The Big Music Project – An Interview With Radio X’s Hattie Pearson

The Big Music Project helps 14-24 year olds with a passion for music. Whether you want a career in presenting, managing or audio engineering, this project gives young people the opportunity to learn key skills and knowledge of the industry with the help of professionals like Hattie Pearson. 

So obviously you’ve been involved in a lot of different areas of the entertainment industry. Who or what inspired you to get into it? 

Oh good question! I don’t suppose there was anyone specifically that inspired me to do it. I think it was more just the matter of my own personal interests really. I’ve always been interested in music and djing, so I guess music is always something I was really interested in. The student radio was such a cool place to learn loads, make loads of mistakes. I enjoyed it so much and i realised that people really do this and get paid to do this so I’ve got to figure out a way that i can do that. So I guess it was just doing things that I enjoyed along the way and then trying really hard to make that happen to make sure I didn’t have to do a boring job that I didn’t enjoy.

How did you first get your foot in the door?

So student radio I guess is where it all kind of started. When I was at uni I was doing a bunch of work placements, so initially XFM on the breakfast show. Obviously XFM is now Radio X which all changed in September. I was doing work experience on the breakfast show and when people were off I was covering as a producer. Then that led to other things and I was assisting producing at BBC Radio 6 music and assisting producing and broadcasting at BBC Radio Manchester so I was kind of just doing everything that I could and just getting as many different types of experiences as possible. Then I won the best female for student radio awards in 2012 which kind of accelerated my career and landed me a job at XFM. I got my first on-air gig which was doing weekends. It was just getting myself out there and doing as much as possible, networking, meeting as many people as possible in Manchester and kind of making a name for myself really.

So you have your radio show 1-4am on Radio X, what made you want to work in radio?

Emm, I’ve always enjoyed talking I suppose and it’s never really felt like work! Like I was saying earlier, if you’re passionate about whatever you do then you’re kind of half way there. For me it doesn’t feel like a job, I can go to work and sit in the studio for three hours and play a bunch of tunes that I really love and speak to an audience that are on the same wave length as me that like going to gigs and all that kind of stuff. It’s just about doing something that is personal to me and not do something I’m not interested in and not passionate about.

What is the favourite part of your job there?

I’m going to answer this in a whimsical way! The fact that because I work in the middle of the night I can wear whatever I want to work because I don’t see anyone. I can wear my pyjamas to work or a tracksuit or whatever.

What advice can you give to those aspiring to follow in your footsteps and work in the music industry?

I have three bits of advice. One of my mentors “radio mum” always said to me when I was first starting out. Be eccentric, always be yourself. If you’re not doing that you’re gonna get sussed out because it’s difficult keeping up an act. Y’know no-one likes putting on a front. So I think being authentic is really key. Secondly, be persistent. It’s tough, it’s not easy. I worked for free for two or three years before I got any paid work. While I was getting up at like 4 o’clock in the morning to go do the breakfast show with Tim & Jim, my mates at uni were going out and getting drunk. But yeah I knew that that was the means to an end and now I’m doing my dream job so yeah if you want it bad enough it will happen. The next one is don’t be afraid of making mistakes, thats something that I always try and remember. You do mess up at times but nobody died, it’s only radio! If things go wrong or you press the wrong button or you accidentally say something that you shouldn’t have done on air – it’s not the end of the world. Learning on the job is really important and a crucial aspect of it.

Manchester obviously has a lot of music history. What would you tell those who think London is the be all and end all of music careers?

Don’t move to London! That’s my answer. We all know that Manchester is better than London anyway. No, all joking aside I do think the music scene in Manchester is a lot more experimental and welcoming. Most of the agents and publishers they’re all based in London so when you go to new bands that are being showcased for the first time you have all of those industry people there which can create a really weird environment. Whereas when you go see a new band up north you just don’t get that. You get fans that really love the music, that are really into it. I just think the diversity of music is probably bigger in Manchester. Even now with all the amazing heritage that we’ve got, the hip hop, punk, underground scene they’re all still thriving.

What can people attending The Big Music Project in Manchester expect to see?

So obviously I’m involved in one of the sessions with my friend and I suppose you could call her a colleague – Emily, who I did a youtube channel with. We’re going to be doing a workshop showing young people how to set up a youtube channel. They’re going to produce a video – edit, film and direct it. We’re going to see if it’s possible to do all of that in an hour! Then Emily and I are also going to be part of a Q&A which will be lots of industry professionals talking about how they got into the industry and hopefully giving some advice and tips to young people. That’s the beauty of this industry is that theres no set way of doing it. The key message to show on the day to the young people is that there’s no wrong or right way.

How does The Big Music Project help those young people wanting a career in the music industry?

I think it will be really beneficial for them. The fact that it’s a free all day workshop. There will be other people talking about presenting and being sound engineers so it’s gonna be a real great opportunity for young people who think that they might want to work in the music industry. Hopefully picking up some basic skills they can take away from the day. If they are able to approach people for work placements they can be like well i’ve met these people at this workshop and now I’ve had a taste of it, I definitely want to do it. Even if young people go along and they do think initially that they want to be working in the music industry and then decide this is really cool but this isn’t for me. I think its a great chance for people to suss out what they want to do.

So it helps those aged 14-24, why do you think it’s important to help people at this young stage?

To me, it’s not so much deciding what you want to do when you’re 14 because I certainly didn’t know I wanted to be a radio presenter when I was 14. I probably didn’t really make that decision ’till I was about 20. More than anything it’s about getting the idea of how any industry works. The skills of networking, meeting people and being able to communicate with professional people in that kind of environment. How to conduct yourself with your peers, how to work in a team. I think that more than anything, any kind of activity like that is really important for young people to broaden their horizons and help them develop as an individual.

The Big Music Project Live is in Manchester on Saturday the 13th of February

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