Alumni
Student Rachel Boyd Interning at Warner Music Group's New HQ in DTLA Arts District
Since relocating their LA headquarters to the Arts District earlier this year, Warner Music Group (WMG) has hired Bachelor’s student Rachel Boyd as an intern in Merchandise Production. Rachel, who has earned her A.A. in Merchandise Marketing in 2017 and will be graduating in 2020 with her Bachelor’s in Business Management, found out about the opportunity through the FIDM Career Center. WMG occupies a historic building built in 1912 as the Ford Factory’s Model T factory and showroom, located at 777 S. Santa Fe Avenue. Downtown L.A.’s budding art, fashion, and food scene is a natural fit for WMG, as it is a magnet for businesses, entrepreneurs, and creatives. We caught up with Rachel to learn more.
Tell us about your new position at Warner Music Group: I work in the Media Operations department specifically for Merchandise Production. There is never a dull day at Warner and the team always has their hands full. This department creates, plans, negotiates, and delivers merchandise for tours and online stores. They also work with supplying retail stores like Urban Outfitters, Hot Topic and Spencer’s with some amazing band tees and merch. My job is to make sure all the samples get out each day and also make sure they are properly archived. I get to sit in on meetings with the department and vendors to understand what exactly goes on here. I also work with the Production Coordinators in helping them file important documents for them while they have their hands tied with fulfilling orders. So far it has been so amazing to see the different artists Warner works with, as well as see how the ideas are implemented and then transformed into the final piece. My favorite part of the day is opening new boxes and seeing how the product has turned out. I look at tour merch so differently now! There is a lot of blood, sweat, and tears that go into making this merchandise happen. The team works incredibly hard and the products are always so amazing.
How is it working in the DTLA’s Arts District, in the heart of it all? The office is huge, historic, and beautiful. It used to be an old Ford motors factory back in the day where they actually made cars. You can even see the building from the 10 freeway because of the huge trademark Warner water tower. There are five floors and even a stage and lounge area where artists, like Lizzo, have performed for special intimate concerts. Growing up in LA, I’ve always been used to seeing downtown but actually working down here is so different. I love going up to the roof and seeing panoramic views of Los Angeles, to me the view never gets old. There are so many good restaurants in the area and we are only about a block away from Nasty Gal HQ. The building is in the Arts District which always has creative energy floating around the neighborhood, whether it be photo shoots or murals that I see on my drive every day. Walking around the building in my free time is my favorite and I am still in awe every time I walk into the lobby and see Joni Mitchell's Blue album among many other of my favorite albums on the wall. You can not escape the music here!
Tell us a little about yourself: I'm an LA native and received my A.A from FIDM in 2017. I took a year off to refocus my goals, travel the world a little bit, and get in touch with myself. My two favorite things are fashion and music because they are both ways to express your personality. I owe so much to both for really helping me discover myself and I am constantly inspired by the two. Fashion influences music and music influences fashion. I love to express myself through fashion and a lot of my free time is spent listening to music and finding inspiration from the people and places that surround me.
Why did you choose FIDM? My girlboss of a sister Colene, who inspires me daily, graduated in 2009 and is incredibly successful. I would always peek around at her projects while she was in school and was intrigued. Growing up, I always found joy in fashion because it was a way to just be myself. It also helped that my sister had a huge closet that I would sneak into and play dress up. I was kind of a weird kid and fashion was my way to find my creative side. I feel like my style knew me before I did!
How do you feel FIDM prepared you for what you are doing now? Everything that I have seen in my department at Warner all relates back to most of my classes at FIDM. I see the concepts from classes like Trend Forecasting, Supply Chain Management, Textile Science, Applied Buying, and many others being applied in real life situations. For instance, knowing about fabrics, how they are going to react with certain dyes/prints, etc. is vital for this department especially when they are dealing with so many custom pieces for artists. That was pretty much what the class, Textile Science, was in a nut shell. I feel like my time at FIDM has really come full circle and I'm understanding how my degree in Merchandise Marketing goes hand-in-hand with my soon-to-be Business degree.
How did you decide on your major? For my A.A, it was between Merchandise Marketing and Visual Communications. I was interested in putting things together! When it came down to it, I chose Merch Marketing because it wasn't as specific as VCOMM and it allowed me more time to figure out what I wanted to do! I'm glad I chose Merch Marketing because I changed my mind so often and after my first year at FIDM I was changing my career goal at least twice a week.
Any advice for current FIDM Students? Don't be afraid to try something that is out of your comfort zone. Pay attention to what excites you, interests you, and keeps you motivated. Put your best effort into everything that you do because hard work pays off and is so rewarding.
What is your biggest goal right now? My biggest goal right now is to turn this internship into a full-time job with Warner, whether it be in Merch Production or another department. I also want to graduate FIDM with honors!
Anything else you’d like to share? Trust the process. There is a plan for everyone and you just have to nurture it until it blossoms into something beautiful. Trust your gut and do what makes you feel alive and happy!
Categories: Business Management Merchandising & Marketing Alumni Student
