Pros
- Best music catalog and artist roster in the world. - Offers the unique ability to work across multiple genres, artists, and platforms. Huge company with different areas to pivot (ie Sales to Marketing, Distribution to Label). - Some really talented people with great stories from the golden age of the music business. There is a lot of wisdom to be offered from the vets. Seek them out. - If you end up on the right team, with the right boss, it can be an incredible experience (Distribution, Labels, Associated Labels, Corporate, Catalog, Finance, Marketing, Sales, Data, etc) - Great benefits and profit sharing
Cons
- If you end up on the wrong team, with the wrong boss, it can be an terrible experience - Experience, pay, and community heavily relies on department/team. - If the head of your department is a narcissist, which was my experience, it's a tough ride. No interest in employee moral - Social Darwinism. - No room for growth, total disregard for moral from leadership, and social cliques reminiscent of High School with gossip, sabotage, and bullies. - Tons of nepotism - 20 year old kids that drive brand new luxury cars, care more about meeting celebrities than music and usually end up at a glamorous position at a major like Interscope. I once asked a young Director what her favorite artists were and she answered, "I'm not good with names". In my case, it lead to bitterness and resentment. - CEO takes a separate elevator to his office, so he never has to interact with employees like they have a disease. Security escorts him in and out of the building. You'd probably get tackled if you tried to talk to him. - I asked one of my bosses for a promotion, as I had gradually taken on responsibilities WAY above my pay grade. He went from nice and social to cold and calculated. He never treated me the same again as if to punish me for valuing myself too much.