Madeline Weiler: "Connections are Huge."

Written by Abby Power

January 30th, 2023

After graduating from the Music Business Management program in 2022, Madeline Weiler took on the role of a research administrator at SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada). “I process the agreements from different publishers, I do research for them, and I make sure the money goes to everyone correctly,” she says. Madeline currently works in a remote environment, though she has stated that.“ Everyone is still really welcoming, and the company has a good energy.”

Although she may not have been working at SOCAN for as long as some of her colleagues, Madeleine has noticed the positive changes in the company, and has been able to point out subtle differences between pre-pandemic SOCAN and current-SOCAN. “A lot of people are saying that it's been better with a new CEO. Lots of people left before and during the pandemic, but those who have been working at SOCAN for a long time have noticed changes in the energy and how the company is progressing with the current times.” Throughout the 8 months that Madeleine has been there, she “feels like [she’s] part of something,” despite the fact that she has been working remotely. “They try to do more in-office events instead of hosting all of the meetings remotely. My team [aims] to be more flexible this year, in terms of how we come together for meetings. I have only known most of them through a computer, and I would like to get to meet with them in-person!”

During Madeline’s third year in the Music Business Management program, she interned at Warner Music Canada as a social and content marketing intern. “I tried a bunch of different things, such as my internship. I did a lot of marketing, and thought ‘that's what I want to do’. But, that's what I thought I wanted to do... In reality, I was just looking for a job. I was looking for whatever was out there and just wanted to get into the business. One thing that I found with SOCAN was how the job description stood out, and how I felt connected to it. It was as if they were saying, ‘you don't have to have a ton of experience with the company’, as they were willing to train you. The thing that really stood out to me, was the fact that they were willing to take risks.” Madeline expressed that her biggest takeaway from SOCAN was the thought that “[she] would be doing something more creative. Instead, [she] was surprised that working at SOCAN has opened new doors for [her].”

“Be nice to Marni,” she laughed, “connections are huge... The industry is truly smaller than you think it is.” Madeline reflected about her time in the program, and stated that “the encouragement [she] got from all of the professors was huge. The connections [she] made with [her] classmates were also huge, especially when you have jobs lined up.” One of Madeline’s biggest takeaways from the Music Business Management program was the lessons on clear communication. “You don't realize how much communicating clearly is beneficial, especially when paying attention to detail. I have also found that knowing a bit about publishing can help with any job. Getting to know how that stuff works will really shine in an interview.”

“Just be open to it,” says Madeline, “be open to learning about all different things. Be open to all the experiences.”