As part of our Horizon Future Leaders series of interviews, we are connecting with the music industry’s next generation of leaders to gather candid advice and insights into their career journeys.
This week, we spoke to Anastasia Roe, Publicist at Domino Recording Co.
From her beginnings in student journalism at Leeds to a first role at powerhouse press office MBC PR, Anastasia built her career by saying yes to every opportunity – covering gigs, exploring artist narratives through interviews, and developing a sharp instinct for how stories take shape in music media.
With a thoughtful approach to storytelling and a clear eye on the shifting media landscape, she offers grounded advice for anyone looking to make their mark in music publicity today.
Read the full Q&A with Anastasia below 👇
What’s your current role in the music industry?
I am a Publicist at Domino Recording Co where I look after the UK press for a range of Domino artists including Animal Collective, Ela Minus, Real Estate, One True Pairing and more.
What does your general day to day look like?
When at my desk, my day to day will mostly consist of writing and sending press releases to print and online outlets around announcements, pitching to and facilitating print and online media features, album reviews, previews etc, and organising promotional assets for an album such as biographies and photo shoots.
A publicist is the keeper and extractor of an artist’s story. My day to day will also consist of brainstorming different ways to tell the story, but always ways that make the artist feel comfortable. For example: does an outlet specialise in a theme that is spoken about throughout the album? Will the temperament of a journalist be able to extract the best story possible from an artist that is comfortable for both parties?
A big part of the job is also therefore maintaining relationships with the journalists I am interacting with. Taking them to gigs that our artists are playing, lunches, meeting up at festivals such as The Great Escape and End Of The Road. Keeping on top of the ever-changing press landscape - editors, freelancers, outlets - enables me to secure the best coverage possible for a campaign.
What steps did you take early in your career to gain experience and build skills to get you where you are now?
I grew up doing two things religiously: reading and listening to music. When I got to university in Leeds, an initial meeting with the music editors of the student paper, The Gryphon, allowed me to discover that music journalism was the perfect combination of the two things I loved the most.
From that point, I went to review as many gigs and interview as many artists as possible through the Gryphon, including Nick Mulvey, Slow Club and Loyle Carner. After being music editor in my second year of university, I continued to be a music journalist during my year abroad in Berlin for music sites such as Nothing But Hope And Passion and Bedroomdisco.de, before returning to Leeds as Associate Editor for the art supplement of the paper for the year.
My writing and editing skills, attention to detail and relations with artists were all learnt and perfected by immersing myself in the music journalist world. When I came to land my first job in the industry at MBC PR - Barbara Charone and Moira Bellas’ music PR company - I already had four years of experience on the other side of music PR. I don’t think I would have progressed in my career in the same way or be where I am today without that wealth of experience I gained so early on.
What opportunities did you explore early on that were particularly valuable?
I was lucky enough to begin my career in a very busy press office that looked after the press of some huge artists, including Madonna, Rod Stewart and Foo Fighters. As there were only five or six people at the company whilst I was working there, it was very much everyone getting stuck in and involved in every project.
I started doing regional press, which is a really great way to learn the ropes and understand how press works. But I also made the tea for artists and journalists during interviews at the office, picked up food and coffee, and said yes with enthusiasm to everything I was asked to do.
I don’t think I would have been given the opportunity at that job to see Madonna at the Palladium, help out on her international press day and then gone onto my job at Domino if I’d not shown a willingness to get stuck in at every level.
Has the opportunity landscape changed since then?
From a press perspective, most certainly. During the pandemic, a lot of the major labels got rid of their press departments and a lot of publicists moved to external PR firms or went freelance. There’s still independent labels who have press assistant roles, Domino for example, as well as some great firms like Toast, Satellite 414, and so on.
Are there any specific internships, projects, or initiatives that you would recommend to newcomers looking to pursue a similar role?
If you want to learn more about the different roles available within the music industry, attending one of Dice’s ‘Women In Music’ events is a great way to start.
I went to one early in my career which included talks from managers, label executives and even included a songwriting workshop with Self Esteem. I was able to meet a lot of women at the beginning of their music careers as well, which was a great way to bounce ideas off each other and network.
As well as events, they also do socials, which is another great way to network.
As above, applying for or sending an email to any entertainment PR firms about press assistant work is a great way to start and learn the basics on the job.
What advice do you have for building and leveraging a professional network in the music industry?
Going to as many events and gigs as possible. Find out who runs a night you like, and get in touch. We all enter the music industry with the same passion. Sometimes it’s as simple as asking what someone is listening to at the moment. I’ve discovered so many interesting genres and sounds and made lasting relationships with people in the industry through asking that question.
How has the evolving digital landscape impacted your role, and where do you focus to stay ahead?
Over the last ten years, the landscape of print and online media has changed drastically. We lost some major print magazines during the pandemic and the years following - Q and Loud & Quiet for instance. Review space has been cut in many of the major newspapers, and the press features and space for up-and-coming artists is becoming more minimal.
Despite these changes, I do believe that there will always exist a space for fans to engage and pour over an in-depth feature from one of their favourite artists, the format may just look a bit different.
A lot of magazines are doing a lot more social led features for instance, or ‘new’ music reviewers and influencers are popping up on TikTok. A publicists’ job is to tell an artist’s story and the medium in which you do this is evolving constantly as the digital landscape changes.
The crossover between digital marketing managers and publicists is becoming closer so keeping those conversations consistent between those two departments is very important.
What trends or changes do you see on the horizon for the music industry, and how can early career professionals prepare for them?
The closure of so many grassroot venues will continue to have a massive impact on up-and-coming artists. I think we’ll see a lot more DIY scenes come up through local communities and youth centres as shown already by artists like Ezra Collective.
I think this is why it’s so important to be invested in your local community and support your local grassroot venues. Doing so helps nurture and grow the next generation of artists.
AI is, of course, also the big one with a bunch of big names such as Kate Bush and Damon Albarn recently banding together to release the protest album ‘Is This What We Want?’. It’s such an uncertain and ever-changing time that I don’t think there is one right answer as to how to stay on top of and prepare for the changes in the industry. But being diligent, keeping up to date with what changes are taking place and, as above, investing in your local venues and communities is the best advice I can offer.
What’s one piece of advice you wish someone had given you at the start of your career?
Take every opportunity you can, allow yourself to have a pinch me moment at how lucky you are to experience what you’ve experienced, but remember to look after yourself, don’t burn out and for god’s sake, get some sleep!