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 Nicole Otero, International Marketing Manager at Secretly Group.
From early internships at Universal Music to her current role at Secretly Group, Nicole Otero’s journey has been driven by curiosity, adaptability and a genuine love of music.
With a sharp sense of how the industry is evolving - from the shift towards service-led models to the fresh perspective younger teams bring to new tech - she shares grounded, honest advice for anyone curious about breaking into music marketing today.
Read the full Q&A with Nicole below 👇
What’s your current role in the music industry?
I’m the International Marketing Manager at Secretly Group.
It’s a very interesting position to be in because this role is very fluid and makes me wear many different hats. For people who might not know, a marketing manager at a record label usually works closely with the creative and A&R teams to make sure the art being made is connecting with the fanbase, ultimately materialising in music consumption physically, digitally and in a live setting.
At Secretly, I handle some aspects of advertising, events, retail, outdoor, artists’ social media, influencer and content creator relations, local social platform relations, and I work closely with our international label managers across the world to make sure the strategies we’re setting in main territories are adapted effectively to local markets in UK, EU and APAC territories.
What does your general day to day look like?
Each day is very different from the last. It really depends on the campaigns we’re working on at any given time. One day I can be very heavily focusing on admin and doing research for influencer campaigns while the next I can be working to set up a punk show on a moving boat down the Thames.
Broadly speaking, I work on campaign cycles, which allows me to split my time between planning and executing pre order campaigns ahead of an album release to make sure the anticipation and demand grows as we’re getting closer to release day. Following that, we focus on the promotion of the record once it is out, which usually includes the touring and festival phase when most of our artists will have a solid performance schedule that we try to complement with marketing activations.
My day to day involves a lot of planning and researching, as well as making contact with vendors, partners, influencers and content creators that will help us make every moment of the campaign feel big and exciting for fans. Whether it is sorting a content day around London for one of our younger artists who is here on a promo trip or generating an outdoor advertising campaign to promote the record and live shows of one of our legacy acts, there really is no set structure to what I do but there’s always a drive for anticipating artists and campaign needs.
Another big part of my everyday is to make sure information flows across departments so that we can have a more cohesive campaign internationally and we can take what’s working on a specific territory and amplify it or adapt it for another.
What steps did you take early in your career to gain experience and build skills to get you where you are now?
I still consider myself to be in the early stages of my music career, I’m constantly learning and trying different things. However, I think my focus has always been on progression and making sure I arm myself with the best tools so that I can apply them and mold them to different artists and campaigns.
After graduating in business from Rollings College in the US, I decided to do a masters in Global Entertainment And Music Business with Berklee. The programme was an intensive one year of theory and hands-on experience which definitely set me off on the right path as I was exposed to everything from copyright and contract law to entrepreneurship. We also had amazing guest speakers and projects that had real outcomes in the industry which were a great place to start.
I left Berklee with a management project set up with a fellow student and a company that did some consulting for independent artists. I’m no longer pursuing those but they were amazing first experiences to have.
After that I started connecting with people in the music media world and started writing about releases and doing some reviews. This helped me have eyes inside many campaigns as PRs would reach out to me for coverage and that helped me connect the dots to understand how music teams worked. I still do some writing because I love it and I like giving my support to new artists that I don’t work with directly.
I also did an internship at Universal Music, which I think was one of the best steps I’ve taken because it really opened my eyes to the inner workings of labels and which teams are responsible for which parts of the industry. It helped me narrow my scope towards the marketing side of things.
What opportunities did you explore early on that were particularly valuable?
I think definitely doing the Universal internship tightened the screws for me. It was very interesting to have a sneak peek into one of the largest and most successful operations in the music industry.
I was working at Decca at the time, which is their classical and jazz label, but they also have some more contemporary acts. It was really really important for me to see that everyone there enjoyed the music they worked with and they grew with the artists they represented.
I also had the chance to expand my network once I moved to the UK. I tried to meet as many people as possible to get a sense of their experience and what they were doing in their roles.
I still try to upkeep some of the relationships I started when I was younger because I have seen how people that worked with me have grown and are now in very interesting roles and some even collaborate with me on projects at Secretly.
Has the opportunity landscape changed since then?
Definitely yes. I got to experience a big part of the industry pre-pandemic which was great for getting fully embedded in the inner workings of it, however, coming out of the pandemic, remote work became the norm and, all of a sudden, I had a lot more time on my hands, not only for my personal life but also for some side projects.
Remote working has also proven to be beneficial for the industry because now, interesting and talented individuals are being recruited worldwide because the hybrid model has allowed for a little less centralisation.
However, it is no secret that the global economy hasn’t been the healthiest in the past years, so loads of businesses have shrunk and mass layoffs have happened across the board, which has reduced the available positions. But this has also allowed for some restructures to take place and some of them are actually quite interesting opportunities for people wanting to start in the industry.
Are there any specific internships, projects, or initiatives that you would recommend to newcomers looking to pursue a similar role?
I really think that the music industry is one of the friendliest industries in the UK in terms of people being approachable. I think the best way to make your way into it as a newcomer is by reaching out to people and asking them to share some knowledge with you. Networking is and will continue to be a key part of this.
There’s definitely great internships and placements out there, with labels, distros, agencies, etc. Definitely keep an eye out but also make sure you’re proactive and are keeping sharp.
Also, there're many great programmes, festivals and conferences you can attend for free or volunteer at to get more exposure and access to speakers and industry professionals.
What advice do you have for building and leveraging a professional network in the music industry?
Don’t be afraid to reach out, the worst thing that can happen is that someone doesn’t respond or isn’t available. I think networking is one of the most valuable things one can do as a person starting in the business.
More often than not, people will find it easy to make time for you and share their experience. I think being informed and coming in with questions is always good because then the people you meet will not be speaking broadly but will actually give you some pretty good insights if you can ask the right questions.
How has the evolving digital landscape impacted your role, and where do you focus to stay ahead?
The music industry has always been impacted greatly by the advancements in technology so it’s really key to try to keep up and make sure to have an open mind about the digital changes happening around you.
My role as a marketer is constantly evolving with new tools and platforms available to us. AI has recently made it easier for me to do research and some integrations with our existing platforms are definitely taking away some of the burden of admin work.
Similarly, loads of things on the creative front have been changing and now, making content is easier than ever. This has made my life smoother on the social media front for example.
I think the challenge with new technologies comes when there’s a tool younger people understand and it’s taking a minute to catch on widely. However, that really puts newcomers in an advantageous position because they’ll be the ones that will adapt faster to the trends and are going to be able to educate the teams from the ground up.
What trends or changes do you see on the horizon for the music industry, and how can early career professionals prepare for them?
I think AI will definitely have a great impact in the inner workings of the music industry, reducing the amount of admin work we’ll have to take care of and opening the door for more time to be creative. I think ideas and creativity will take the forefront in the coming years.
Similarly, the industry seems to be moving towards a service-oriented model, which will be interesting to see and will definitely change the approach we currently have to promoting albums and growing artists.
What’s one piece of advice you wish someone had given you at the start of your career?
I think I always kept this in the back of my mind but I had doubts about when to bring it up with people in managing roles but it would have been great if someone just said it out loud for me… “don’t be afraid to ask for more”.
If you’re in a position where you’ve gotten to a smooth cadence in a role, you shouldn’t settle and you should always ask for more responsibilities to be given to you, and you should always try to find openings to insert yourself in.
If you’re doing more than what your job outlines - as we often are in this industry don’t be afraid to pose the question of a higher remuneration for your time. If you’re seeing that your team has settled on their ways, don’t be scared to demand more from them if you want to be a part of a team that excels and does the best by their artists.
Simply, be proactive and enthusiastic and always ask yourself, what more can I be doing to make this project succeed.