Welcome to the latest edition of Six Questions With..., a weekly short and sharp interview with a live music figure. Email jhanley@nbmedia.com if you would like to take part or recommend someone for inclusion.
This week's Q&A is with Aimi Lewis-Mattock, account director for public relations firm The Zeitgeist Agency.
What was your first job in music?
My first ever job in music was an internship at a PR agency called BAM! PR in Camden. It was so long ago now that we still used to actually call journalists on the phone to pitch artists! I was lucky enough to learn a lot in my time there and the best part of that job was doing press for/meeting Viv Albertine.
How long have you been in your current role?
I have been at my current job at The Zeitgeist Agency for almost five years now so my specific role has changed a lot over the years, but I was promoted to account director about six months ago. I have managed festival accounts the size of Reading & Leeds, as well as the smaller, boutique festivals such as Kendal Calling; one-dayers such as Slam Dunk and Live At Leeds as well as international festivals such as Flow Festival in Helsinki, Rock Werchter in Belgium, Snowbombing in Austria and Hideout in Croatia.
I also work/have worked with brands in the music space such as Dr Martens, VICE, Original Penguin, Fred Perry, LEGO, ASOS, Farah and Flare Audio to name a few, as well as a few charity campaigns with Girls Against and I Am Whole.
What is your favourite thing about working in the live music industry?
Working on a massive project from day one, watching it all come together and finally getting to see people experience it first-hand. It might sound cheesy but when you get to watch a project/event/festival you’ve worked on since day one and then get to witness one person or 100,000 people screaming along to their favourite bands, knowing they’re experiencing something they'll remember for the rest of their lives - it’s always the best feeling to know you had a part to play in it, however tiny that part may be in comparison to the scale of the event.
What is the one thing you would like to change about the business?
An increase in the number of dogs in offices. Specifically the Zeitgeist office…(Paul and Jamie, you seeing this?)
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
There have been so many highlights! I did a press junket with Nile Rodgers once and got to hear all his crazy stories about all the legendary artists he’s worked with. He also found out my mum was a massive fan and got her on stage to dance with him while he performed at the festival... this was definitely a surreal highlight of my career (and a definite life-highlight for my mum!)
A few months ago I was contacted by a mother about her young teenage daughter who had been a victim of an awful attack. Very long and horrible story short, I gave them a couple of tickets to one of our festivals and I recently received an email (including photos of them having the best time there) explaining that because of this it had helped her daughter through such a difficult time and helped to turn her life around. Receiving that email was a definite highlight of my career so far.
What's the best gig you’ve ever been to?
This is the hardest questions in the history of questions! I’ll stick to this year only otherwise I won’t ever stop. Paramore at Royal Albert Hall and Muse at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire were two gigs I’ll definitely never forget.
