A Visit From Vice President Laura Carter

Laura Carter, Vice President of Urban Marketing at Interscope Records, began her time with MIC by saying we should all break the ice. Channeling her alma mater, she yells “O-H!” While on the topic, she reminisces on her time at The Ohio State University. As a student of dance and political science, some might be surprised that Laura Carter was able to find so much success in the music business. In fact, she was very happy for current OSU students, as we have access to the Music Media Enterprise program. Laura told us about how she obtained her first internship under a producer in Atlanta, and she reminded us that in the music industry, it sometimes is more about connections than our studies. 

So how did Laura get the internship? 

“Someone who knew someone who knew someone who knew someone.” When asked about her first experiences in the music business, Laura told us that she learned from “grinding it out and dealing with repercussions.” She laughed about the day she was fired and rehired because she left out her supervisor’s lemonade. Before joining Interscope Records, this internship taught her that “you learn about the real world in a short amount of time, and most importantly, you have to cater to artists!” 

After meeting more veterans in the music industry, she asked for openings and found her first position in Los Angeles. With past colleagues and peers supporting her, Laura found that marketing with Interscope would be a sustainable entry point. And she was right! Since 2008, Laura has worked up from a marketing assistant to the SVP of Urban Marketing. 

How did you continue to grow your professional career over the years? 

“You have to be patient with the process and be open to growing alongside your company. A lot of people do not want to wait for a promotion, which is fine for some people, but in the music industry, you have to be willing to stick with it and be open to new opportunities for growth if you want to get these promotions.” Sometimes you also have to be at the right company, Laura adds, “every time I thought it was time to try somewhere or something new, I was able to find a new opportunity at Interscope.” She also reminds us that it is important to not have a single vision for ourselves. With that, “anything is possible!” 

When you’re breaking a new artist, how do you find the best fan base?

According to Laura Carter, analytics and data are super important. “We have to look at how many views their videos received, or how many people bought the merch with the last drop. This helps the label find out when to drop a song or music video.” Different analytics have become so much more important in the music business since Laura began her professional career. “We started with one or two data analytics programs, and now we have ten. We used to only look at sales and airplay, now there are endless partnerships and streaming numbers. Some say this industry is too data-driven” 

How has your role in marketing changed in the digital-everything era? 

“The pandemic made digital marketing so much more prevalent. Because of COVID, so much shifted to the point where we couldn’t do a normal timeline release. Digital marketing helped move everything forward, even when artists felt lost.” Since physical shows and concerts are back in the picture as of 2023, Laura notes that there is “now a middle ground between the physical and digital spaces” of the music industry.

What is it like to grow alongside your artists? And J. Cole? 

Laura remembered her first years working at Interscope, and Dreamville Records was one of her first notable projects. She refers to Dreamville as her family, and she discussed how their family grows through each of their releases together. COVID brought them together, virtually, as they spent lots of time brainstorming what to accomplish next. As most people in the audience wondered what it was like to work with J. Cole, Laura emphasized that it has been “such an honor.”

How do you grow as your own person outside of work?

Laura let out a giggle and said, “it can be tough. When I leave here, my phone is going to be flooded with texts and calls, but that is the norm. On a personal level, being here and sharing my experience with you all makes me happy, and you could say that is a part of my work-life balance. You have to set boundaries and take vacations. Some people can’t handle it, so you have to nurture yourself.” 

The best part of having Laura Carter as our guest was not just her expertise and honesty, but she was excited that we were excited to learn about her experiences. After touching on the importance of finance, connection-building, and partnerships in the music industry, she reminded us that we need to hold onto our passions. Like Laura’s own degree in Dance, those interests and hobbies are what can make our own experiences and skills so unique and invaluable.