For the second installment of Across The Pond, I welcomed music industry lifer, Ian Dickinson, to The Hundreds London showroom to talk about how he went from graduating with a history degree to artist manager for bands like Creeper and Counterfeit, as well as an A+R consultant for one of the most successful and sought after metal labels in the world, Roadrunner Records.

LYNDERS: At what point in your life did you transition from being a fan of music to working in the industry?
IAN DICKINSON: Growing up, we’re told, “Go to school, go to Uni and you’ll come out knowing exactly what you want to do in life.” That really wasn’t the case for me – I came out of uni with absolutely no clue of what I wanted to do. Instead, I decided to choose what city I wanted to live in and go from there. Bristol has such a rich culture of music and at the time I was going to a lot of shows – maybe even too many shows – so I moved to Bristol for the music scene. 

Everything I do has always revolved around music – I’m always listening to it, always referencing it – but music industry jobs seemed like a mythical thing. I always just assumed it was something that someone else got to do, not me. 

One night at a show, I was outside smoking, back when I still smoked, and got chatting to a bloke who ran a gig review website. He seemed to think I could string a sentence together and asked me if I would review the show that night for his site. That was my first step in – it was a sneak behind the curtain. 

From there, I jumped in with both feet. I reviewed more shows, started managing the site’s social media page, did interviews, then finally became the News Editor – focusing a lot on new bands. I was buzzing from all the new connections and friends. Not coming from the musician side of the industry I was really intrigued as to how everything worked, but the more people I met, the more I was able to piece it together. 

What was your first record label job and how did that come about?
I found out about a job going at an indie label called Wolf At Your Door Records, who had just put out Lower Than Atlantis Far Q – an album I loved. A friend of a friend put in a good word – ‘‘He might not have the CV for it, but you should meet Ian. He loves music and is down to do everything.”

I somehow blagged my way in and just had to learn on the job. It was an absolute crash course in everything, and as much as I loved it, it was brutal. Not only was I A+R, but I was in charge of social media, marketing, PR, publishing, accounting, AND all the packing. I just had to figure it out and learn as I went along. 

A couple of years later I moved on to Roadrunner Records, where I’m at today, as well as 5B Management as an artist manager.

What bands are on your roster?
I look after Creeper, Counterfeit, Higher Power, Death Tour, Static Dress, Wargasm, and Salem, which is Will from Creeper’s side project. 

What are the biggest challenges you face in your role?
There are new challenges every day, but that’s also what’s exciting about my job – not knowing what you’re going to have to sort out on any given day. When acts are out on the road and everyone is touring, anything can happen, so you have to always be on it. There’s always mad shit that happens with bands, whether in their personal lives or professional lives, and it’s my job to be there to support them through all of it.

What do you look for in new bands and upcoming talent?
I don’t know exactly what it is I’m looking for – but I know what the feeling is – it gives me butterflies in my stomach. If I would mortgage my house to try and make it work, then I know I want to work with them.

Whether it’s from the management side, or the A+R side, I have to feel strongly about them as an artist and as a person, because I know I’m going to have to talk to them probably every day of the year.

What differences are there between the music industry in the UK and the US?
There is a great deal of synergy, especially between key cities like London, New York, and LA. If you’re in one of those cities, then the way everyone rolls is similar, but the music and vibes take on the persona of each individual city.

I love London – never get bored of the place – I run the same routes through town all the time and always discover something new. 

Would you ever be tempted away from the music industry?
I have no desire to leave music. I always joke about it with my wife, but I don’t ever see a point where I’d retire. Why would I ever stop doing the thing I love doing? I’d be happy to give up some of the admin I have to do, but I love helping new artists – I’m always going to want to do that! 

What do you think are the most common misconceptions of working in music?
The biggest misconception is that music videos are glamorous. They are always an adventure, but definitely not glamorous. Especially with developing acts where we’re trying to make a lot out of nothing, so everyone is pulling in and we have to work all through the night. Don’t get me wrong, we have fun, but it’s never quite as glamorous as people assume.

There is a lot of heat right now around streaming companies not taking care of artists as much as they should. Are you for or against the streaming model?
You can’t argue that streaming has helped the bigger labels become more buoyant again – and streaming is better than people illegally downloading. I think once something can be done about the royalty rates, there is a longtail to streaming, which is really beneficial. When you buy a record, you typically only buy it once, but if you’re going to keep streaming a song for the rest of your life, then that should be a positive thing for us. 

Consumers are adapting and although the music itself is less tangible, fans still want something that they can keep, hold and collect – so although they may be streaming an album, chances are as soon as a vinyl is released, they will want that too. If you’re a nerd like me, you’ll have 5 or 6 different formats of all your favourite records. 

What’s the one piece of advice you would give to anyone who wants to work in the music industry, but doesn’t know where to start?
Music is one of those industries that a lot of people want to be in. It’s a passion-led industry and a creative industry, which makes it appealing for obvious reasons. If you want in, you have to go all out. 

Pick the part of the music industry that gets you the most excited and start there, because the likelihood is, at least in the beginning, that you’ll be doing a lot of work for not very much money. You’ll probably be working another job too, so you have to be passionate. 

You can connect with so many people now via social media – so get out there, talk to people and find others who are passionate about the same things, then give it a go. You really can just go out there and do it.

Outside of the music industry, I hear you’re a big trainer collector?
I’ve stopped using the term “collector” and refer to it as “A Cultural Archive.” Someone actually called me a hoarder the other day, but I was like, “Nah, it’s an archive mate.” Jokes aside, I do have a lot of trainers and a lot of vintage tees. My tees are mostly bands and artists, but also a few movie ones and a few anime. 

I’ve also got a lot of tapes – a few hundred cassettes. I love collecting them as they are so hard to find. Part of it is the hunt. So many people just threw out tapes back in the day – they went straight in the bin – there are fewer of them out there than vinyl. 

I always used to go to Revolution on Melrose anytime I’d visit LA. I bought 2Pac All Eyez On Me and Wu-Tang Forever on double cassettes from there. Tapes are a lot of fun!

What sparked your love of trainers?
It was something I got into after getting into basketball as a kid. It’s a very cliche story now, being a ‘90s kid and loving Michael Jordan, but basketball was a big deal, even in the UK. 

It was also about the same time that I got into hip-hop. I was buying The Source, watching movies like Above The Rim and Juice – the fashion is such a big part of it, so I was always just that way inclined, and it’s lived on from there. When I quit drinking and smoking, I had a lot more disposable income and more time for other endeavors, so I doubled down on sneakers.

Do you have a favourite pair of trainers in your collection right now?
I just got both pairs of Supreme TN’s. The green is very ignorant, but I love them. I also wear a lot of Dunks. I love Nike, it’s always been where my heart’s at, so my collection is mostly made up of Nike and Jordans.

Let’s talk about the vintage tees. Where do you keep all of them?
I have a rail in the house where I keep my go-to daily tees. I’ve got my Misfits collection there, a lot of AFI t-shirts, a lot of HIM t-shirts – which people are sleeping on, to be honest. HIM shirts are so much fun because you can pick them up for like £30. Sepultura, Danzig, Biohazard – the list goes on.

I also have a couple that might disintegrate at any second, and those live in the safety of my wardrobe.

I know you’re a big Halloween fan. The season is finally upon us. What’s the plan?
My wife and I love Halloween, but now that we have Tyler, our little girl, we’ve started celebrating Halloween on October 1st every year. It’s been perfect. It’s always such a fun time of year.

Workwise, we have some socially distanced shows for Salem and some cool reissues coming out. Stay tuned…

Instagram – @iandickinson
Roadrunner Records – @roadrunnerrecrods
5B – @5bartistsmedia