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10 Questions with ... Jen Sullivan
February 6, 2018
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
WXRK (K-Rock) Promotions Coordinator, RCA Records (Rock Promotion Assistant and Southeast Regional Manager), Independent Promotion, and eOne VP/ Promotion.
1. How did you first become interested in the record business?
Well, to be honest I never thought I'd leave radio. At the time, I was doing promotions for K-Rock here in NY. I was of the Rob Cross/Mike Peer era. I was so happy; I truly thought I would retire hanging up K-Rock banners & pulling CDs for the on-air staff. One day, my boss (now friend) Marie Oldham, called me into her office and said, 'close the door. You have to leave.' I laughed and looked at her with every emotion of Winona Ryder. She said, 'The station is changing, we're all leaving. You need to get out before they start laying off people'. Then she said, 'You have an interview at RCA Records with my friend, Billy Burrs'... and the rest is history.
2. It feels like so long ago when we first met and you were working with Billy Burrs at RCA Records. What was your biggest takeaway from those days?
RCA is where I learned everything I know. I was 22 years old and didn't even really know what 'radio promotion' was. I lucked out that starting as an assistant I was working with some of the best promotion people in the business. The department consisted of Richard Palmese, Peter Gray, Michael Williams, Dave Dyer etc.... and of course Billy. So I would sit outside Billy's office and listen to his calls, which as you can imagine was hilarious and very captivating. I knew very quickly this was what I was meant to be doing. The RCA days, is when I came into my own promo-style. Over the years I've had programmers call me 'The Female Burrs' I take that as a huge compliment. He is forever, family.
3. Congrats on your new VP/Promotion position at eOne! What led to this exciting new opportunity?
THANK YOU! As an independent, I worked with eOne on projects and they were always great. They have an incredible radio staff over there. Dontay Thompson (who I worked with at RCA), George & George Cappelini & Meg Symsyk. I always loved working projects with them it just seemed like a natural fit. I was very happy in my own indie promo world but being given the opportunity to work with these people & knowing where our Global Head of Music, Chris Taylor is taking the company...this just felt like the place I needed to be.
4. Give us the 411 on Entertainment One.
eOne is HUGE. And by huge, I mean, last fiscal year the company made over $1B in revenue. I just heard that number last week so I had to throw it in to show off. Don't judge me. Besides the Music division, they also have Film, TV (Designated Survivor) & Family properties which is includes my son, Nico's favorite, Peppa Pig. They also have a publishing/synch division that is integrating with the other parts of the company. The list goes on and on, its way more massive than I realized. They are also in the process of expanding so we're only getting bigger.
5. What do you have coming up for Alternative Radio in 2018?
Currently I'm prepping to work the next Death From Above track. The first single is over 15m streams which is great! We will also have a new Arkells coming early summer. Along with doing radio promotion as part of this position we're also looking to sign some new Alternative bands so its lining up to be a very exciting 2018.
6. What may surprise people the most to learn about eOne?
They are extremely innovative in their approach to business, so that creativity factor was an absolute draw for me. Our CEO, Darren Throop, has had huge success with TV/Film but he started in music. Chris Taylor, our new global head for music, also came from a music background. Chris used to be Drake's lawyer and also launched bands like Metric and DFA with his Last Gang label. Having these two guys on the forefront of this expansion and knowing their vision for the music division = one happy and excited Jen.
7. Where do you get your greatest pleasure in doing record promotion?
It sounds lame, but I genuinely LOVE people. I love hearing their stories, their background...everything. I feel like promotion is so much more personal than people talk about. I've been invited to PDs/MDs homes, I'm friends with some of their wives, met their kids etc. It's amazing. If I meet a programmer who is standoff-ish I look at it like a dare to be his/her best friend, so I'm sort of a nightmare like that. Ha! Being able to talk to people from all across the country and discuss music for a living, it's a W for me.
8. What is your favorite part of your job?
God, I love getting those ADDS! The day I'm not screaming my head off when someone calls in an add or huge bump, I'm leaving the business.
9. What would surprise people the most about you?
I am very much into street art. Whenever I travel, I like to look up local street artists in the area and check them out.
10. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _________?
Using an exclamation point in an email!
Bonus Questions
Tell us about your kids.
They are just the best! I've never loved anything more in my life. Jack is 8 and Nico is 6. They're so different which I love. Jack is very outgoing, into sports and has a lot of energy. While Nicholas is calm, sweet and shy but secretly hilarious. He comes up with some one-liners that I'm serious dead jealous of. And they don't give one EFFF about what I do for a living. Jack told his teacher, "my mom's job is to I listen to music and dance." Sooooo, there's a high possibility his teacher thinks I'm a stripper but that's cool. I'm a married, mother of 2 with cankles. I can only pray she looks at me and thinks that.
What are typical weekends like for you?
I'm a soccer mom. Literally. But I LOVE it so much! Whatever sport is in season at the time, I'm there, screaming my head off.
First record ever purchased?
Are you ready for this? Fugees "The Score." I LOVED this record. I was so excited to go to Sam Goody to get it. The next day Lauryn Hill did an interview on MTV where she basically said she would rather light herself on fire than have a white person buy her record. Well the joke is on you LAURYN HILL because unlike most white kids in my neighborhood, I still played that loud and proud.
First concert?
OK I know for a fact I was embarrassed about this and lied about it for years. But I'm not sure why because the answer is, indeed, amazing...Riiiiiiicky Martin!
Favorite band of all-time?
I struggle on deciding what sunglasses to wear on any given day so this is asking a lot of me. But overall I would have to say Foo Fighters. I feel like that's predictable right? Ugh, I just can't help it. My sons are obsessed too. We're planning on taking them to see Foos this year. It will be their first concert.
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