Career Journey: Luke Court, Digital Marketing Assistant at RCA UK

Starting a career at Sony Music is the dream for so many music industry hopefuls. But how do you get there, and what’s it really like?

While Sony Music’s 2027 internships are open for applications, we spoke to someone who started his career as a Creative Marketing Intern at Music for Nations, and has since gone on to become Digital Marketing Assistant at RCA. Luke walked us through everything he’s learnt, what his day-to-day looks like now, and some vital tips for those looking to follow in his footsteps.

As a freelance photographer and content creator, what made you want to look for a permanent position at a huge company like Sony Music?

I really enjoyed working with cameras and doing content creation; that was my first passion. However, I felt I could add more value beyond just shooting content. I really wanted to have more say in the strategy behind why we are shooting the type of content we do with artists. This led me to look for growth opportunities in the kind of teams I now work in at Sony Music, who come up with the ideas, the plans, and then look to commission the types of creators I once was. 

What was the most valuable thing you learned during your internship at Music For Nations?

The most valuable thing I learned during my time at Music For Nations was the importance of soft skills. I learned so much about the job, marketing, and the music industry as a whole. But what I really found the most fascinating was watching my manager and the rest of my team interact with artists, managers, PR teams, radio pluggers, label execs, and social media managers, from all walks of life and with very different functions within the industry, with such ease. I learned the importance of being able to connect with people, read a room, understand when to speak up and when to listen, and all of the soft skills required to thrive in the music industry. These are skills that are harder to directly teach someone, but you have to just observe and soak up. I learned how important those soft skills are and how valuable an asset these skills really are.  

What’s been the most challenging part of working in the music industry?

For me, the most challenging part of working in the music industry is keeping up with it! We have the opportunity to do so much amazing work, and we get to attend such incredible cultural events, festivals, gigs, signings, showcases, playbacks, pop-ups… the list goes on! Initially, I found balancing the job with everything else that goes on outside of “work” challenging. But the longer I have been in the industry, the easier I have found it to strike the right balance. 

As a digital marketing assistant, what’s been your favourite campaign to work on?

For me, being able to work on the Myles Smith My Mess, My Heart, My Life Campaign was really rewarding! We had so many opportunities to marry both the digital and in-person marketing activities with this campaign and create some really amazing online and offline moments with Myles and fans!

What does your day-to-day look like now? Any surprises?

Since completing my internship at Music for Nations, I now work at RCA Records. My day-to-day currently involves assisting the digital marketing team at the label with all of the key releases across the entire roster. It’s incredibly fun, as I get to work across a lot of artist campaigns, and I am getting a lot of experience and meeting lots of people across every campaign currently active at the label. 

Any advice for recent grads looking to get into the music industry in this tough job market?

Key to helping you break into the music industry is showing your passion for music outside of your degree. Getting hands-on experience by managing an artist's social media, writing music content, starting a blog or social media channel, or working with local artists, can help you build a portfolio and stand out from other applicants. 

It's also worth highlighting any transferable skills from part-time jobs, especially if you've worked in fast-paced environments or had responsibilities that involved project management, admin, or managing multiple tasks at once. Admin is the necessary evil for anyone working in music at any level, and as a junior, it is one of the more accessible areas of the job that you can prove you have experience, earn trust and become an asset to the team.

Keeping up with what's happening across different labels, artists, and marketing campaigns also gives you plenty of ideas and talking points for interviews. Ultimately, the music industry is all about people; so being approachable, reliable, and able to work with a wide range of personalities is a huge plus.

At the end of the day, you don't need to know everything, but showing genuine enthusiasm for music, building a good understanding of the industry, and having a proactive attitude towards gaining experience goes a long way.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

In five years, I would like to build my experience and further develop my career in music marketing.  I hope that everything I am learning at this point in my career will lead me to a point where I can oversee and take full ownership of campaigns. I’d like to use my skills and knowledge to support artists that shape and define the British music landscape in the 2030s, making music that our generation’s children grow up singing! It’s so exciting to think about!

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