INDUSTRY EXPERTS
GÉRALDINE ZANASKA WHO ARE YOU?
Hi, I’m Géraldine, I’m a music business entrepreneur, a passionate advocate of music talents from across the world, I live on a narrowboat and I have a lifelong passion for cheese.
WHAT ARE YOUR JOB TITLES?
That’s always a tricky one as I wear many hats, like many in the industry. I’m the Founder of Compass Music and the creator of Lighthouse, the digital platform I’m currently building, which in itself is 12 different jobs or so. I’m also an international music business consultant, project manager, B2B event manager, occasional live music promoter, public speaker, educator and mentor.
WHAT DOES THAT ENTAIL?
Compass Music is the international music business consultancy I started nearly 3 years ago, after a decade of working in the industry, specialising in music export and international development. I’ve worked with companies as varied as record labels, music publishers, music export offices, music conferences. I have imagined and conceptualised new events to promote their goals, ran online trade missions, coordinated international promo campaigns Words by Géraldine Zanaska
and physical delegations of professionals, hosted workshops, facilitated introductions and a bunch of other stuff! Two days are never the same. And as an entrepreneur and business owner, you have so much work to do that usually goes unnoticed: promote your services, find new leads, prepare proposals, negotiate deals, execute contracts to high standards, handle the admin & finances, plan ahead, pay people on time, get paid on time, build relationships, build a great product, gather feedback, keep yourself informed of new trends, the list goes on.
what I knew to others, and ultimately mentor newcomers in the industry. This bit of my work came naturally to me as I’ve always enjoyed passing my knowledge on to others. After an initial dose of imposter syndrome, I realised I was really enjoying all of the above, and that I was quite good at it!.
Lighthouse is the new digital platform and marketplace for music industry professionals with international ambitions I’m currently working on. It stems from my experience in music export; I realised there was no easy way and few existing resources to learn about music markets around the world, devise a good international strategy and ultimately get answers from knowledgeable, trustworthy people on the ground to help your project move forward. So I invented one!
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHERS?
As I gained experience, people started approaching me to host workshops, talk at conferences, moderate conversations, teach 17
HOW DID YOU GET INTO IT?
I think most opportunities I ever got in the industry was either from having the nerve/audacity to reach out and to self-promote or from genuine networking. I love people, and I’m naturally curious.
I thought about starting my own business for years before I took the leap. My advice would be to just do it if you’re thinking about it. Don’t overthink things. You’ll never be ready. And that’s ok. Do things to the best of your ability, and make yourself proud. The rest will follow. Or not. And that’s also ok. But you would have learnt plenty along the way, I can guarantee you that. You can find me easily and connect on LinkedIn, or follow @compass_music_ If you’d like to check Lighthouse, which is now open in beta, go to www.lighthouse-music.com
