Del Osei-Owusu interviews Sally from The Songbird HQ.

Tell us about The Songbird HQ, how did it all begin? 

Ah OK, so I started doing a bit of online blogging here and there, nothing much, but I was approached by the then manager of the band Marquis Drive, he said he really liked my writing style and asked me if I would work with the band initially doing some reviews for them, which I did. He liked what I’d done so much that he showed it to a good friend of his called Alan McGee, and very quickly thereafter I found myself working for Creation writing pieces for all of their signed artists as well. I was then approached by Northern Exposure webzine and was asked to join the team there. This was short-lived as the webzine closed down for a while shortly thereafter, and it was during this time that I decided to set up my own webzine and thus The Songbird was born!  

What started out as a webzine in 2019 has now grown into a PR company, a weekly radio show on Islington Radio, a podcast, monthly live events at The Libertines HQ, The Albion Rooms in Margate, a management and promotions company and a record label with our partners Bubblebrain Records as well as Festivals including a showcase at the Isle Of Wight Festival. 

It has evolved in such a short amount of time, from being a webzine to a full fledged PR and music plugger company among other things, what drove that change? 

I’ve always been a massive supporter of new music wanting to help bands and artists get their music out there and heard, and the demand was very much there for me to do more, so it just felt like a natural progression. I don’t remember there being a certain point where a conscious decision was made, things just kind of happened. People would approach me and ask me to be their booking agent, write their bios / editorial pitches, manage their bands, be their social media manager etc so it just kind of grew and grew and took on a life of its own.

You have started hosting monthly events at the Albion Rooms, how have you found it? 

Amazing!! When The Albions Rooms contacted me and asked me whether I’d be interested in hosting a monthly night there, I was overjoyed. The first one though I was so nervous, what if it was rubbish and no one turned up. I needn’t have worried though as the place was absolutely packed to capacity and even the bar manager said to me afterwards, how busy it was and how I’d “set the bar really high” which of course worried me for the following month’s event, but again it was a massive success. Of course now I’m already worrying about the next one, but I guess I’m just the kind of person who takes nothing for granted and knows that nothing just happens, you have to put in the hard work if you want something to be a success. 

Your role involves many hats to wear plus being a wife and mother, what’s the easiest and most challenging part of what you do? 

It can be tough sometimes and I’m a real one for making notes and to-do lists. I call it plate spinning. It’s like I’ve got several plates all spinning at once, and I have to make sure that none crash to the floor; I keep running back and forth giving them a spin. Work-wise my life is made so much easier by the incredible team I’ve got around me. I say it to them all the time, but I really couldn’t do what I do without the constant love and support from my team, many of whom have been with me for several years now. If ever I’m struggling with something I know I’ve got backing and support, and that’s what makes it work. 

Same with my home life as well. I don’t like to talk publicly too much about my private life, but once again, I will say that I have a very supportive network and it’s all about teamwork. 

What does a typical day look like for you when it comes to PR?

Switching on my computer and being at my desk for 9am, checking through emails to see if we’ve had any feedback regarding plays / features on a track I’m pitching. I make a list of everything that comes in for each band and artist as I report to them, then there’s the promotional posts across social media, checking socials for any other plays / features (often only the artists are tagged in posts and not the PR) so I spend a lot of time scouring making sure I haven’t missed anything. Replying to emails, sorting out interview requests, etc. 

Then I’ll deal with new client enquiries and answer questions and queries, often via Zoom meetings / phone calls with potential clients Also phone calls with clients wanting to know how their campaign is going, advising what they could be doing to push things further etc.

With new clients, drafting the press assets for upcoming releases, talking the client through these and getting approval, setting out timelines and dates. Pitching and plugging by emails / uploads / phone calls, literally hundreds a day. Taking to socials again to promote artist pre-saves… I can’t ever say this is a 9-5 job as it’s really not. You can often find me working very late at night and always on weekends. (TRUE STORY! Del.)

You are very passionate about the artists that you look after, what has been your favourite aspect of working with them?

I’ve always been very strict about who I work with — unless I love the music, I will decline to act. I am not in this business solely for the money, but rather for a genuine love of it. I tell my clients, I really have to love the music I’m promoting otherwise I don’t think I’d be able to do them justice, and I do think it really shows when other promoters are only in it for the money and only see it as another job. So, when I do take on a client it’s wholeheartedly, they become my friends and in some cases are like family to me, with them returning to me time and time again for all of their releases. I’ve got many clients now who are not clients at all, but rather lifelong friends, with them inviting me to their house for Christmas and on holiday with their families. 

You have dealt with some amazing artist campaigns, what’s been your favourite so far?

Ah, that’s a really tough one to pick because, as I’ve said above, all of my clients have become like friends and family to me and I am totally the one cheering the loudest when I see them achieve success. 

Some instances that spring to mind however, is when Marseille band sent me a beautiful handwritten note thanking me for getting them on Soccer AM, or when John Kennedy publicly praised me on stage in front of hundreds of people for my music choices for a music documentary I worked on which he featured in. He said it was “genius” on my part to use up-and-coming artists, which was obviously very nice of him! 

But overall, any recognition I can get for any of my artists is always a thrill for me. Every time anyone gets a radio play or a magazine feature, it makes me really happy knowing that I am helping to bring this great new music into the world. 

You’re involved in a couple of festivals this year, how are preparations going for that? 

Yeah everything is going really well thank you. We’ve got The Brighton Mix Up in May, which is happening during The Great Escape weekend. I’m really excited for this one as its three days packed with great music all in a brand new LGBTQO venue in the heart of Brighton. All of the acts have been hand-selected by me and my partners at Bubblebrain Records in conjunction with my good friend Roger Kent from Kick Out The Jams. It really is an eclectic line up, showcasing some of the very best alt artists that do not always make it onto the festivals stages as they don’t fit the criteria of the big boy promoters. I’m really loving this grassroots level takeover, showing the people the real diversity of talent out there. This one is really something special for sure. 

And yes, it’s true there is another festival that The Songbird will be heading to again this June, but we’re not quite at the announcement stage yet, so more to follow on that one soon. 

What acts are you looking forward to putting on there? 

At the Brighton Mix Up we’re very excited to be bringing over the latest Bubblebrain Records signee from Liverpool, This Is War band. I’m also very much looking forward to putting on some Songbird PR clients such as Mango in Euphoria and London Ghost, and of course catching up with my Creation label pals The Gulps. 

You also served as music producer for the Radio X documentary along with Jack Pepper Media, what was your favourite part of that process?

Oh my god, yes this was definitely a highlight of my career to date. Ian from Jack Pepper Media is amazing and was totally trusting of me and let me have complete free reign. The whole documentary was about XFM Radio and how this was the springboard for so many of the great bands of the 90’s such as Blur, Oasis, Pulp, and The Prodigy/ However, to use their music in the soundtrack would have been astronomical so I suggested using new bands who were influenced by those bands that paved the way via XFM, the result was better than I ever could’ve hoped for. As I say above even got me a shout out from John Kennedy himself on the night of the premiere, and which in turn resulted in loads of new bands getting national radio play on his Radio X show. Happy Days indeed!

COVID impacted the creative industry in a big way, what kept you motivated?

Covid impacted a lot of industries, but for certain aspects of the music industry, I think it allowed them to think outside the box. Live gigs couldn’t take place, so in came lockdown live stream gigs over social media and the like. I found it quite challenging and almost exciting to think of ways to promote the bands and artists and their music without being able to go out and tour the music and play gigs. I remember making a music video during lockdown completely made up of clips that family and friends recorded themselves at home on their mobile phones.

The last few years have been a time to reflect — what did you learn about yourself?

The last few years for me have been about adaptation and change.I’ve learnt that things can and do change but that where there’s a will, there’s always a way. 

Did you pick up any new skills?

I’m still learning new skills all the time. Social media really came to the forefront during lockdown, and I learnt ways of capitalising on that for the purposes of promotion.

What are you listening to at the moment?

I’m always listening to new music, whether it be clients I’m promoting, bands I’m reviewing or simply just a friend (usually Del) saying to me “you’ve got to listen to this”. At this very moment, however, a band that I’m getting massively into is The Sprits an American brothers duo, they’re music is just so different and dreamy!

Songbird has evolved a lot. Would there be three things you’d like to see happen in the next year? 

Ideally I’d like to become more organised with a view to expanding on the foundations that we’ve already built up. All the elements are there, the webzine, radio show, podcast, live events etc but doing these on a larger scale. 

What are you looking forward to next? 

Seeing what this year brings. I’ve got a solid team around me and as a collective I’m genuinely excited to see what we can achieve.