We're all about highlighting amazing women in the music industry. We talk to Gulce Turek who is on the marketing team at Fantasy Records.
How did you get started in the music business?
Gulce: My first job in the music business was at a Reggae Festival in Istanbul. It was literally me and this other girl who was 2 years older than me (I was 20) running the entire thing except the tech crew, including picking up the artists from the airport to feeding the crew and running the bar. The festival was at a beach and it was a super chill audience but I learned a lot from being hands-on involved with the different aspects of an event like that. It was a pretty cool event knowing that Reggae is not one of the most popular genres in that territory, and I felt like we were delivering something special to a crowd that hadn’t been served well. Dawn Penn was the headliner and it was one of the most thrilling things I had done in my life so I’ve decided I wanted more of that.
Tell me about your position at Fantasy Records
Gulce: I’m on the marketing team where I work closely with our product managers and take part on the planning around projects. I do tour marketing, promoter outreach and tickets for all of our artists. I also handle our lifestyle marketing, as well as supporting all digital marketing campaigns. I create tools and assets like pitch sheets, flyers, online media kits etc.
What’s a typical work day like?
Gulce: There’s always an active tour that I’m tracking, making sure the promoters have all the assets, communicating with our departments (radio, sales, international, licensing, digital, press etc.) and getting all our guests/clients into shows which in my opinion is the most effective way to sell the project. We usually spend time brainstorming to come up with ideas and talk about the progress, trying to create opportunities around current events and such.
What were some of the challenges you faced during your career? How did you get over them?
Gulce: I think one of the challenges I faced was when I first started working at a label, I struggled with the terminology. Until then it was all problem solving and doing creative things within the event or it was about the audience. However, when I started at the label there were a lot of industry terms that I haven’t heard before, and radio stations, and formats, and names oh my god so many names! People would refer to managers or producers with their first names and because I had no context, I would take pages and pages of notes at meetings and study afterwards. I paid attention to every little conversation and over time I’ve become more familiar with them all then started referring to those managers with their first names and it felt good!
Why is it important for more women to be involved in music?
Gulce: Well the short answer is “because we’re half the audience”. Really though, each gender has its own perspective and its own background, and to me it’s a bad idea not to have both. I feel lucky that I’m on a team where we’re equally split, half women and half men, so there’s room for all kinds of viewpoints. I don’t see how anyone would want to be a part of the boys’ club in the year of 2018, it’s just lame.
What’s your best piece of advice for young women?
Gulce: As long as you know what you’re talking about, you have good ideas and you’re passionate enough to work hard, you’ll find yourself a place at the table. Do a lot of research, be current with what you do, and build your network from early on in your career.
