During this year’s Women In Music Awards, we inducted a further 14 game-changing industry executives (including two posthumous awards) into the Roll Of Honour, in association with TikTok.
They join the pantheon of previous honourees, including some of the biggest names in the business, from Emma Banks and Sarah Stennett to Kanya King, Rebecca Allen and Stacey Tang, that have been selected since the awards began in 2014.
The Roll Of Honour aims to highlight the breadth, depth and variety of individuals who are game-changers in the music industry, with their activities consistently benefiting women, or focusing on empowerment/gender disparity.
Following the Women In Music Awards ceremony, Music Week is running Q&A interviews with all of this year’s Roll Of Honour inductees.
Berrin Latif is the VP of legal and business affairs at BMG UK. Latif joined BMG UK as business affairs consultant in 2013 and has since progressed to vice president of legal and business affairs. Her role at BMG UK includes negotiating various commercial contracts and advising on general commercial matters, as well as providing consistent and continuous support for her colleagues.
Previously a mentor of the Bertelsmann Cross-Divisional Mentoring Programme in 2019, Latif has also been a devoted and passionate member of the committee for BMG’s diversity initiative and employee resource group, The Network, since its inception in 2018. She is also a member of the BMG UK Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, and sits on BMG’s Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.
Here, Berrin Latif opens up about industry achievements, mentors and offers advice for the next generation of executive talent...
How do you feel about joining the Music Week Women In Music Roll Of Honour?
“I am so grateful for the recognition and being included amongst these amazing women. Thank you!”
How do you look back on your early years getting into the industry?
“I joined the industry directly after school with no idea what to expect, no specific goals, and no long-term plan other than the desire to work in the music industry.”
Did you have a mentor at that stage?
“In my first job, my manager (Darrell Rushton) in the royalties department was very supportive and taught me a lot about the industry.”
What’s your biggest achievement so far?
“Studying for a law degree and legal practice course and finally qualifying as a solicitor is probably one of my biggest achievements. I decided after a few years of working that I wanted to study law. I continued working full-time and studied part-time about three evenings a week for four years. The legal practice course which followed the degree was around two evenings a week for a further two years. There was no guarantee where this would lead but it was something I wanted to do, particularly as I had left school and had started work quite young.”
Avoid communicating solely via emails and if possible, talk over the phone or, even better, speak face to face
Berrin Latif
What advice would you offer young women about enjoying a successful career in music?
“Do not be disheartened when things go wrong or not as you had hoped, it happens and it’s about how you deal with those situations and what you take away from it.
"Avoid communicating solely via emails and if possible, talk over the phone or, even better, speak face to face. You gain so much more from a discussion.”
What’s the best advice you’ve ever had?
“Work hard and try your best.”
What’s your biggest lesson from 2021 so far?
“Remote working is not for me – I like working in the office and being in an office environment as well as seeing people. To me working at home really loses the 'working in the music industry' feeling that you get from the office.”
Click here for this year’s full list of Roll Of Honour inductees. The full list of inductees is available here.
