Industry Talk with April Bredael

KATHE: I've been following your work for a while, how did you originally get started in the industry?

APRIL: I started as a fan, as a lot of people I feel like have, which I'm so here for. I was 16 when I joined my first street team and I did a lot of stuff with that. I really learned a lot about like fan marketing, guerilla marketing, all sorts of different things like that. I went to so many shows. I lived in Wisconsin for my entire life so I didn't really have a ton of physical opportunities. So when COVID happened, I was in my sophomore year of college, and I really just kind of took advantage of everything like digital. I was like, okay, I can finally apply for things, I can finally do things because it's all just sitting at your computer. So I did a lot there. I did my first couple of internships, I entered twice with Warner Music Group and then I went on to become a college marketing rep. And I'm now working for them full time.

KATHE: Nice. So did you always know that you wanted to work in the industry? Or was that something that sort of just became?

APRIL: Yes. And no, I want to say yes, I didn't really know that it existed for the longest time. Like I said, like growing up at Wisconsin, I didn't have a lot of people or really anyone to like look up to, like, it wasn't like I lived in Nashville, or New York, or LA, where it was like, oh, like my parents work in entertainment, or my cousin or uncle or whatever it is, I didn't have any of that. So when I thought about like music, and art and entertainment, and literally all of that, I just pretty much thought that either you are the artist and you have that talent. And that's what you do. Or you just don't and I never really had any interest in like singing or playing instruments or anything like that, nor do I have the talent for it. I was never really interested in that. And so I just never knew it could be a career path entirely. It wasn't really until I started going to a lot more shows. And I was like, okay, the artists like they have to have a manager like they have a label backing like all of these different positions, different career paths I didn't know existed. And pretty much as soon as I found out that they existed that like, okay, I can get paid for doing some of the things that I'm already doing that I was pretty much sold on it.

KATHE: Yeah. So as I said, I've been following your work for a while. And I've seen that you've done some tour management. Was that pro-bono work? How did you even get started in that?

APRIL: Yeah. So I was a huge fan of the artists that I wanted to score with. And I reached out to him, he was a smaller act. And I was like, hey, like, I really like your work. Like if you're at all interested in working together, like I'd love to connect further. And I was booking shows at the time for my university, I went to school at UW Madison. And so I was like, I can totally get you a show like if you have any interest in that. But then again, like we're still in COVID era. It was right before Omicron happened. So it was like, I kind of thought we were on our way out of it. And then like round two, it was a nightmare. But he ended up saying yes. And so I brought him out to a school show that went really well. After that, I routed the whole tour and kind of just made it happen from start to finish. I was like, Okay, well, if you're not opposed to it, like, I want to go on tour, I'm just going to kind of jump on this opportunity. And so I ended up routing and planning and pretty much doing all the business side for the 16 City National headline rod, which we did in January 2022. And then went on the tour, coordinated logistics and everything on the road, did all of the day to day stuff. And really just Yeah, it was a crazy experience. I was a junior in college, and I was 20 years old. So definitely not something that I ever really anticipated doing, but I loved it. I had a great time and I’d do it again.

KATHE: Yeah, so I know starting in the industry, it's super tricky to navigate. And I feel like a lot of people, as you said, don't have that in. So did you start more in communications when you were in college, or were you more specifically a Music Business major?

APRIL: Yeah, so my school actually doesn't offer any music, business, anything at all. It's just not a thing. So I started as a marketing major, and I was a marketing major for the first two and a half years of college. I graduated in three and a half so I actually only had one year in what I graduated in, which was journalism. The marketing program was great. I really like when I think marketing, I think like press releases, like all of the entertainment industry side of things. So the marketing program at the school was not that it was very much like analytics, accounting finance, which is all great. But that is not the way my brain works. So after two and a half years of that, I discovered that our journalism and Strategic Communication program existed. And I was pretty much like, okay, if I can graduate on time making this switch, like, I think I'm going to do it. I ended up not only on time, but a semester early. So I was really thankful that I did make that change. And that was a much better fit for me. But generally, your education, not that it doesn't matter, but it doesn't matter to the extent that a lot of people think that it does, it really just depends what you want to do. Like if you want to apply for like, a financial analyst position, like you probably should know, some finance and basic things like that, and that sort of school is going to be more helpful for you. But things like being a tour manager or selling merch, these people often don't require you to have a degree, or if they do require you to have a degree, they don't really care what your major is. And I know that's really hard to think about, like when you're in school, it seems like your entire life. It's like, I need this exact one or I’m not going to succeed. But that's really not the case at all, unless it's one of those obviously, like, super skill heavy, like engineering, finance any of that. But for the most part in the creative type roles, they're not really looking too much for like one specific major.

KATHE: Yeah, I know managing school work and industry work is a lot. So when you were with Warner U what were you doing specifically with them?

APRIL: Yeah, so my first two semesters with them, I was a marketing rep. So that was everything from doing digital marketing and like online, UGC type of work, or doing merch, photoshoots stuff like that, basically just guerilla marketing to promote the artist. And for my third semester with them, I actually switched to doing our social media. And that was something that I still run right now. And it's yeah, pretty much just managing our Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok. We grew the accounts by like 60,000 followers since I started working on them. So it was a pretty large number. That's something that I was pretty proud of. And once I pivoted over to the social media side, it was a lot more like looking into these artists at the end of their story and trying to connect with their fan bases. And it was a really fun challenge to kind of tap in and get involved in all of that. And it's really interesting discovering the way these different communities kind of work and mesh together when it was for like an artist that I hadn't really listened to prior to that. So it was a really good experience.

KATHE: Yeah, so and then after Warner U you got hired straight at Warner pretty much straight out of school, right?

APRIL: I did. Yeah. I found out right before graduation, actually.

KATHE: That's really exciting. So I've seen on your socials that you're running Twitter for an artist that you were a huge fan of, is that kind of a starstruck moment almost getting to work alongside her team?

APRIL: Yeah, it's been really crazy. Not something that I would have expected. I basically, like just started tweeting and started doing things with her. And yeah, I mean, it wasn't really ever anything where it was like, okay, Melanie Martinez, this team wants you to tweet this. So I really just started tweeting because I was a fan of her and her fan base started, you know, kind of gravitating towards us and really liking the content that we're putting out. And I was having a great time with it. I love her. So I'm just like tweeting anything that pops into my brain, like surrounding the new album or Portals or literally like, whatever it is. Yeah, and it's been just really, really fun kind of growing that community. While also like having a knowledge of what the community looks like, since I was involved in it for so many years. I had a fan account for her when I was like 14, so it's just really like, super full circle with that project.

KATHE: Yeah, so between working alongside her team and going to live shows and connecting with others in the industry, what's been your favorite part so far?

APRIL: I think just really, like, I love the pop up experiences and just kind of like random things that I've been going to in New York now that I'm here. Like the one-off shows, the album release parties, random merch pop ups, I love all that kind of stuff. I think it's really cool when the artist gets super involved. And the cool activities I've put on, there's a lot of those in LA as well. And it's just always that you feel really special like going to it, on one side as a fan, but then on the other side, like when you're working in the industry and you're a part of putting these things on, watching these fans kind of experience that and see the joy that you spent so long working to kind of create, and it's just really, really rewarding and fun. Full circle to be doing that for other people, yeah.

KATHE: And I've got one more for you. So lastly, what advice would you give to any younger person trying to get their foot in the door in the music industry?

APRIL: I think my best advice is really just go for it. It can be hard. Everyone's situation is different. Like I said, like, I lived in Wisconsin, so I had never really thought that it was a thing, but I went and created those opportunities. And so I would just say like, even if it seems really hard on the outside, where you're like, okay, my school doesn't have a Music Business major, or maybe like, I'm not really aligned toward school, and I don't want to go to college, like thinking that those are things that can help you when really, you just have to be more creative and find other ways of getting to what you want and getting to that goal. It's really scary to just make yourself go for it. But ultimately, like that's what you got to do. You just have to tell yourself that you're gonna make it and you know, just do the best that you can while working towards those goals.