My name is Hannah Oman, I’m originally from the highlands of Scotland, specifically a tiny village just north of Inverness called Munlochy, and I studied Music Business at SAE Institute in Glasgow. A lot of my life revolves around music, so I spend a lot of time at gigs or if not I’m usually reading or watching something to do with music haha! But I also love spending time with my friends, family and my two dogs, I think it is important to spend time away from your main passion too so you don’t burn out or get bored!

My title at DF Concerts is Marketing & Communications Assistant. I think like most working in the live music industries you tend to have a very dynamic job that can mean you end up doing loads of different things throughout the day but on the marketing side I mostly take care of the artwork for most of DF’s shows, liasing between agents and our graphic designer to get these created, and looking after some of the online marketing including updating website listings and social media events and posts. The communications side of the job includes organising photo passes, artists interviews and helping with press releases.

The opportunity with DF was kind of just a right time, right place situation in some regards. I had been on placement with the company from January to May of this year for the Industry Placement Module and then continued over the summer as a Business Support Assistant during their busy summer season. This was a great experience and I was able to work with a great team who gave me the best introduction to the company, I was able to get a really good understanding of the company at all levels which definitely helped when coming into this new role. When the Business Support position was coming to an end, the role within the Marketing Department became available and I had already done some work with the marketing team assisting them with some projects over my placement so they encouraged me to apply and then I went through the usual application and interview process and ended up with the job!

I think the biggest piece of advice I could give anyone looking to get a job in a music promotions company is to just get stuck in wherever you can, no experience is bad experience, and hard work is always appreciated! Also don’t be frightened to reach out to people who you think you could learn from, a lot of people in the business are so lovely and really willing to help younger people get opportunities and experience, however you do also need to be conscious that these people are very busy and there is a fine line between being keen and pestering people too much, so always be respectful when reaching out to people!

As I mentioned before music and live music especially has always been my main passion and as much as I would like to say it was what I always dreamed of doing it honestly wasn’t, growing up I think like a lot of other people I had no idea just how much went on behind the scenes of the music business and that it would actually be possible for me to pursue a career in it, I just knew it was what I loved! It was actually my music teacher in secondary school who encouraged me to study Music Business, she overheard me once talking about all this music knowledge I had but had nothing to do with it, because I was very involved with the business department in school at the time, I think she put two and two together and in doing so found the perfect degree for me!

SAE seemed like the best option for this degree not only because of the location being in a city with one of the most thriving music scenes and so many legendary venues but also the fact the degree was only two years. Although it is a big commitment I really felt like it has given me a head start in the industry, I’ve been able to complete my degree and begin working full-time in the industries in half the time a lot of my peers will take to do the same.

The thing I enjoyed most about SAE Glasgow was the people and the community that is there. With the class sizes being so small it means that you get to know everyone really well and you form a great support network with the other students and the lecturers who are really hands-on with their teaching and provided us all with amazing opportunities. It’s also just nice to be surrounded by others working in the creative industries as you are able to relate to a lot of the same struggles.

To anyone considering applying to SAE I would say; do make sure you are prepared, it is a commitment and you will need to work hard but at the same time you will have so much fun and meet incredible people that will make it all worth it, and coming out with a full degree in two years is not bad compensation!

To follow in Hannah’s footsteps check out our Glasgow campus where Hannah completed a music business degree