How to break into the music industry, according to festival programmer Mesh Webb
IMAGE VIA @ASHLEACAYGILL/INSTAGRAM
AS TOLD TO MARYEL SOUSA
“I don’t believe you can be conflict-avoidant and succeed in live music.”
Have you ever stalked someone on LinkedIn and wondered how they managed to land that wildly impressive job? While social media might have us believe that our ideal role is a mere pipe dream, the individuals with these titles were, believe it or not, in the same position once, fantasising over someone else’s seemingly unattainable job.
Behind the awe-inspiring position descriptions and the fancy work events lies a heck of a lot of hard work. So what lessons have been learnt and what skills have proved invaluable in getting them from daydreaming about success to actually being at the top of their industry?
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Welcome to How I Got Here, where we talk to people who are killing it in their respective fields about how they landed their awe-inspiring jobs. Through the lens of the women whose work we admire most, we explore the peaks and pits, the failures and the wins, and most importantly, the knowledge, advice and practical tips gleaned along the way to the industry’s dream jobs.
For anyone with pop star aspirations or those who have ever performed concerts in their bedroom using a hairbrush as a microphone, Mesh Webb is the person you’d want to impress. As a programming manager at Untitled Group, Mesh plays a major role in bringing emerging artists to the stage at festivals and venues across Australia.
Like many people who work in the music industry, Mesh didn’t follow a linear path to get there. Instead, she took on every opportunity that came her way. A music producer and DJ in her own right, Mesh has dabbled in everything from ghostwriting and sound design to bartending and social media management. Basically, if it’s a music-related (or even music-adjacent) gig, Mesh has done it. “I moved to Sydney when I was 18 with zero music industry connections,” she shares, “It took me over 10 years to see any forward motion in my career.”
Everything came to a head when Mesh joined the post-production team on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. From there, doors opened for freelancing opportunities with big-name clients like Vogue, Gucci, Rabanne and GQ. Each job was a stepping stone, leading her toward and preparing her for her current position at Untitled Group.
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Fashion Journal: Hey Mesh! What do you do and what’s your official job title?
Mesh Webb: I’m a Programming Manager for Untitled Group, working across some of Australia’s leading music festivals, including Beyond the Valley, Wildlands, Ability Fest and AO Live, in addition to unique musical partnerships and a small selection of touring.
Take us back to when you were first starting out. Did you study to get into your chosen field, or did you start with an entry-level role and climb the ladder?
I started playing in bands from the age of 16 into my mid-twenties. As anyone in music will tell you, there’s no defined path to get into these specialised roles. I studied music composition and sound production at uni, but I wouldn’t say a degree is essential.
While studying, I worked in nightclubs as a door girl, bartender, social media manager and DJ. All the while, I was going to as many gigs as possible and trying to get my foot in the door. I spent my twenties just saying yes to every music-related opportunity that came my way.
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As a firm believer in having no plan B, I just kept at it until the wheels started to turn. I’ve been a venue booker, music journalist, producer, ghost writer, playlist editor, music director, sound designer, tour ops coordinator and agent’s assistant – you name it, I tried it.
I was DJing full-time when Covid hit and I became unemployed overnight. Weirdly, it was a relief to be on a forced break and I used the opportunity to reconnect with writing, producing and recording music. I picked up a few small producer gigs and was working on remixes when I got a call that ultimately changed my life.
A friend was looking for some assistants to join the post-production team on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. Working on that film truly changed so much for me, as it was the first time I recognised how much I loved being part of a team working toward a common goal.
When the film wrapped, I returned to music freelancing and had an exciting year of gigs with clients like Vogue, Gucci, Rabanne and GQ, when the call came from a dear friend at Untitled. They were looking for a summer contractor to assist the touring department for three months. That was two years ago! The company really nurtured my unique set of skills and created space for me within the programming team.
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Can you walk us through a typical day in your life on the job?
At any given time of year, we’re working on the lineup for one or more festivals, so it’s a mix of listening to music and researching acts, talking to agents and managers, locking in talent, negotiating contracts and working with internal teams in marketing, touring, ticketing and beyond.
Some lineups can be booked in an afternoon, while others take an entire year, so it just depends on where we are within the festival season. It’s a deceptively admin-heavy role, so one constant in my daily life is that I never get to the end of my to-do list.
What challenges have you faced getting to where you are now?
I moved to Sydney when I was 18 with zero music industry connections, during a time when you couldn’t hunt people down on LinkedIn or social media for an internship or to get your foot in the door. It took me over 10 years to see any forward motion in my career.
Even with two music degrees and experience in most subsects of the industry, I always felt like I was sitting on the outside of the scene. There are companies I chat with regularly now that, at one point, rejected a job application from me. In hindsight, I’m grateful I had to forge my own path and make my own opportunities, because now I move through my role with the confidence that I’ve earned it.
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What would surprise people about working in events?
Major festivals are programmed more than 12 months out from the show date, so there can be a million reasons why ‘your faves’ didn’t make it onto the bill. The lineup you see on Instagram probably looked very different when the programming team started booking it.
Sometimes it’s about money, sometimes it’s about schedules, and sometimes we love an artist, but they just don’t fit into the overall program. If there’s an act you feel is a glaringly obvious omission from the lineup, there’s probably a reason for it and it’s not that we didn’t think of booking them!
What’s the best part about your role?
I don’t even care how corny it sounds – the best part is making dreams come true. Booking an emerging act at a major festival and seeing how much it means to them is the best feeling.
Similarly, bringing an artist to Australia whose fans are absolutely hyped to see them feels so great. This season, those artists for me are Julia Wolf and Jane Remover. Music is deeply personal and the universal language of connection, so playing even a tiny role in cultivating core memories for others is just so cool and gratifying.
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What would surprise people about working in festival programming?
People are always surprised when they realise how collaborative our programming team is. Our significantly different genre expertise is most visible in the Beyond the Valley lineup. It makes for a truly genre-fluid and diverse program.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I think people are quite surprised by how much I have to argue at work! I don’t believe you can be conflict-avoidant and succeed in live music. You will (politely and professionally) fight with everyone and call it ‘negotiating’.
What skills have served you well in your industry?
I took some electives at uni, focusing on contract law (music industry-specific), which have served me extremely well in my current role when negotiating deal points, which takes up a significant chunk of my time. Social media literacy is also crucial in the current climate. An artist can have a million TikTok followers and still not sell 100 tickets.
Having a high level of discernment is crucial when artist managers, agents and labels will be hellbent on selling you ‘the next big thing’ for your festival. It’s times like these you’ll really need to combine sharp discernment with your taste level and make sure you aren’t caught up in the hype.
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What advice would you give to someone who wants to get into festival programming one day?
You have to be in it for the love of the music. Passion will help you navigate all the noise of the industry. Outside of that, the best advice I can give is to remember that being kind and willing to work hard will take you further than talent or networking ever could. It doesn’t matter how talented you are. If you’re horrid to work with, then you will have a short career because there’s always somebody waiting in the wings to step up and do a better job than you.
Finally, find little ways to stay grateful even when the work gets tough. When things get particularly stressful, I’ll take a quiet moment of gratitude where I imagine telling 13-year-old me what we do for work. It really shifts things back into perspective. It’s music, it’s meant to be fun!
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What about a practical tip?
It’s shocking that I still need to give this advice but if you’re an independent, developing artist, then you need an email contact, your location and a recent link to music in your Instagram bio. If you want to have a cool, mysterious grid, fine! But if I have no way to hear your music or figure out what city you live in and the only way I can enquire about booking you is through your DMs? Forget it. I’ve already moved on.
Keep up with Mesh here.
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