Alberto Paoli, the business developer and label manager at Believe Music, a global digital record label, was always interested in music. However, it was not until recently that he pursued this passion and started working for a record label.
“Ever since I was a kid I was super interested in music, and I’ve always had a very musical ear,” he said. Music “is a way to display emotions and art that fills your soul more than just another job at a corporate level.”
This love of music is essential in his job because it can be demanding, and the schedule is unpredictable. “It is very hard [to balance your work and home life] in music because artists are usually working very late at night,” he said.
However, even though Paoli loves his job and has always enjoyed music, he did not study music or entertainment in college. “I actually studied business because I didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t want to just have a career in music because I feel like that is a little bit limiting just in case I didn’t like working in the music industry,” he said.
After graduating, Paoli initially worked in TV, helping develop programs for HBO, but he switched to music because he preferred a faster working pace. New music is released every week as opposed to TV shows or movies that can take years.
Because of how often new music comes out, Paoli is busy developing marketing strategies for his clients and devising ways for new songs to become hits.
In addition to the fast pace, Paoli enjoys supporting burgeoning artists. His favorite part of the job is finding “new talents and discovering what new music is coming out on platforms,” he said.
Paoli was able to do this with Mexican band Grupo Frontera. “We signed them when they were singing in a garage as a cover band,” he said.
For Paoli, this showed that his industry gives opportunities to people who want to do the work. According to Paoli, music can change people’s lives overnight.
Even though working in the music industry is a dream come true, Paoli recognizes that being successful in this field requires enormous patience and perseverance. “You must be super passionate,” he said. You also have to be open minded. “You never know what the secret recipe to making a good artist is.”
