’s Lauren O’Brien.

The Culture Bar is a podcast series created by HarrisonParrott focussing on conversations in culture and the arts.

Find us on Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Podbean, Deezer, Stitcher, Pocket Casts and all good podcatcher sites.

Use #theculturebar or follow us on Twitter @_TheCultureBar to keep up with our latest releases.

A special thank you to Robert Cochrane as the composer of the theme tune music, and Merlyn Thomas our editor.

Transcription 

Lauren O’Brien 0:03 
Hello and welcome to the Culture Bar, a panel discussion podcast exploring important topics in the arts and music world. In this podcast, we will be talking to current and past interns of HarrisonParrott, who secured their internships through Creative Access, a company that enables people from communities underrepresented in the creative industries to access careers, progress and reach leadership. We will be asking them for advice on how to secure an internship, how they found the whole process and what they hope to achieve or have achieved following the internships.

We’re first joined by current employees of HarrisonParrott who are still interns or have now taken on other positions at the company. Please, can you each introduce yourselves?

Alisha Kaur 0:45 
Hi, my name is Alisha. So I started as an Accounts Assistant Intern and now I’m full-time as an Accounts Assistant.

Kaya Brown  0:54 
Hi, I’m Kaya. I originally started as an intern for touring and artist management. And now I’m currently working in the HR department as HR and Operations Coordinator.

Mia Musa-Green 1:08 
Hi, I’m Mia. I work as an Intern Artist Coordinator for the vocal team.

Lauren O’Brien 1:15 
And my name is Lauren O’Brien and I will be the host for the podcast. So before we go into the questions, Kaya, would you be able to explain briefly what Creative Access is?

Kaya Brown 1:26 
Creative Access for me is a company that help people who may be from underrepresented backgrounds or cultures. They help people get involved in the creative industries, because, you know, it’s really hard to get a job sometimes in the arts, and they can help you with providing with opportunities, jobs, or experiences, and they often run some workshops and opportunities for networking.

Lauren O’Brien 1:58 
Brilliant, no, it’s a great company. So Alisha, if we start with you, so how did you initially find out about Creative Access? Can you remember?

Alisha Kaur 2:07 
Yeah, so I was actually in contact with someone from my uni. And he was like a coach for finding jobs. And she actually sent me a link to a HR role at HarrisonParrott through Creative Access. So then I just signed up and I went through it all and it looked like quite a good role, and then I researched into the company, applied and then got an interview.

Lauren O’Brien 2:30 
And when you saw this position, why did you think it was particularly relevant for yourself?

Alisha Kaur 2:36 
Well, at first, I kind of wanted to go into HR, and then just looking at like, the Creative Access website, it was like, quite… it was for underrepresented groups. I just thought I would kind of fit in and thought, oh, let me try, give it a go and apply for it.

Lauren O’Brien  3:02 
Brilliant. And Mia same with you. How did you find out about the Creative Access process?

Mia Musa-Green 3:07 
I think I had heard about the company for a while. I think it was kind of after graduating and like, on my job hunt trying to find a job. I just knew that I wanted to do something creative. And I feel like there’s not many kinds of websites dedicated for the arts that are also trying to help certain communities. So yeah, I’d kind of known about the website for a while.

Lauren O’Brien 3:31 
And Kaya, you’ve been working at HarrisonParrott now for quite a while, how long has it been now?

Kaya Brown 3:38 
So for me, it’s been quite an interesting process just because of the whole pandemic. So I got my internship in about October 2019. And then of course, that was about six months. And then the pandemic hitting in 2020. So there’s a bit of a break there. And then in January 2021, a company that’s sort of in the HarrisonParrott’s umbrella, Polyarts, I started working as an Artist Coordinator and the following year moved into HR in HarrisonParrott. So HarrisonParrott has kind of been my whole journey.

Lauren O’Brien 4:18 
And what would you say that you’ve learned whilst working at HarrisonParrott?

Kaya Brown 4:22 
Um, oh, that’s good question. I think I’ve just learned it’s good because I’ve learned how to look at a company especially in the arts from different angles, just because of the different models that I did. Working as an intern for sure. Because I was with the touring department I definitely got some you know, idea of how tours run or, you know, some experiences I probably wouldn’t have gotten before like meeting artists and arranging different things when I was with Polyarts, and then now in HR as well. I’m just learning a lot about, for me, I think I’m learning a lot about myself and the way that I like to work. So I think the confidence there is built and I’m able to sort of work with people and for people, which is great.

Lauren O’Brien 5:14 
And Alisha, similar question, I guess. What do you think you’ve learned while working at HarrisonParrott so far? How long have you been working here?

Alisha Kaur 5:20 
So I started in January. So it’s been like seven months.

Lauren O’Brien 5:23 
Not that long then. 

Alisha Kaur 5:26 
But I would say I’ve learned quite a lot, actually, like Kaya said, because it’s like a music company. I’ve learned quite a lot of like how the music company runs and the artists stuff, even though I’m not directly within the music side of it. But mostly in finance, because I’ve never done anything to do with accounts before. I’ve learned so much. And it’s crazy how much I’ve learned in six months or wouldn’t have thought that I would have like learned as much as I have. But yeah, it’s been good.

Mia Musa-Green 5:56 
So Mia, you’ve been working at HarrisonParrott since January, and your internship finishes in December. What are you looking to do in your next role after your internship, do you think the internship will help you progress? What are you planning on doing?

I think it would definitely help me progress. I’m not entirely sure yet what I want to do next. But I think it’s definitely kind of involved in the music industry. But yeah, this was kind of my first experience in Artist Management. And I’m really enjoying it. So I think, yeah, definitely within Artist Management, maybe try out different genres. Yeah, I mean, I’m not really too sure. But it’s definitely kind of guided what I want to do.

Lauren O’Brien 6:38 
So you think it’s giving you that confidence to just to go for those positions that you might not have gone for before?

Mia Musa-Green 6:43 
Yeah, definitely. Because I think there’s really specific skills of like, kind of looking at adding bookings, and even kind of reading over contracts and things that you wouldn’t like learn really, unless you’re in kind of an artist management company. So yeah, I think it’s definitely kind of taught me useful skills I’ll be able to use.

Lauren O’Brien 7:03 
So Alisha, your internship ended quite recently. And now you’re a full time employee of HarrisonParrott. What did that process involve? How did that transition occur from internship to a full-time position?

Alisha Kaur 7:16 
Well, so I’ve basically had like talks with my line manager, we kind of said, like, they said to me, they do want to keep me on if I wanted to. And I was like, Yeah, I did want to stay. So then we kind of just thought, oh, just be easier. After my three months probation as an intern, we had a meeting, and then they offered me a full-time role. So then they just gave me a new like job description. And I just went through it. And it was kind of work that I had already been doing, but obviously a bit more into it. So I wanted to go for it. So I could learn a bit more and have a bit more experience added as well. Yeah, now, I’m full-time.

Lauren O’Brien 7:53 
So you were happy that they offered you that. You wanted to stay on a little bit longer than your internship was. 

A question for all of you really, a lot of listeners will be wanting tips on how you guys secured these internships. So I’d love to ask you all individually what your top tip will be for people looking for internships with Creative Access. So Kaya, let’s start with you. What’s your tip?

Kaya Brown 8:15 
So from my experience, I remember, I think, when you’re in sort of the applying process of Creative Access, you’re sending your CV and everything and then they would I mean, things might be a bit different just because the whole pandemic, but originally, they would invite you in for like a meeting. And I remember being so, so nervous, but I was treating it like an interview, which was good anyway. But just relax and take your time and be yourself because with Creative Access, they actually do want to know your personality. So that way they can help you get a job that is suited to you. And for an example sometimes when you are applying for a job, often there is another role in the company that you want to be in. So if you are just a bit more open, then perhaps you might be picked for another role. I think that’s kind of what happened to you, Alisha.

Alisha Kaur  9:09 
Yeah, because I originally applied for the HR role. But because I had accounts experience on my CV, they actually offered me the accounts position and I could choose which one I wanted. And then I went with the accounts one.

Lauren O’Brien 9:22 
Great so even if it’s not a particular area of interest to you still go for it, because doors will be opened when you are actually in the organisation. 

Alisha Kaur 9:30 
Yeah, definitely. 

Lauren O’Brien 9:32 
They’re great tips. I’m sure everyone will agree and Mia, what would you say your top tip is?

Mia Musa-Green 9:40 
I think it’s just about looking over kind of all of your experience. So for me, this was kind of my intro to classical music, and I hadn’t had direct experience with artist management. I think it’s just about looking over all of your experience you’ve had before, looking over the job description and just kind of seeing how that matches up. And also not worrying if it’s kind of an introduction to a new area, because it normally is an internship, like, you know, their not expecting you to know everything.

Alisha Kaur  10:07 
Just going to add on to what Mia said, I think don’t feel like you can’t apply to different type of areas and think you need to only go for one area because it’s an internship. So it’s like Mia said an intro into something you want to do, or, you know, want to get more experience in. So I would say don’t just stick to just one, one area. But with Creative Access, like we said, if there is something else that is similar to what you’ve done, or like you’re interested in, then you will be offered it. Yeah, that will kind of be my tip.

Kaya Brown 10:41 
And I was just gonna say, also, the contacts within Creative Access, they will kind of keep up to date with you, and they will help you and I know, you know, if you email them with your concerns, even when you’re, you know, doing your internship, you can rely on them to kind of respond and help you out that way, in the same way that they run some sort of workshops and things because you might decide, you know, actually, I want to try this or try that or I want to speak to this person and get this person as a mentor or something like that.

Lauren O’Brien 11:11 
So Kaya you’re actually leaving the organisation quite soon? Well, I’m sure we’ll all be very sad to see you go. What are your plans after you leave and would be able to tell us what the best thing about HarrisonParrott has been for you?

Kaya Brown 11:24 
Yeah, so I’m actually leaving to do some travelling. But also, I think I’m I think anyway, I’m leaving to move to another country, hopefully, for a very long time. I don’t know, it depends I sort of just want to get out of London, but I am hoping to meet loads of different people and discover a different culture to this one. And I think that’s sort of what I want to do. Talk to different people, and I want to stay creative, definitely, and get to know different people. And what I’ll miss most about HP is, well, the contacts. I’ve met some really lovely people here. The, you know, the sorts of opportunities, there’s a lot of opportunities here, and especially when you’re talking to different people, and everyone has different ideas. Working in HR, I’ve really enjoyed just the whole process of it. And it’s made, it’s kind of inspired me to go forward with that. And I definitely want to try and take that with me when I go to different countries. Maybe not for the first few months as I planned to be on a beach, but we’ll see. 

Lauren O’Brien 12:39 
We don’t blame you. 

Kaya Brown 12:41 
And yeah, I think one of the if I can think of like a highlight that I’ve had while working at HarrisonParrott from my internship, I would say, I think there was an opportunity when I sort of got to help, and that was really fun just going backstage and seeing everyone move heavy instruments all over the place and just the whole background of how the show would happen. And then of course, seeing the show that was great. And then you know in the in the long term after the internship, I think my highlight has just been the everyday sort of working in HR being in our office and welcoming guests and doing all I need to just communicate to different staff members. I’ve really enjoyed that.

Lauren O’Brien 13:28 
Brilliant. And Mia, same question for you. What’s been the best thing so far? Because you have no plans of leaving we are glad to know, what’s the best thing so far for you?

Mia Musa-Green 13:40 
I think my favourite thing was I went to an audition day at National Opera Studios, which was just so cool. I felt like Simon Cowell and just watching all the kind of graduates come on and audition for us. What I really like about the vocal team is that they are like really wanting to hear my opinions and like the artists and respective artists. So yeah, I was able to kind of write down my own feedback and see how that kind of matched up to everyone else’s. And they were just really cool. Just seeing what the kind of new fresh artists come in, come sing for us. 

Lauren O’Brien 14:14 
Yeah, it’s amazing as well, that Creative Access has opened those opportunities, like you would have never probably sat in such a strange X factor-type environment before. So it’s great that process has given you those opportunities. 

So Alisha, how did it feel coming into HarrisonParrott as an intern? What was that experience like?

Alisha Kaur  14:37 
Well, I was a bit like nervous at first, obviously, being a new person in the role, but when I came there was actually quite a few of us as interns. So it didn’t feel like I started by myself because it was all kind of new starters and on the same level. And then we got talking and then like it felt more comfortable, I think joining with more people. So I think that’s I think it’s good how HarrisonParrott employ quite a lot of interns at the same time.

Lauren O’Brien 15:05 
And they do that across quite a few departments don’t they so there is this marketing, HR, tours, vocal which is brilliant,

Kaya Brown  15:12 
Just going on top of that, I think it’s good because when I started it was me and another person as Creative Access interns and so when we would go away for like a workshop or anything, we weren’t together kind of doing that. And it’s around the same time so it was nice to meet everyone. But then also, as I was starting, I was replacing a Creative Access intern who was going on to do something else called Lucy. So my first week, I managed to meet her just before she left. And also there was another employee who was now full time called Matthew. And he actually started as a Creative Access intern. So I knew that they didn’t, you know, Matthew had sort of got this job. But he actually started as a Creative Access intern. So it was nice to go to him for tips or just kind of know that maybe there is an opportunity here to not just sort of do your internship and then leave you know that contacts kind of still be there. And it’s sort of a rolling thing.

Lauren O’Brien  16:18 
That’s been great. Thank you guys for giving us your advice and tips that’s been incredibly useful. And I’m sure anyone looking to get a role through Creative Access will find all your advice incredibly useful. 

Everyone 16:30 
Thank you.

Lauren O’Brien  16:33 
We’re now joined by two past HarrisonParrott interns who have now left the company and are still working in the music industry. Thank you both for joining us. Please could you both introduce yourselves?

Matthew Law 16:43 
Hi, my name is Matt. I started working at HarrisonParrott as a Artist Coordinator Intern. And then I stayed as a permanent staff as an Artist Coordinator.

Lucy Madaras 16:58 
Hi, my name is Lucy. I too was a Artist Coordinator Intern here at HarrisonParrott about three years ago now from April 2019 to October 2019.

Lauren O’Brien 17:11 
Great so before we go into like what you guys are now doing past your time HarrisonParrott, it would be great to know how you both initially found out about Creative Access and why at the time you thought it was particularly relevant for both of you.

Lucy Madaras 17:26 
So I first found out about Creative Access, because I was applying for an apprenticeship at a radio station in Birmingham. And so I’d got through to the final round, but eventually didn’t get it. And it was run by Bauer Media, the radio station. So when they got in contact to say you’d been unsuccessful, but they also said, but we think there’s potential and we’d really like to mentor you. And they told me about this radio masterclass that was happening a couple of months down the line by the BBC. So I was like, Cool. Like, that’s, you know, I’ll just do what I have to do. And so I went to the masterclass and had no idea that it was run by Creative Access. And obviously, at the time, now we know as alumni, they do these masterclasses, like every month, but at the time, this was like my first one had no idea that it was a regular thing. But yeah, so I turned up and saw it was run by Creative Access, had never heard of them before. But it was like, oh, this sounds interesting. So I went home from the masterclass really inspired and raring to go. And kind of like, yeah, looked Creative Access up online, and was just kind of astounded that I’d never heard of them before. So I was like, Oh, this is like every company I would have ever dreamed of working for has adverts listed on here. So I just kind of signed up. And the rest is history really, went from there.

Lauren O’Brien 18:58 
That’s interesting, because you think of Creative Access as this platform for getting into the industry for jobs. But you don’t realise actually that they do these workshops as well. I didn’t know that, that’s really interesting.

Lucy Madaras 19:09 
And it’s open to interns and alumni. And even at that point, I actually wasn’t even an intern. So I’m not actually sure how I got in the building. But they let me in. They must have liked me because I had gone through that interview process. They must have like been on their list or something. But yeah, like, you know, generally it’s for like interns and alumni. But it all worked out.

Lauren O’Brien 19:31 
Fantastic. And Matt same with you, how did you first find out about Creative Access?

Matthew Law 19:37 
I was casually scrolling through the website of Arts Jobs. And at that time, I was working as an intern at a music sheet app startup and I thought I’d like to try something different in the music industry. So I decided to apply to job adverts which were posted by Creative Access. So I did some research online and found out more about the organisation. And I thought it’s a really great organisation that provides opportunities for different people, people of colour or from lower social or economic backgrounds. Think it’s a great opportunity for me to apply. And then yeah, that’s how I got my job at HarrisonParrott.

Lauren O’Brien  20:29 
What roles did you both apply for then at HarrisParrott and why did those particular roles appeal to you?

Matthew Law 20:37 
I applied for the Artist Coordinator Intern. When I read the job description, I found it very fascinating to be able to get some work experience working behind the scenes for putting up a concert or a project. I found it very fascinating. And I studied music at university. So I always wanted to work in music stuff. So I was thrilled that HarrisonParrott offer this amazing internship.

Lauren O’Brien 21:18 
Lucy, similar question for you, what role was it that you applied for and why that particular role?

Lucy Madaras 21:25 
So same as Matt, it was for the Artist Coordinator Intern role, but funnily like, Creative Access actually approached me about the role. They just emailed me and said, you know, we have this opportunity, and we think your skills and experience could be a really good fit for the job. And I remember looking at it, and I was like, Oh, I don’t know if that’s for me, because I hadn’t like, unlike Matt, I hadn’t studied music at all. I hadn’t come from a classical music background, like, the whole reason I was working in radio, because I was very into music and like wanted, you know, to go in a path in that industry, if possible. I hadn’t grown up with classical music. I was really coming in from the ground up. So I was a bit reluctant, actually. But I just thought I was kind of looking to leave my job at the same time. And I just thought, you know what, I’ll go for it. And I’ll never know if I don’t apply. So I did and yeah, miraculously got an interview and got the internship. So it was a kind of a bit of fate. But yeah, it worked out really well.

Lauren O’Brien 22:42 
So Matt, once you completed your internship, you were offered a full-time position at the company. What key skills and experience did you gain from your whole time at HarrisonParrott? How long were you here for?

Matthew Law 22:52 
I started working as an intern in March 2019. And I was offered the permanent role as the Artist Coordinator in September 2019. And then I left the company in January 2022. So it was nearly three years. Honestly, I’ve learned a lot a lot while I was working at HP. Not only from the artist management department, I also interned in the marketing department and the sponsorship and partnership department. So I learned from a lot from different managers, they have different styles of working. And also while working as a coordinator I’ve been working with a lot of amazing artists and a lot of different promoters. So I think one of the main thing that I’ve gained was how to prioritise your workload and how to manage your time. And one of my most memorable experiences working at HP was the monumental HP 50 concert that was in October 2019. It was a massive celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the company and we organised three concerts at the Southbank Centre, I was involved in the invite chain, the guest list, and also helping out at backstage, just doing anything that other colleagues would require us to do just helping out a lot. And it was great experience meeting a lot of artists that you only knew them through the screen, but not actually meeting them in person. So it’s such a great experience, to meet them and talk to them and get to know them a little bit more.

Lauren O’Brien 24:56 
Lucy, similar question, what are the key things you learned and your experiences whilst at HarrisonParrott? And how long was your internship as well?

Lucy Madaras 25:06 
My internship was six months. So yeah, I think for me, one of the biggest things I learned was just about the classical music industry. I think yeah, like I mentioned before, I hadn’t had any experience with it, hadn’t really grown up listening to classical music at all. So actually just working in that kind of environment and really immersing myself in part of the music industry that probably otherwise I wouldn’t have had much experience with was really interesting and insightful. And even now in my role, in my job now, I work a lot with classical music. So actually having that experience from my internship has been really beneficial. And I think it might sound silly, but generally just like office skills. My first job that I had up until my internship was in the hospitality sector and retail. And so it was very, very different to working in an office. And you know, the dynamics are so different. So I think just actually learning how an office works. And just all of those things, it might sound really silly, but actually, kind of learning from the ground up is quite useful. And when you do go into other jobs, you’re like, Okay, I know, I know how this kind of works.

Matthew Law 26:25 
Yeah, the tiny thing of how to email different people, or how to email your internal colleagues was such a big skill that we learned.

Lucy Madaras 26:34 
You don’t really think about it, but it’s so integral and we literally spend all day in our jobs now on emails. So yeah, like actually just learning how to address people. And yeah, it sounds really silly.

Lauren O’Brien 26:49 
The basics that are just so fundamental. 

Lucy Madaras 26:51 
Yeah, definitely. 

Lauren O’Brien 26:53 
And now you’ve both left HarrisonParrott. Where are you both working now? And how did your experience at HarrisonParrott help you secure those positions once you left?

Lucy Madaras 27:05 
So we both funnily enough, now work for the same company again. So we both work for a company called Concord. And I work for the music publishing side of the business whereas Matt works for the theatrical side. So I’ll let you talk more about that. So my role is a sync and licencing associate. So essentially, my day to day job is to try and place the music from the publishing catalogue on to UK TV. So I work a lot with you know, broadcasters, such as ITV, Channel 4, BT Sports, Sky. Work on shows like Made In Chelsea, Love Island, Hollyoaks, I work a lot with that. And I think obviously, I think kind of I mentioned it before, but I think just having even though all of those shows, I do work on we also look after the Boosey and Hawkes catalogue at Concord and which is obviously of course, all classical music and has incredible composers like Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, so many. So I think just having that experience here, and then being able to kind of take that into Concord. And actually, one of the artists we have on the publishing side is John Adams, who HarrisonParrott also look after. So I mentioned that in my interview, and I was like, that’s a good, that’s a good segue. 

So one of the biggest things I think I took from HarrisonParrott going into my role at Concord is learning just how to communicate with artists. And so yeah, in our internships, we would communicate with artists and, you know, deliver contracts and terms and generally talk to them about things like that. And same in my role, I communicate with songwriters a lot, you know, about registering their music or performances they might want to perform at. So it’s just interesting kind of interacting with those people. Because I think before you might have been a bit scared and overwhelmed. But yeah, I think just learning how to really communicate with them effectively to get them, because you want to do the best for them. So I think just learning how to deal with that has been really beneficial.

Matthew Law 29:31 
I also use the similar communication skills that I learned at HP to talk to any playwrights or composers that I work with now at my current role, because I think it’s a great skill to have to make the opposite party feel appreciated, and also feel respected for what they have been doing and I think it’s a great way to make them feel welcome.

Lucy Madaras 30:00 
I think that’s so important because yeah, I think that’s so true because Concord is a massive company. So, you know, in the publishing side, we look after a lot of songwriters. And I’m sure the same is true for you, a lot of playwrights.

Matthew Law 30:15 
We manage more than 10,000 titles, some plays and musicals. So we tried to have a nice balance to not only focus on certain titles, but we have to give some love to other titles as well.

Lucy Madaras 30:29 
Yeah. And on the publishing side, we look after, I think it’s over 600,000 copyrights. So it’s a lot of songwriters to deal with. And yeah, I think you just, you want to make sure that all of them feel appreciated. Because in a business that big, and with a lot of copyrights, it is difficult. But yeah, I think just to do the best for them and know that you are there for them. And working to do what’s best for them has just been really important.

Matthew Law 31:01 
I now work in marketing for Concord theatricals, which is very different to my previous role at HP. And now I work in the theatre world. Previously, I didn’t have any background in theatre. And I think my experience at HP equipped me to just to be open to anything. And also I worked in the marketing department at HP. So it also offered me some insights into how to create some copy for social media, or how to analyse the data, which I was lucky enough to be involved with, dealing with all the data analytics for the HP streaming platform, Virtual Circle. And, yes, it was a very nice and new experience for me that I could use now, at my current role. When I was working at HP, the colleagues are coming from different cultures, from different countries. And it was very nice to learn more about their different cultures. This helps me to work with the US team a lot, because the UK marketing team is only two of us and just give us so much rapport in like working in different time zones, or working in different cultures as well.

Lauren O’Brien 32:38 
So a lot of people listening to this podcast will be hoping to get an internship like you guys did for a music company. So I think they’ll all be wanting some tips or advice from you guys who have managed to do that. Could you both give your sort of top tip to anybody in that position?

Lucy Madaras 32:56 
So yeah, I think one of my top tips is to obviously keep applying, just keep being persistent, because it can be a knock in confidence if you keep getting rejections, like I had many rejections before this internship, but just be resilient, and it will happen. And then once you’re in that, just soak it all up and ask lots of questions. That’s really something I’ve learned in this internship and in my job now is just to ask so many questions. I think, when you’re young and new to a company, you can kind of feel like I’m not gonna bother them. And I think it’s just it’s so important, like knowledge is power. And I’ve really learned that actually, if I don’t know, I don’t know. And yeah, it’s just learn more like that’s how we all learn is just by asking questions, I think just learning to get over that thing in your head of just like to not be like, Oh, no, I shouldn’t bother them. They look really busy. Because actually, everyone’s so helpful, and everyone just wants to help and to help you get the most out of your internship. So yeah, ask lots of questions is my biggest tip.

Matthew Law 34:10 
My big tip before applying for an internship is do your research. Just do proper research on the website or try to talk to anyone that you might know working in that industry to get some points to prepare during the interview to ask them. I think this is a great way to make a good impression on the interview panel.

Lucy Madaras 34:35 
So yeah, and I think once you’re in the place where you’re doing an internship, my biggest tip would be to just ask lots of questions. And you know, this is really the best time to learn about a business when you’re doing an internship because you know, it’s really a role from the ground up and this is really your opportunity and just take it all in and wherever you decide to stay at the company post the internship or you move on, everything you learn is going to help you in your future jobs. And yes, just don’t be afraid to approach, especially higher ups. I think I was definitely very shy and was like, oh, no, I won’t bother them. And actually, if your just like, can I just grab a coffee with you and pick your brain about this or even other avenues because they’ll all have such experience behind them as well. So just being able to share that knowledge and absorb it all. Yeah, I think knowledge is just key. And yeah, just take it all in and just grab every opportunity to ask as many questions.

Lauren O’Brien 35:40 
So do you think Creative Access have given you both this confidence that you didn’t have before to put yourselves out there for different positions, whether that’s in the music industry or not? Like do you think prior to you applying through Creative Access and now do you think you’ve got more confidence to do that and just go for things that you wouldn’t have before?

Matthew Law 36:03 
I think one of the main take away from the Creative Access, induction day, was telling us that we were hired by the companies for reasons so don’t look down on ourselves too much. So that’s one way to boost our confidence I think. 

Lucy Madaras 36:19 
Yeah, that was massive, because like I mentioned earlier, like Creative Access actually approached me about the HarrisonParrott role. And they literally said, how many of you in this room think like you shouldn’t be here and I put my hand up. Because like, I do feel like I’ve just kind of walked in and just Yeah, and they were like You have every right to be here. You know, they wouldn’t have hired you if, you know, without reason. And actually, that was a massive turning point for me. I was like, oh, okay, because you’re right. They interview so many people. So actually just having that confidence of, yeah, they wouldn’t have chosen you. If it wasn’t for a reason whether you know the reasons or not, there is a reason that you’re sitting in that room. Yeah, that’s good. I forgot about that.

Lauren O’Brien 37:13 
Thank you so much Matt and Lucy for joining us for this podcast today. I’m sure so many people looking for internships through Creative Access will find everything you’ve said so, so helpful. So thank you very much.

Lucy Madaras 37:23 
No problem.

Matthew Law 37:24 
No worries, our pleasure.

Lauren O’Brien 37:26 
And that is it for this episode of the Culture Bar podcast. We hope you enjoyed it. I’d like to thank all our guests, Kaya, Mia, Alisha, Lucy and Matt for sharing their experiences of Creative Access. Thanks to Merlyn Thomas, our editor, and Robert Cochrane who composed the theme tune music. Please do subscribe or leave us review. And you can visit Har​rison​Par​rott​.com and Cre​ativeAc​cess​.org​.uk for more information. Do also take a look at the rest of the Culture Bar podcasts for more on important topics in the arts and music world. See you soon.