Ask an Alum

Rachel Walker Mason

Every issue, we’ll be bringing you an interview with a Bath Spa postgraduate alum, asking them what they did after obtaining their degree and how their time at Bath Spa helped them to achieve their goals. For our first interview, we caught up with Rachel Walker Mason, five years on from her time at Bath Spa.

WHAT COURSE DID YOU STUDY AT BATH SPA AND WHAT YEAR DID YOU GRADUATE?

I studied for my Masters in Songwriting and graduated in 2016.

WHAT IS YOUR JOB NOW? CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT WHAT IT INVOLVES?

I am now a multi-award winning professional songwriter, writing songs with and for Grammy winners, Emmy winners, Academy Award nominees, Country Music Award winners, The Voice and American Idol alumni, independent artists and many others. I’m also a judge for many international songwriting contests and am the only British musician to be inducted into the Indie Music Hall Of Fame. I write a popular column in Write Away songwriting magazine in which I answer questions from aspiring songwriters. I’m a best-selling author and I also run Listen In Colour Artist Management and record label.

HOW DID YOUR MA IN SONGWRITING HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS?

It helped me hone my skills, learn new songwriting techniques, believe in my abilities and most importantly, the module on collaborative writing made me realise that my ideal job was cowriting with other artists which is now what I am lucky enough to do. I had the most amazing lecturers who were really supportive and kind throughout the course and taught me so much about the music industry.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO CURRENT POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS?

That while getting your Masters is a fantastic achievement that you should rightly be very proud of, it doesn’t necessarily follow that you’ll be able to find work in the area you’ve studied. You need to be tenacious, brave and keep putting yourself forward for opportunities rather than expecting the opportunities to find you. Remember that you were clever and motivated enough to get your Masters so keep that momentum going to create the career you dream of.

FINALLY, WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER ARE YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS SINCE GRADUATING?

That’s a hard question as I’ve been blessed with lots of amazing things since graduating. Some of my favourites include writing songs for an upcoming album with a Grammy winner, being crowned Freelancer Of the Year, being a 2020 Woman of The Year, being a Hollywood Music In Media award nominee, my induction into the Indie Music Hall Of Fame 2021, being an expert judge on Sky Television’s NTA nominated series Sing: Ultimate A Cappella, being called “an inspiration” by Prince Harry for my work mentoring young musicians and winning Album Of The Year for Whisper in 2020.

However, I think my greatest achievement and joy is having the opportunity to balance my career with being a mother of two toddlers, one of whom is already an award-winning musician at age four!

Rachel Walker Mason, Bath Spa MA Graduate