From Fan to Professional: Why “No” is the best fuel for success 

Since my sophomore year of college, my estimate of the amount of times I’ve been told “no” would have to be at least 50. Maybe more. I wish I had kept up with the number of times I’ve heard this word, but you stop counting after a while because of the way it completely crushes your spirit. 

My most detrimental encounter with the word no was my sophomore year of high school. My family was definitely interesting- the kind of interesting that leads to yelling, fighting, and eventually removal at the age of 16. My mom had substance abuse issues that led to a rocky environment. This unstable environment led me to enter foster care during my sophomore year of high school- I was placed in a group home for the summer and it changed who I was completely. I remember asking my case worker when my time in the group home ended if I was going home, and she bluntly replied “no.” I held a grudge against the word since then. 

That word introduced me to a year of confusion, sadness, and grief. I grieved the life I had before foster care. Although I got placed with a lovely couple named Betsy and Barbara who were nothing short of fabulous, I couldn’t help but miss the life I had before. It was certainly no dream, but it was familiar. But this was brand new, and I felt the most isolated and depressed I ever was, the kind of sadness that settles under your bones and makes a home. In an attempt to feel less on the outside, I decided to join stan Twitter again for a welcome distraction. If I had known at the time that becoming an active fan again would give me a new sense of purpose, I wouldn’t be so angry at the word no. 

I had always been a fan girl to my core. Growing up my first true fan experience was Justin Bieber. I was utterly obsessed with him and had everything JB. I remember watching the “Baby” music video with Ludacris, and I was like “yup. I love him!” A few years later, One Direction came on the scene and where I hit my peak fan girl height. I was just entering middle school and I had heard of them through a friend who told me about the song “What Makes You Beautiful.” Safe to say after watching that music video, I was sold. And then, I was introduced to 5 Seconds of Summer in 2014- and that’s when I felt like I had found my top 3 favourite artists/bands. 

I had always been active on social media before I entered foster care but then took a much-needed break. Re-downloading Twitter and creating a 5SOS fan account again was the best decision I had ever made. I felt a sense of community, found my forever friends (who I am closest to today), and even found my partner of two years on a silly little app. I had re-entered being an active fan girl, and I truly think it saved me. It re-lit a passion I had for life, music, and the fan community. My friends I had made in the community were the best support I could’ve asked for in those challenging times and distracted me when it felt like my life was falling apart. 

That summer of sophomore year, my foster parents let me get tickets to see 5SOS on their 5SOS 3 tour. I got permission from my case worker and my brother drove me to see them in Boston. I was lucky enough to get two tickets during the presale and go with two of my friends.

Being in that crowd, while seeing one of my favourite artists for the first time in years re-lit that spark that was dying. Surrounded by thousands of people who had the same love of music as me gave me so much hope and I realized something that would change my life. I wanted to work in music. I wanted to have that feeling of happiness every day. It was during that show I knew I would do whatever it takes to work in the music industry. 

Entering college a few years later, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to break into the music industry. As we all are well aware, getting your foot in the door takes a great amount of patience, hard work, and networking. In 2020- my first year of college was during the start of Covid-19 and there weren’t a lot of opportunities to get engaged in the music industry in person due to the lockdown. I was taking my classes online and wanted to try to get involved and build up my resume somehow. I joined a platform called Fan to Band (which is now a HUGE platform) and networked amongst myself in the Facebook group. There I attended panels, brainstormed with aspiring music professionals, and had a community to make friends in. I also decided to tap into the skills I have acquired from being a fangirl all these years and join an update account for a member of One Direction. On this platform, I helped create graphics, brainstorm projects to create engagement with the account, make videos for TikTok and so much more.

The account has taught me so much about digital marketing and how to connect with a fan base and promote an artist authentically. The account gave me solid marketing skills that led me to land my first internship this past fall at BMG. 

I started applying for traditional internships my sophomore year of college (I’m currently a senior) and the amount of “I regret to inform you…” and “We have decided to go with another candidate..” emails that filled my inbox truly felt like someone had knocked me from under my feet. I had gotten rejected from Every. Single. One. Not even a single interview- not even a peak of interest from any of the recruiters. To say I was devastated was an understatement. I remember sitting at my laptop just staring at the screen feeling so down and honestly embarrassed. Who gets rejected from that many internships in the course of a few months? Why was I not good enough? Why didn’t they even want to at least interview me? These were questions that took over my brain and consumed me. It crushed my spirit, but one of my best qualities was my determination- and I wasn’t letting “no ” get to me this time. 

I couldn’t let the sadness sit still, so I took the feeling of defeat and switched it to drive. The rejections stung at first, but time heals all wounds and over the next year- I worked on my resume and started some passion projects, and took other internships not directly related to music- that gave me transferable skills. I was going to land my dream role. I started to apply again when applications opened and hoped for the best. When you’re determined- nothing can stop you. All the “no’s” make the success even sweeter. 

I applied for BMG: The New Music Company Fall of 2023 (last semester) and hoped for all the best. I got rejected the last time I applied so I didn’t get my hopes up too high. However, I made it to the final round of interviews and got the call in August that I was their newest Marketing Intern in the New York City office. I remember exactly where I was. I was sitting at my dining room table finishing up applications and saw an unknown New York number. I answered scared,

scared I was going to hear that word again, but it was the opposite. I couldn’t believe it, it felt like a dream. I was going to be working at a Record Label. My dreams were coming true! My time at BMG was nothing short of wonderful. I learned the in’s and out’s of how to position and market artists. I got to work on projects for artists such as Kylie Minogue, Lenny Kravitz, Louis Tomlinson, Corey Taylor, Nickelback, and so many more. I made amazing connections and had the chance to network every day. It was a very hands-on internship and I really got to dive head-first into the industry with some of the best professionals. Every day was something new and there was never a dull moment in the office. I was doing what I dreamed of for so long. I thank all the no’s that led me here and gave me this opportunity, and I thank the universe for having my back. 

As I’m writing this, I just completed my first day at my internship at Atlantic Records on the digital/marketing team. Sometimes I feel imposter syndrome sneaks up on me. A first-generation college student who grew up in poverty, in and out of foster care/programs, interning at some of the most amazing record labels. I never thought this would happen to me and sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve the success. I just keep reminding myself I do, and that I put in years of work in to get to this point.

To anyone reading this who feels stuck in their music journey, to the person who keeps getting rejected and being told no, I hope this lights a spark of hope that you WILL get to where you need to be. Never let the word no stop you, because the doors it might open will surprise you.