Strap in. It’s a doozy.

As a teenager, there were three things I knew that I wanted to accomplish in my career as an adult:

1) Work in the music Industry
2) Learn from amazing people
3) Meet Harry Styles.

I truly believe these three VERY clear desires (coupled with a ruthless belief system and hardcore work ethic) were the pillars for what manifested into the wild journey that’s been my career trajectory (and yep, Harry happened too)!

After finishing my PR degree I knew I needed to get out there and network my way into my first music gig. Many conversations and cover letters later, friends of mine who were running festivals in Melbourne hooked me up with my first publicist gig working for the iconic Vix Ciesiolka at Alpha Entertainment.

After six amazing months working with emerging artists and festival clients, it was time for me to expand my network and continue to develop my communications craft in the industry. From this point to my first PR job – I had interned at two other PR agencies (shout out to Vader from Ditto and Alyse and Dane from Little Giant Agency), volunteered as a media runner at plenty of music festivals and utilised amazing resources like The Push career accelerator program where I was paired with my mentor Ella Petite who was an A&R rep for Mushroom records.

This time of my life was filled with a lot of sacrifice and determination. With every no, a new door opened – I kept my spirits high and continued to reach out for help which led to a lead that scored me my Publicity & Promotions internship at Sony Music! 

When my internship had finished up I was offered a job as a Junior Sales rep – selling CDs and Vinyl to Australia Post and Coles! It wasn’t where I thought I’d end up, but you know what, it was a foot in the door and I was grateful to still be working in music.

As the universe performed its magic, internal shifts happened over time and I worked my way into becoming the Artist Relations & Communications Representative for Victoria. Three years and many incredible experiences later, my continuous need for expansion brought upon a refreshing career change and I now represent the amazing Bolster Agency as their Culture & Entertainment Partnerships Manager.

For those that don’t know Bolster is a marketing agency made up of incredibly talented humans who specialise in building world class campaigns, content, product and experiences that help our culture and entertainment clients tap into their audiences and grow.

As the Culture & Entertainment Partnerships Manager, I have the pleasure of representing our brilliant team of strategists, content creators, web developers and digital marketers across new and existing clients.

My day-to-day involves connecting with industry thought leaders, learning about their upcoming work projects and finding solutions to how Bolster can plug in and help bring their campaign to life across the various services we offer. Other duties include being a happy fairy between specialist teams and clients to ensure our relationships are productive, healthy and efficient!

The people I work with and the impact our work has on the wider community.

Our team is full of incredibly kind, smart and talented people. I’m constantly involved in progressive and innovative conversations that make my job and coming to work very exciting and inspiring.

I also love that our work directly impacts the world and community around us. It’s wonderful to see clients’ ideas come to life and knowing our team has played a role in bringing colour and joy to our community.

My role models are the two ladies who have personally shaped me along my career path and continue to inspire to this day.

Krystal Hingston: Krystal has always been a north star in my life! I worked with Krystal at Sony and watched her grow as a leader in various different roles. Krystal then chose to follow her heart and left the music industry to develop herself within the wellbeing and coaching sector for a few years. She’s now back working in music combining her two passions together working as an artist manager for Lemon Tree Music and running her creative coaching business GEM that helps support artists to have successful and sustainable careers! So inspiring! 

Briony Johnson: Brizzle is one of the most dedicated and hard working women in this industry. Bri was the legend who gave me my sales role at Sony and has worked in sales at Sony Music for over 25 years and is now the National Director of the department . She is the woman who powers the incredible machine that provides retailers with physical products in this country! Go Bri!

Proudest career achievement has to be between scoring my first newspaper cover story in The Age for the latest Bob Dylan album and working directly with Mark Ronson and his team to help execute the amazing Club Heartbreak album campaign in Australia. Oh, and meeting Harry, of course!

The Australian dance scene is brewing with many incredible producers making great tracks that will hopefully bring life to our dance floors soon.

Here are my three artists to watch:

Logic 100
Sydney-born, Berlin-based DJ and producer who’s latest EP was co-signed by Four Tet.

YAAK
Melbourne-based producer whose production is out of this world. I heard through the grapevine he has some mammoth collaborations coming out later this year and a really groovy side project bubbling away ready to hit our dance floors.

Roy Blues
Melbourne based producer that BLEW me away when I saw him play live last year – linked his live set here to share because it was so damn good.

Firstly, be yourself – authenticity is key to developing in this industry and being yourself will always attract the right people and opportunities to your path.

Secondly, never underestimate the power of relationship building. Connect with people and share your story. Let them know who you are and what you want. I promise you, your words will one day fall on the right ears and an opportunity will come your way (can confirm from personal experience)!

Big picture career goal for me would be combining my two passions: spiritual development and music together.

I’m not sure what that looks like right now but I was touched by okay players wellness EP called The Passage. I would love to collaborate with Australian artists and creatively direct my own wellness EP one day!

If I’m being honest here I unashamedly was (and might still be) a teenage Tumblr tragic who loved a quote or 10… here’s one that’s always stuck with me: Really listen to people. Every person you meet knows something you don’t and has something to teach you.

The rest of 2021 is going to be really exciting! Working on some epic initiatives with the Bolster team to amplify the way labels and musicians connect with their audiences in the digital landscape.

On a personal level, I’m also going to continue working away at my side projects Instrumental Creative and Our Space Within. Looking forward to releasing more music playlist services, astrology-based workshops and continuing to facilitate women’s circles and community connection.

Estelle – American Boy feat. Kanye West. I rap. I sing. The Whole SHEBANG. It’s the greatest time.