I want That Job : Jason Edwards, Booking Agent.

We speak to a booking assistant working in the music industry as part of our ‘I Want That Job’ series.

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When it comes to getting into the dance music industry, there’s no right or wrong path, but when you’re just starting out, it’s hard to know where to even begin. When you’re caught up in the humble beginnings, it’s easy to forget that almost everyone you’re looking up to has been in the same boat as you – there is no X Factor for us (imagine how shit that would be).
 
In our new series, I Want That Job, we profile the people who are pivotal in making the dance world go round, from the artists, promoters, agents and managers – and beyond – to find out what they actually do, how they got there and what advice they an give for anyone thinking about a similar career.  
 
 
Name
Jason Edwards
 
 
Age
28
 
 
Job title(s)
Booking Agent
 
 
What people think I do
Shout at promoters until they pay me way over the odds for a tour and then laugh all the way to my offshore bank with my 10%.
 
 
What I actually do
I help artists realize their ambitions as live performers and strategize with their teams to turn those goals into a sustainable and enjoyable carer.
 
 
A typical day for me looks like
I try to get the office for around 9:30am and get on top of my inbox before sitting down with my assistant and going through the most pressing tasks for the day. It’s then a matter of organized chaos whilst we manage our incoming and outgoing calls and incessant inbox whilst we route tours, negotiate deals and work on plans and strategies for our roster. A lot of coffee is consumed along the way.
 
 
What inspired your journey into the music industry? Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got to where you are today?
The NME! When I was 15/16 I would read it cover to cover and get obsessed with the bands it wrote about and then eventually started emulating the writers by submitting reviews to various ‘webzines’ as they were called then. I then got involved in the local music scene in Edinburgh by stage managing at a local club night before eventually moving to Glasgow for University – which lasted all of 3 months. Over the course of 5 years I: played in bands, started a club night, DJed wherever I could (pure blog house classics), started helping bands with PR, got a job at a label as their in-house PR for £100 a week, moved the club night to bigger venues, lost loads of money with the club night, started an under 18s club, closed the under 18s club…and then eventually landed on my feet with a job at The Arches as one of the music programmers there.
 
 
Whilst there I started booking tours for some friends and eventually started a small agency and got a real taste for it. That started to get some attention of other agencies in England and I was offered a job in Brighton at 13 Artists. I stayed there for 3 amazing years before moving to London to join the ranks at Coda.
 
 
What would you say are your favourite things about your job?
Helping an artist go from their first handful of performances to sold out tours and seeing them perform to big festival crowds is still a huge adrenaline rush for me. Also just being able to work, mostly, with people you consider to be friends in a pretty social atmosphere for most of your day is awesome. The travelling is awesome too.
 
 
If anything, what are the least enjoyable aspects of your job and how do you combat them to stay motivated?
The general consensus is that being an agent is a 24/7 job, which is pretty ridiculous when you think about it. I try my best to balance work and ‘life’ but it’s very difficult to switch off fully and disengage. Thankfully it’s still quite easy to stay positive and calm even when you’re dealing with unfulfilled rider requests at 10pm on a Saturday night.
 
 
When you were younger, did you always think this is where you would end up? What inspired you to work in music?
Definitely from my late teenage years. I had aspirations to be a music journalist really and didn’t think there could be a cooler job I could ever do but as soon as I learned more about the industry and learnt just how huge the music world is and the breadth of career opportunities I knew I just wanted to do something in the industry.
 
 
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Probably Years & Years’ sold out show at Wembley Arena this past April. It was a very surreal experience and a hugely proud moment as well as being the biggest headline show any of the artists I work with had ever performed. They’ve given me a lot of career highlights so far.
 

 
Where do you hope to see your career progressing to in the future? Is there anything else you’d like to try?
I’m destined to be an agent for as long as I can muster, it’s seeped into my veins now. I think that agents are moving more and more into an almost managerial level position with their artists (we’re no longer just the people who book the tours) and this is going to change a number of aspects of the job over time. I hope we might become more involved in the overall A&R process and that we might actually embrace the full meaning of ‘A&R’ i.e. it’s a lot more than just ‘finding new talent’. Generally though I’d love to have a few more arena level acts to work with!
I have my eyes on a couple of non-live projects that should come to fruition soon. Let’s see how they go.
 
 
If someone was considering a move into the industry to do a job like yours, what advice would you give them on where to start and how to progress?
Start anywhere and let yourself end up wherever the current takes you. People have a very specific opinion on growingly more and more niche areas of the industry they want to get into and then burn out when they don’t achieve that one specific goal. There are so many interesting areas of the business where you can get hands on with the artists and have an effect on their career. Just keep an open mind.
 
 
What do you think the future of the industry looks like?
Probably a beautiful mess of ideas, panic and jaded optimism that ultimately results in things going back to basics. I think it looks a lot simpler than we all think it’s going to be.
 
 
Jason Edwards is a booking agent at Coda Agency and a judge for the WeGotTickets INDIE50 – a new list celebrating the unsung heroes of the UK’s independent music scene. Nominations close on 31st May, and you can find out more/submit a nomination HERE.
 

Feature By: Yasmine Ben-Afia