In Conversation With
Yusuf Alhallak
You joined the first ever Route Placement Programme - tell us what you did for your placement.
Through the placement programme I worked with a company called ATC Live which are now called ROAM. I was working throughout the company as an assistant to all the different agents, learning their roles and processes and the skills needed to be a live booking agent.
I was learning the world of live music and booking agencies and picked up a lot of information from them that helped me develop my skill set, and which really fortunately turned into a role at ATC where I was kept on for longer once the programme finished which was a brilliant experience. I picked up so many skills from all the different agents which has ended up being super transferable and has really prepared me for the work that I'm doing now.
How did you find the programme? What was the experience like? Was there anything you were surprised by or not expecting?
I thought this programme was incredible because I was also supported with travel which is a huge thing, especially as someone being outside of London. It costs so much to commute there and back and you feel a lot more restricted in terms of the chances of getting a role - it seems to be a bit tougher when you’re at the starting point and not living close by.
Honestly, in terms of things I wasn’t expecting - I was just blown away by how supportive, welcoming and friendly everyone was. You sometimes hear these horror stories about how the live music industry can be cutthroat and ‘go go go’ but it was a real nice ease in for me and a gentle way of building my skill set and connections. It opened me up to a network of new people which was super valuable. It was a brilliant experience that lined up with my situation at the time.
Tell us what you’ve been up to since you finished your programme!
So after the programme officially finished, I was kept on with ATC for another year as an assistant. It gave me real insight into a very high level admin job within the music industry which prepared me for the world of work in general. When that extension came to an end I decided to take a little bit of time out to focus on my personal music career.
I was thinking about what I wanted my next steps to be and realised that I really wanted to step into the charity sector. It’s something I’ve been passionate about but I always imagined it was just volunteering. I met someone called Leila at a fundraiser for Warchild who introduced me to a charity called Compass Collective that helps young refugees. I started volunteering for them, working on the music programme and then I got brought in on a paid role coordinating English classes one day a week. It’s been amazing. The term started with a group of young people who didn’t really understand what music production software was and now have finished songs that they’ve made from scratch, and they’re about to perform live. And the amount of people that have moved up from beginner English class to intermediate has been beautiful to see. It’s been the most beautiful project to be part of.
I’m in the middle of a new term there now, but I’ve also just started a new job with a charity called Change. My title is Employment & Placements Officer. I help in assisting homeless people to find work after they’ve graduated from our training programme. I'm just three weeks into that at the moment. But it's great that I'm working full-time within the charity sector also after having the time to focus on music. I've got a few albums now that I'm proud of and I've managed to get management and I'm a lot more connected and ready to take some steps in music. It feels like everything's kind of worked the way I hoped it would, which I'm super grateful for. I emailed Olivia from ATC recently after I got this new job, just to say thank you so much because I think without the skills I learned in ATC, there was no way I'd even be considered for this new role as it's an admin focused job. Without that experience I don’t think I'd be ready for something like this at all.
What are some of the specific skills you learnt on the placement programme that have been transferable to other work?
A huge one is that before my placement with ATC, I really was not very confident in the professional working environment. I found it very daunting and quite overwhelming to be in spaces full of professionals but through the programme I learned how to navigate those spaces and feel that I do belong here. I’ve worked to get here. Becoming comfortable with that and learning how to just be myself in those spaces is something that I’ve definitely brought with me.
Learning how to manage a heavy inbox, multitask and just be generally more efficient has been super helpful. I impressed my manager the other day by showing them text software that I’d learned how to use at ATC. Little tips and tricks like that have helped me build a good workflow and routine with my new manager.
Has working professionally in the music industry affected your creative music career?
Yeah, it's definitely helped my career as an artist because it's given me stability, I think, which is super important. And it's given me a routine as well. Although I had a bit of time just focused on music, I think being back in a routined job in the professional world pushes me to be more ‘on it’ with my music in a strange way. Knowing that I have limited time and have to organise myself helps me stay on top of everything.
I have a bigger network now too. You never know who you’re going to end up working with and I’ve ended up meeting the most amazing people and people from all different music scenes. I was working with someone the other day and they were like ‘yeah, I’m in a hardcore metal band’ and it was amazing ‘cause here’s me being nervous to talk about my rap music!
What advice would you give to others who are just starting out
I'd say really just get stuck into as much as possible. If it's something like ATC and someone says, "Do you want to come along to a gig?" Go to the gig. If there's an extra task that someone says, " you don't have to do this, but if you want to”, just do it. Pick up every bit of extra info and help that you can because those little things might just randomly pop up in moments in the future where you're like, "wait, hold on. I've seen this. I've dealt with this.” Ask as much as you can. There’s no such thing as a stupid question, it’s just about trying your best and being honest about where you’re at.
Finally, what music are you listening to atm?
Okay, So, I'm a bit more limited with music at the moment because I've come off Spotify recently, but I've been listening to NTS radio an awful lot and just picking up lots of cool random bits. But the album I've been spending the most time with is Dean Blunt's ‘Black Metal 2’. That album does a lot for me. The Alchemist and Budgie just dropped a new project which is unbelievable. I realized that Death Grips have all of their music for free download on their website, which is unbelievable. So, I've been finally having my deep dive of Death Grips at the moment. And Duval Timothy, that's my final one to leave it with. He's got this beautiful album called Wishful Thinking that is just carrying me through the world right now.