Job of the Month #33: Project manager and Chairwoman

by IDOL

New episode of our Job of the Month series to discover the many facets of the music industry. This month, Birte Wiemann, Project manager at Cargo records and Chairwoman of VUT.

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 Birte Wiemann, Project manager at Cargo records, who has spent over 20 years championing the indie music scene, helping establish Record Store Day in Germany, and leading VUT as chairwoman.

First and foremost, can you present VUT?

VUT is Germany’s independent music association, part of the wider European indie network with IMPALA and WIN on the worldwide scale. We bring together over 1,000 members (labels, distributors, aggregators, publishers, and artists) making us one of the largest indie associations in Europe. Our job is to make independence heard and support members in their daily business, from sample contracts and legal advice to representing them in political debates on streaming, AI, and market concentration.

You are chairwoman of VUT. What does that imply?

VUT is run by an elected voluntary board of 12, supported by a staffed office in Berlin. The office keeps the board updated on economic and political developments relevant to our diverse membership across the music economy. The board’s role is to evaluate these issues from multiple perspectives because the board is as diverse as our members coming from labels, distributors, digital players, and more.

As chairwoman, I help bring this collective expertise into public appearances, meeting with decision-makers like the cultural minister, but the work is very much a shared effort across the board, with strong support from the Berlin team. I’m quite lucky to be chairing so much indie expertise in one spot.

You're also a project manager at Cargo. What does a Project Manager do?

Simply put, it’s about keeping all potential threads within one project aligned, no matter how many parties are involved. The trick is communicating just enough with each stakeholder. That’s the essence of project management.

On my side, I supervise releases, helping the labels we distribute as well as some external partners and ensure their D2C operations are ready, especially for Europe’s new regulations since July 1, while also supporting our B2B distribution network.

You helped establish Record Store Day in Germany. Why was it important to you?

Was it hard? Definitely. Record Store Day started in the US around 2007, properly taking off in 2008. When we heard about it, we were super excited because Cargo is a physical distributor, and looking after record stores is part of our daily business. Sure, we also distribute to online, mail order, and large chains, but our focus has always been on brick-and-mortar stores. It’s so much more than just buying a record and leaving. You talk to the owners, exchange music tips with other customers by the shelves… that community aspect is close to our heart.

Having one dedicated day felt like a way to empower record stores to do more all year round. Even things like listening parties, which grew during the pandemic, feel like an indirect result of Record Store Day, though some stores might debate that. We started introducing products to our network in 2009, and by 2010, we had an actual Record Store Day in Germany. It was exciting but also a lot of work alongside our regular distribution business.

After 2011, we handed it over to the official Record Store Day Germany team, who still run it today, which makes me proud. I know perceptions have changed over the years, both from stores and customers, but I still think the concept is more relevant than ever. With inner cities struggling and shops closing, spotlighting record stores as cultural places is crucial. Many stores have taken the hint, creating experiences that attract customers to spend time there. For someone working in physical distribution, that’s super important and still very valid.

Can you tell us a little about your career path?

If you ask me how it happened, I’d say: it just did. For the longest time, I had no idea what I wanted to be. As a kid, when adults asked, I always said, “I don’t really know.” My parents were a bit concerned because I had no clear aim. I studied English and German, even got a PhD in English literature, and for a while thought I’d become a university lecturer. But once I realized how institutional universities can be, I knew that wasn’t for me. I love literature and teaching, but not the whole system behind it.

I’d always been into music, doing some booking for a local band I was friends with. So, an internship at Cargo Records felt like a good idea. That’s where it all started, and I’ve been with Cargo ever since.

Recently, my mom asked me to clean out some old stuff at their house, and I found a school essay from 10th or 11th grade where I debated becoming a music journalist. So at least the direction was there, even if I wouldn’t have said it at the time.

As for my chairwoman of VUT position, Cargo has always waved the indie flag, and our CEO Michael Schuster co-founded VUT back in ’93. With all the coming challenges, I wanted to ensure indie voices were heard, so I joined the board and was later elected Chairwoman. I’m now in my third term. While external challenges keep growing across the industry, we continue to speak up for independent music.

How is your daily work organized?

I’m in a really lucky position because Michael Schuster, as I said, co-founded VUT, so Cargo truly values the association and gives me the flexibility to balance both roles. But to be honest, managing my time is a constant challenge. If you talk to anyone in the industry, they’ll tell you the exact same thing: you start the day with three tasks on your list, hustle all day, talk to people, put out fires, and by the evening, maybe only one of those things is done! You just push the rest to tomorrow, but it’s not like you were idle.

Actually, I love that dynamic. I couldn’t stand a rigid, repeating schedule every week or month. I really enjoy the fast pace of our industry, and I’m super grateful that my bosses at Cargo trust me to dedicate a fair amount of time to VUT.

What are the qualities required for your position?

We always say the music industry is all about people, and that’s true whether you’re dealing with daily business, association work, or project management. It comes down to clear communication and making sure everyone is aligned. You have to give each stakeholder just the right amount of information without overwhelming them. At the same time, you need a solid grasp of the different sectors so you can talk about them intelligently. Keeping up with rapid industry shifts, like new developments in streaming or AI, is definitely a continuous challenge. But staying informed helps you spot trends early and figure out how to apply them to your projects.

Above all, you need a genuine willingness to dive into areas you might not know much about yet. Curiosity is really key here.

What do you like about your job?

I could put this in a fairly all-encompassing way, which is something I keep telling the Cargo interns. We get a steady flow of interns, showing that young people are still really interested in the music sector. You get to work with artists, labels, and music every single day, with a constant stream of new releases coming your way. Many of my friends who I used to go to concerts with find it to be actual hard work to discover new music now, so they end up just returning to old stuff they already know.

The huge advantage of our job, and what I really love, is that everything is served to us on a silver platter. They essentially say, “Here’s your new music, try some!” It’s something we don’t appreciate enough, having this constant flow of creativity to sample, while people in other fields have to put in real effort to stay current. Sometimes we forget our main objective is simply that we love music, regardless of whether we’re meeting ministers or doing admin. Keeping that core passion in mind is why we’re really here.

What is Initiative Musik?

It’s the official German music funding body under the Minister of Culture, or technically, the Beauftragter der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien. They handle annual funding for pop music, festivals, and projects like club soundproofing, though they face expected budget cuts for 2027.

I serve on the supervisory board and was just re-confirmed for another term. Since Initiative Musik focuses on helping artists thrive economically, having an independent perspective on the board is super important. It naturally aligns with my role at VUT, and it’s great that Germany supports music this way!

What is your connection with IDOL?

We go back a long way with Sylvain Morton, IDOL’s Head of Distribution, from when we distributed in France with Differ-ant. Beyond that personal connection, IDOL is a key part of the independent network. I just hope no major sweeps them up so they stay indie for a long time! My digital colleagues at Cargo would probably tell you the connection runs even deeper.

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

Honestly, people outside the music industry might think our work is strange, but to us, it’s just the normal everyday craziness. Take picking up bands or trying to wake them after a Cargo anniversary party so they don’t miss their flight! I remember calling one band repeatedly, getting hung up on every time. I finally went to their hotel, knocked on the door, and realized they were ignoring my calls because their ringtone sounded just like their alarm clock(!) We made it to the airport eventually! To outsiders, that may sound wild, but for us, it’s just business as usual.

Birte's playlist

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