Steve Willis Email & Phone Number

Southampton, England, Gb

I founded a company to market and develop DVD’s, when the format was very much in its infancy. New titles were being released and back catalogue was just starting to be developed onto the new format. I saw a gap in the market that appealed to a nostalgic audience and gave me the opportunity to indulge myself.• 1 year researching children’s TV rights and DVD Programming• Discussed compilation DVD’s at length with retail, set around a monthly magazine format• Negotiations over DVD rights with BBC Worldwide, BBC Enterprises, Gullane Entertainment, Hit Entertainment, Telstar/Trumptonshire, Chorion, Hanna Barbera and Century 21 Productions• Negotiate a deal to license 1970’s FA Cup Final film content from ITV. • Negotiate a deal to exploit the rights to footage of the FA Cup Finals with the F.A (Football Association)• Negotiate the grant of rights, clearances and ensure protection and exploitation of the brands. (ITV/FA)• Research and write scripts for documentaries. Find a film director and sound crew. Find players who played in the Cup Finals to interview. Source a host interviewer. • Edit footage. Find a company to author and encode DVD. • Draw up a marketing plan to promote the titles. • Negotiate a distribution deal in order to get the DVD’s to market.

The experience I achieved within the industry allowed me to set up a service to aide fledgling labels to develop their artists through bespoke marketing campaigns and co-ordinating promotional teams to maximise profile. I would chair label meetings by introducing promotional services into the campaign. Dovetailing the right National Radio people with the corresponding Regional radio team, the correct press and PR company alongside Club promotions and International partners. I was able to diversify and enter into the realms of the business I had not previously been working in. It has lead me to converse with Heads of BBC and independent radio to Government Ministers.• Provide a service to new start up labels and artists to major record labels.• Troubleshoot label requirements from conception through marketing to sales.• Offer experience in setting up a label, financing and sealing a distribution deal.• Radio and club promotion, DIY publicity, marketing and promotion on the internet.• Engage in retail marketing and promotion, moving on to International A&R, licensing and marketing.• Seek remixing and production deals, manufacturing, street promotion and school tours.• Copyright and publishing, licensing and sync licensing.Principle Achievements• Oversaw the rise of a sales company from an annual turnover of £100,000 to £52m• Co-ordinated the sales and marketing of the fastest selling album of all time in the UK [Oasis]• Marketed the [former] fastest selling debut album of all time in the UK [Oasis]• Recruited and trained the finest sales, marketing and support team in the record industry• Worked 40 platinum albums – 37 gold albums – 17 silver albums• 25 no1 singles – 30 no.1 albums – 170 Top 10 singles – 95 Top 10 albums• Developed artists from selling 200 singles to thousands of albums including……..Snow Patrol, Oasis, Stereophonics, Fat Boy Slim

• Strategically plan record releases for a long established Record label.• Work alongside A&R Department to carve out a career for recording artists.• Source press agents, radio & TV plugger’s, club promotions and street marketing teams.• Plan a marketing strategy to release records.• Negotiate sales at retail head offices• Implement a solution selling process to maximize sales.• Evaluate sales data and apply it to strategic marketing for future projects.I positioned the company to embrace the e-marketing opportunities to exploit the record companies catalogue that has led to internet sales, digital downloads, ringtones, full track downloads and to really understand web based deliverables.

My responsibilities as a Sales Director were to oversee my sales team of 40 plus a support team. Prepare a strategy that the sales team could follow using solution selling techniques and formulate a plan that will take the company forward. Prepare financial budgets and operations, costing reports at the outset of each individual project.• Liaised with project managers throughout campaigns, creating new marketing strategies within the budget constraints set out at the outset of each campaign. • Carried out detailed statistical analysis taking in to account previous sales patterns, geographical differences and understanding economical conditions in predicting sales impact for each and every campaign undertaken. This information is then presented to the record company as a Power Point presentation enabling them to calculate their marketing and promotional budgets.• Managing the running of the administration arm of the business, making sure each individual is performing their tasks smoothly. These tasks include returns systems, purchase orders, order entry and stock control - all systems that I had put in place personally.• Design power point presentations to take out to clients detailing relevant sales information and statistical analysis. After presentations discuss and formulate marketing strategies and sales solutions in order to maximize sales impact.• To attend and hold internal meetings with the aim of improving systems, smoothing over any day to day operational difficulties and holding open forums to encourage new innovative ideas.• To design sales presenters which contain graphic imagery, sales data, marketing strategy and promotional information.• To negotiate very important file term’s contract talks with our customers. This involves analyzing previous business, predicting future business, negotiating future marketing support in order to set out a legal binding contract that is beneficial to both parties.

• Developed new artists by integrating with independent store managers enabling good exposure and awareness of company priorities.• Operating as a regional radio plugger. Engaging with radio station Heads of Music to promote company priorities.• Work with promoters and tour agents. Taking the bands round to meet store owners, arranging a social evening for retailers to enjoy seeing the band and learn more about the campaign and how they help promote the campaign.• Orchestrated regional campaigns to develop catalogue dovetailing with National campaigns P J Harvey.• Developed new artists including selling a million records with The Christians and breaking huge talent• Huge success with catalogue campaigns with the re-issue of the Bob Marley, U2 and Julian Cope catalogue.

• Sold and promoted A&M Records products in record stores right across the South of England.• Worked with retailers helping them to promote company priorities.• Carried out record company merchandising instore.• Plugging radio stations within a designated area. Talking to Heads of Music and record library staff.• Worked with established acts such as Janet Jackson, Joan Armatrading, Sting.• Part of a fantastic Carpenters catalogue campaign that yielded sales of 2 million.• Developed and broke acts like Del Amitri, Gun & Ce Ce Peniston who sold over ½ million singles

Sold and promoted EMI Records products in record stores right across the South of England. • Running my own area alongside the company albums representative, co-ordinating record company marketing strategies within the area across both singles and album releases.• Maintaining sufficient stock levels for all key front and backlist titles and ensuring effective promotion of all products in stores including product launches, displays, incentive schemes and merchandising, in conjunction with the Marketing department.• Ensuring effective collection of information during sales calls.• Working with established artists such as the Pet Shop Boys, The Beatles Catalogue, Iron Maiden, Duran Duran and Marillion• Developing an acts profile instore. Helping to break acts like: Robbie Neville, Natalie Cole and Crowded House.

Promoted various record company products in record stores, right across the South of England as part of a Strike Force• Maintaining sufficient stock levels for all key front and backlist titles and ensuring effective promotion of all products in stores including product launches, displays, incentive schemes and merchandising, in conjunction with the Marketing department.• Ensuring effective collection of information during sales calls.