15 Years of Global Publicity and 25 Years in the Music Biz!
A few words from founder and CEO Nikki McNeill…
I don’t usually shout about my achievements, but after enduring almost 2 years of the pandemic it feels even more special to have reached these career milestones. A massive thank you to everyone who has helped me, supported me, and believed in me during the past 25 years. I feel honoured to be part of such an amazing music industry community.
In 2007 I took the brave step to go it alone and launch Global Publicity and after 15 years I am proud to still be working on so many exciting and inspiring projects, alongside so many talented and passionate people.
My brother was a big influence in my love of music and I used to record his vinyl onto cassettes when he was out and think I was the coolest kid ever playing tracks like M|A|R|R|S ‘Pump up the Volume’ loud on my Sony Walkman at school. He took me to my first ever music festival, which was ‘Knebworth 90’ when I was 15 and I wish he could see me now and how he helped shape the career I now have. I miss sharing that with him.
Originally I wanted to be a radio dj after being inspired by Kiss FM and having a show on my local university radio station when I was 17 called the ‘Bassline Breakdown’. However, after graduating from Manchester Uni with a 2:1 and many nights partying at Cream and The Hacienda, I worked my way up the ranks at various record labels and DJ agencies, before branching out on my own.
I am grateful for the experiences and knowledge I have gained from the people I have worked with during my career, trying my hand at everything from press, club promo and radio plugging. While working at Pioneer I helped launch a new record label and worked with artists such as BT, John Digweed, and the Renaissance label and during my time at Neo I worked on the first track to be signed from an MP3 which was Darude ‘Sandstorm’. In the era when DJ’s became celebrities and rockstars in their own right, I worked for one of the first female booking agency owners Rachel Birchwood, who had an amazing roster of artists including Pete Tong, Jeff Mills, Smokin Jo and Danny Rampling.
In the early noughties, I was one of the first PR’s to work with international events and festivals to promote them to audiences outside their own country and raising their profile on a global stage. I’ve generated a wealth of quality and impactful media coverage that has reached billions of music fans and festivalgoers around the world, working with talented journalists, bloggers, broadcasters and videographers.
It has been incredibly inspiring to have worked with such a variety of creative and award winning clients, everything from large scale B2B conferences and showcase events like ADE and ESNS, major international festivals including EXIT, Lowlands, Melt!, Rhythm & Vines and Sziget as well as representing some of the most well respected and forward thinking artists including Dave Clarke, Dubfire, Octave One and Richie Hawtin.
I am so grateful that my work has allowed me to travel the globe, enabling me to learn about the music scene and cultures in many different countries, making new friends and colleagues along the way, many who are still my friends today. I feel very lucky to have experienced so many press trips with such amazing people who have helped to create magical moments that will stay with me forever.
It hasn’t always been easy and running your own business is hard. You only have yourself to rely on, but I believe that my work ethic of always being honest and professional has served me well and got me to where I am today. There are so many things I wish I’d have known beforehand and it was a steep learning curve Yoo have to be the boss, the worker, the administrator, the accountant and so much more. While writing this I’d also like to give a special mention to Clare Dover who was my right arm at Global for so many years, helping the business grow and supporting me through the highs and lows.
Working in the music industry is a lot of extra hours and often weekends too, so it’s really rewarding to gain some recognition for your hard work and in 2010 I was the winner of the ‘Best Independent PR Company Person’ award and Nominated for ‘Best Independent PR Company’ in Record of the Day Music Journalism & PR Awards and then in 2021 I made it onto the esteemed shesaid.so Alt list 100.
As my career and business has grown, I have chosen to only work with clients I am really passionate about, which I feel gives me an authentic voice that rises above the rest. I feel that I really need to care and believe in what I am doing, which is a feeling that was accentuated during the coronavirus pandemic.
After being introduced to Night Time Industries Association in 2020 and helping to promote many campaigns to support the music industry and the night time economy, I found this was something that I really felt passionate about and have continued, now being part of the Association of Electronic Music Executive Board. The music and events industry is something I love being part of and giving back and helping the next generation is also important to me. I also run the Brighton Chapter of shesaid.so and am on the board for Moving The Needle supporting women and gender minorities in the music industry.
In a more recent project I have revisited my radio roots and started my own podcast ‘Meet Me Backstage’, where I shine the light on the talented and inspiring people I have met and worked with during my career.
I feel I have so much more to give to the industry and am looking forward to new challenges where I can continue to grow, help others and use my creativity. There are so many more things I still want to do and achieve.
Here’s to many more years doing what I love!
Nikki x