Featured

Job of the month #19: Label Partner Manager

by IDOL

New episode of our Job of the Month series to discover the many facets of the music industry. This month, Alix Greaume, Label Partner Manager at YouTube.

Each month, IDOL presents a job in the music industry. Or more than a job, a person! Because behind the same job title, there are significant differences from one structure to another. Each person can define the scope of his or her job according to his or her career path, qualities and skills! Meet Alix Gréaume, who tells us about her day-to-day work supporting labels and artists in their YouTube strategy.

What does a Label Partner Manager do?

My role at YouTube is to represent the platform to players in the music industry, such as record companies, labels and distributors, whether independent or not. In return, I represent these partners within YouTube and YouTube Music, which are part of Google.

My missions fall into three main areas. First, there’s the support and coaching aspect, where my role is to help my partners develop their YouTube revenues by boosting their artists’ audience and the time users spend on their channel. Then there’s the educational side, where I pass on best practices and new developments, notably through training courses and masterclasses. My aim is to help my partners make the most of the platform: YouTube, being above all an organic platform, stands out for this singularity. So I work with labels and artists to develop long-term, sustainable strategies.

Finally, I’m in charge of setting up specific partnerships to support projects around the release of an album or single. These campaigns can take different forms and be more or less substantial.

What are the qualities required for your position?

For me, the main qualities needed are organization and the ability to prioritize. You have to know how to organize your work and choose what’s most important according to the needs of each partner and their missions. Good interpersonal skills are also essential, as you’re in constant contact with the music industry and it’s important to create a relationship based on trust.

You also need to be able to communicate effectively with a wide variety of people, both internally – since we’re part of Google – and with teams spread around the world and at different levels of experience.

Finally, you also need to have a passion for music, as this makes the job even more interesting and motivating.

Can you tell us a little about your career path?

In high school, I was already involved in musical projects, such as organizing end-of-year talent shows. During my studies at a business school in Montreal, specializing in economics and international affairs, I managed the music section of a cultural association, organizing events combining art and music, which enabled me to stay in touch with my passion.

My first internship was with DMLS TV, a company that produced music programs for TV. Then I did an internship at TS Prod, a company specializing in show production, where I got to know the business thanks to my internship supervisor, Hakim Nassou, Kendji Girac’s manager. These experiences confirmed my desire to work in music. After that, I worked for LANDR, an online platform offering services for musicians, such as automated audio mastering and digital distribution.

Then I moved to Ireland, where I had the opportunity to work for Google. I worked for over three years in the sales teams, where I managed relationships with media agencies like Publicis and Omnicom, helping them to invest in media on YouTube. Finally, I returned to France to join YouTube’s Music team.

How is your daily work organized?

My days are extremely varied, because I have lots of appointments, both internal and external. We organize a lot of lunches and events, because for me, face-to-face meetings are essential for forging solid links.

So my days are punctuated by meetings with my partners, with deadlines that vary from project to project. For example, I recently worked hard on the YouTube Festival, which took place on November 5. For this event, I had quite a few meetings with agencies, our in-house teams and the label we worked with for the music.

I can go from a meeting with a label to hear about their priorities, to a meeting with our product teams in the US, to a meeting with an artist, to a Business Review. My mind often has to switch from one subject to another, but at the same time, that’s what makes the job interesting.

I also take the time to listen to label projects, discover new music, and watch videos produced by the artists and labels we work with.

What do you like about your job?

The most important thing for me is to work in an industry I’m passionate about. It makes a real difference to know why you’re working and to have a strong connection with what you’re doing.

I also really appreciate the diversity of my assignments. My role, both local and international, allows me to collaborate with a variety of partners and interact with our teams in the United States, Asia and elsewhere, which makes my work particularly interesting.

Another very important aspect is the relationship I have with my partners. These relationships often go beyond the strictly professional: moments shared at concerts or lunches, for example, bring a more human dimension and make my work even more rewarding.

Finally, I’d like to emphasize the flexibility of the company I work for. There’s a real trust in our employees, which allows us to be very autonomous in our project management. For me, this independence is essential and contributes directly to my professional development.

What’s the strangest task you’ve done in your career?

I’ve selected three outstanding and somewhat atypical experiences that I was lucky enough to have. The first was seeing Phoenix in the studio. This took place at the Louvre, where they had set up their studio to record their album Alpha Zulu. It was a truly extraordinary moment.

Another memorable experience was a day spent with Dabeull in a château rented to record the Analog Love album. His team and musicians presented the album to us, playing some of the tracks live, and it was a somewhat unreal day in beautiful surroundings.

More recently, I attended a La Femme concert at the IDOL offices. I loved the atmosphere, which was very intimate, like attending a performance in a living room with friends. There was a simplicity and closeness that made the experience really special. These are pretty unique moments that this job can offer.

Why did you choose to work for YouTube?

For me, YouTube is a fascinating platform for several reasons. Firstly, it’s been around for almost 20 years, which is a long time for a tech company. What’s impressive is its ability to constantly reinvent itself to adapt to changing consumer habits, whether those of users, fans or artists.

It’s a very versatile platform, with its focus on both video and audio, which opens up a wealth of possibilities. It’s a much-appreciated platform for artists, especially those who don’t feel comfortable on conventional social networks. It offers them a different space for expression, adapted to their needs.

What I love about my job is being able to support artists and labels at very different stages of development. The stakes are never the same: some artists are just emerging and need a strategy to make themselves known, while others, already well established, need support to consolidate their position or explore new directions. This diversity makes each project unique and stimulating.

What’s more, as YouTube is part of Google, we have access to substantial resources, while remaining a small team. This gives us the opportunity to take on ambitious projects while maintaining an agile, human structure.

What is your connection with IDOL?

I work with the IDOL teams, whether with Paul Pétel and Rim Bouhmadi from the DSP Editorial & Partnerships team for all the artist priorities, or with Pierre Boucard and his Audience Development team for the audience and video side. We work very closely together, to provide the best possible support for the releases of artists and labels distributed on YouTube.

Beyond the purely professional aspect, we’ve also developed friendly relationships with many IDOL employees. It’s a real pleasure to work with you, and I mean that sincerely. And I think that this good understanding deserves to be underlined.

Alix's playlist

Going further

Our YouTube articles

See all