2 Minutes With … Emilie Birks, VP of Marketing at The Beatport Group

With over 15 years of industry experience under her belt, Emilie is currently the vice president of marketing at The Beatport Group, where she oversees global strategy, planning and implementation. Earlier, she served as customer experience strategy lead for Yamaha Music Europe, spearheading brand initiatives. Prior to that, she held senior positions at The Bakery Artist Management, Interguide Group, Main Room Events and AEG Live U.K.

We spent two minutes with Emilie to learn more about her background, her creative inspirations and recent work she’s admired.

Emilie, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

I was fortunate enough to grow up all over the world. We didn’t stay in one country for too long. But now, I seem to have found myself back in the U.K.

Your earliest musical memory.

There were two things that were incredibly important to have when we arrived in any new place—the piano and the record/tape player. My mom was a huge fan of music and I vividly remember her playing “Für Elise” on the piano a lot.

Your favorite bands/musicians today.

I have so many! Andy C is my ultimate DJ, Foo Fighters are my iconic band, Dr. Dre is my favorite producer and Aretha Franklin is my all time musical hero.

One of your favorite projects you’ve ever worked on.

A few years ago, I worked on a successful campaign with Yamaha Music called “Make Yourself Heard.” It was based on research that said children between the ages of 8-12 found it difficult to express themselves, and we saw that music was usually an option for children to do this. We created a whole campaign, through a nostalgic lens, so that parents could relate and encourage their children to take up a musical instrument.

A recent project you’re proud of.

The teams across the group have produced some fantastic work over the last 12 months. These include, kicking off the season with the one and only International Music Summit (IMS), the launch of the CDJ-3000 integration, and my personal favorite, when we highlighted the phenomenal work that women do in the music industry, including our own fabulous team, on International Women’s Day. 

One thing about how the music world is evolving that you’re excited about.

Accessibility to creativity. Everyone can now express themselves through music in some sort of way. I find this extraordinarily exciting and I’m eager to see how this evolves over the coming years.

Someone else’s work, in music or beyond, that you admired lately.

I saw an interesting sports ad earlier in the year about how (due to human bias) the internet and our search engines have learned to prioritize men in our search results, even when the facts put women first. Team Heroine and DDB Aotearoa have called upon the world to send feedback whenever we find something wrong, so that we can “Correct The Internet.” Pretty awesome stuff.

A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring.

Start With Why by Simon Sinek. I’ve read this book so many times, it’s a must read for anyone in business.

An artist you admire outside the world of music.

I love Gillian Wearing, although I don’t believe she’s exhibited for a while. I recently saw an exhibit with over 100 pieces of Leonardo Da Vinci’s work and I was blown away.

Your favorite fictional character.

Elizabeth Bennet, because of her complex yet endearing character.

Someone worth following on social media.

David Aaker, my absolute business idol. (His books are pretty awesome too!)

Your main strength as a marketer/creative.

My greatest strength lies in balancing creativity and analytics, ensuring the best growth results as well as meaningful customer experiences.

Your biggest weakness.

Writing about myself!

Something people would find surprising about you.

I arrange the apps on my phone by color, not by function.

One thing that always makes you happy.

British humor.

One thing that always makes you sad.

Pushing a pull door.

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in the music business.

Plotting how to work in the music business.