With this series of upcoming articles we want to introduce you to some fine folks behind the scenes of the “music-industry”. As most of you might have guessed, the records you are listening to are a result of the work of a lot of people. So enjoy our small peek behind the work of a product manager at Nuclear Blast Records.
Interview with Stefan
Who are you and what’s your job?
My name is Stefan Franke and I work as a project manager (abbreviated PM) at Nuclear Blast Records in Germany.
How does your work look like?
I am responsible for setting up and coordinating releases and album campaigns from the moment an artist delivers the audio masters, artwork, and metadata up until the moment the vinyl spins on your turntable, you play the CD or stream it. I have to communicate a lot with artists/managements as well as with the label’s team to ensure a variety of departments in our company (Sales, PR, Marketing, Layout, Accounting, Production, Distribution etc.) all have the right parts and information they require in order for them to be able to do their job. It is a very diverse type of work, with a lot of tiny steps required to reach the goal of making new music available and a mix of creative and logistic aspects as well as a lot of data management, plus understanding of product details, contracts, the metal scene and audience we ultimately want to reach.
How did you end up doing this job? What has been your career so far?
I got into the music industry by chance. Over 25 years ago, I studied German and English literature as well as Social Psychology in Bochum and got a bachelor’s degree. I originally intended to become a journalist but an internship I had to do during this time was at a PR agency called Verstaerker in Witten. I was writing for some underground metal zines and webzines at the time already and a friend of mine recommended me to apply for this internship. It made me realize that records do not just happen but are being made by a lot of folks working behind the scenes, which was a real eye-opener. The same guy told me to get an internship at Century Media Records in Dortmund, I got it and in 2005 I had to do driving duties and pick up a workmate after a show of Slipknot and Shadows Fall in Amsterdam. On the way back he just asked me if I would be interested in becoming a trainee since my writing skills – everyone in the PR department where I was working during that internship hated writing press releases – and I said yes since I loved writing. Of course, my tasks became more diverse over time, and my official job education title translates to salesman for audiovisual media.
After dragging myself through the time at university, this job education really motivated me, I finished it with great grades and it gave me a career perspective. I worked as a publicist, as a sales assistant, did artist sales, found my true home in product/project management, had the chance to meet artists that I was a fan of, and workmates that are family to me. Then, Century Media was sold to Sony and a few years later, in 2020, moved partially to Berlin. With my family life in the Ruhr Area, moving to Berlin was never an option, and a friend got me in touch with Nuclear Blast who were fine with home office arrangements, and I am working there in my sixth year, alongside two other former Century Media fellows and a great bunch of people.
Was it always your goal to do a job like this?
No, it never was. It all happened by accident or luck, and a lot had to do with bumping into the right people at the right time and learning that behind every album there are passionate, skilled people who help release it, and that my very nerdy interest in this genre could actually serve a purpose.
What was the first band you took care of? What the latest? Has there been any “fave bands” among them?
The first release I have ever made was a tape by the death metal band Drawn And Quartered from Seattle in 2004 for the Ancient Spirit Terror label a friend of mine was doing besides the mag of the same name for which I was writing before joining Deaf Forever. It was completely DIY. The guys had sent me a CDR with the master and some files for the layout. I did my best to photoshop a design and dubbed the tapes on my home stereo. It looked like crap but I loved doing that. The first professional releases I did as PM during my Century Media days were reissues of French death/thrashers Massacra, and for Nuclear Blast the latest is the new Immolation record, a band I personally like a lot and is super pleasant to work with.
The new Kreator record and the Dismember discography are highlights, because I know I have invested a lot of time and dedication in making those as perfect as possible. Working on the last Paradise Lost album was also special since they have been a favourite band of mine since 1993. I also love Blood Incantation and doing “Hidden History…” for Century Media with them was fantastic, such great musicians and premiere league level nerds. My daily task is to deliver a service that assists an artist to have a professional release and well-planned campaign, to me it does not matter much if it is an album by Steve Hackett or Watain, I have the privilege to support creative human beings, and do that with pleasure and respect for any type of artistic expression.
The nicest parts of the job are…
Hearing an album for the first time. The moment of being more or less the first to hear a song or an album months before it is released, is something that I enjoy a lot, in that moment I feel artists/managements trust me to now start doing the right things to ensure a new release becomes a great product and the label works hard to make it successful. I feel responsible to honor that and try to show that through the level of quality work I can offer. Also, holding the finished LP or CD in my hands is something I really love. Even though I am happy if a release looks good on Spotify, Apple, Deezer, Tidal, Amazon Music etc., holding a LP or CD in my hands and checking if the print and pressing quality are fine is what I love most about this work. I am the first to check a product, even before a band or fan has it, and consider it my responsibility to make sure it is worth buying. Just as an example, on one of the albums I worked lately, in the document with the lyrics the artist had sent me, I noticed one paragraph they did not use, this part could have been accidentally printed if I would not have compared master versus the lyrics, I want to be that guy who helps avoiding such flaws.
The most annoying sides of the job are…
Waiting for the parts to arrive. Honestly, it doesn’t matter which band it is, if I personally like it or not, I always want to get started and must watch deadlines and I am very enthusiastic with getting hands-on with a record. So, if a band is late or delivers a master just on deadline – that kept me busy today actually – it can be a bit annoying since you have to be mindful of lead times for distribution both digital and physical. It’s a bit like working on a construction site, if the guy with the bricks shows up late, you’re going to have a long day.
Furthermore, you have to become very resilient to stress and the frustration of artists or management when things do not work out as planned. Conversations can get pretty intense then, this work can easily take a toll on your mental health as it does not come with a manual on how to react in such situations so developing the experience and empathy to be able to give professional advice and not take it too personal if someone is unhappy with results is quite important. Being honest, being supportive and respectful is key to a good relationship between label and artist, and I do my best to provide that.
Which 3 records have influenced your musical taste the most and why?
Just three? Haha, that’s almost impossible. Metallica – The Black Album is of course super important. I was 12 when my mom bought me the tape and my whole room was covered in posters of them. The first five Metallica albums are the best.
Next up is Death, even though Dismember were the first death metal band I heard. Death is probably the band I listened to most in my life and death metal my favourite style of music.
Third would be Dissection as they paved the way to get myself used to the snarling vocals and atmosphere of Black Metal. But I am happy to have nerdy talks about everything from Townes Van Zandt to Morbid Angel anytime. I like old stuff from the 60’s as well as current releases, music just has to move me somehow.
Check out the Bandcamp-page of Nuclear Blast Records to listen to some of the bands Stefan is working with.
