Music graduate works on chart topping album

A Southampton Solent University graduate is putting the skills developed during her studies to work on high profile international music projects – including a recent global campaign for iconic band Gorillaz’s new album, The Mountain, which became their third album to top the UK charts in March.

Now working in audience insight and fan management for Eleven Management, Melody Perry credits her time at Solent University for giving her a strong, fully rounded understanding of how the music industry operates, preparing her for the fast-paced and ever-evolving world of artist management.

Her BA (Hons) Music Business course at Solent covered everything from PR and marketing to events, copyright, contracts and the wider commercial landscape of music. This broad foundation has proved invaluable in a role that requires an understanding of every aspect of an artist’s career.

“Solent gave me a really strong overall understanding of the music industry,” says Melody. “Working in artist management, you need to understand how lots of different areas connect - not just one specialism. I’ve drawn on things I learned at University many times throughout my career.”

Her overall understanding of the industry helped her play a key role in the latest Gorillaz album campaign. Working across both data and fan engagement, Melody’s role focused on analysing audience behaviour and using insights to inform creative and strategic decisions.

“My job is all about understanding how fans respond at different stages of a campaign,” she says. “That means analysing streaming data, social media performance and direct-to-fan platforms, helping the team see what is working and where there were new opportunities.”

Alongside the analytical side, Melody was also involved in fan-facing activity including mailing lists, competitions and presales, alongside helping to build meaningful relationships between artists and audiences through platforms such as Gorillaz’ Kong Studios.

“Being able to work across both the analytical side and the creative fan experience side of such an iconic project has been incredibly exciting,” says Melody.”

For anyone hoping to follow a similar path in the music industry, Melody’s advice is to be curious, proactive and open-minded. “Talk to as many industry people as you can, ask questions and follow up. People are busy, but many genuinely want to help those trying to get their foot in the door.”

Melody also encourages students not to lock themselves into one fixed career goal too early, but to remain open to opportunities within the industry.

“Take every opportunity to gain experience, even if it’s not exactly what you imagined doing. Almost everyone I know in the industry ended up where they are in unexpected ways. Sometimes the roles you least expect teach you the most or open doors somewhere new.”

With graduates continuing to help shape the future of the creative industries, Solent University continues to demonstrate its commitment to producing confident, adaptable and industry-ready professionals.

James Hannam, Course Leader of Music Industries at Solent, is incredibly proud of Melody’s achievements in the industry. He says, "We are very proud of Melody’s achievements since graduation from the Music Business degree course at Southampton Solent. Melody was always keen to gain industry work experience alongside her studies, so it’s great to see all of that hard work and dedication paying off with these recent successes.”

By placing employability, adaptability and real‑world experience at the heart of every degree, Solent University is positioning itself at the forefront of a new model of higher education, one that puts students’ futures first. Find out more about our career ready revolution here.

You can explore the music degrees on offer at Solent on our website.