Industry Mums - Emily Copeland

Broadcaster and mother Jane Gazzo continues her series asking women to describe their triumphs and challenges as working mothers in the Australian music industry.

Emily lives in Sydney with her husband and two children and was raised between New South Wales and Queensland. She is the founder and director of Cedilla – an agency which unites creative organisations and individuals with commercial partners.

Describe your current job

I spend my days developing music led strategies for brands and securing revenue for artists and festivals to bring their creative ideas to life. I also sit on the board of FBi Radio, a community radio station in Sydney which inspires me daily with their support of emerging voices and championing of local creative culture.

What is your earliest musical memory?

Waking before the rest of my family on the weekend, to sit in front of Rage and using VHS tapes to make my own music video countdowns.

First record you bought?

Prince’s Diamonds and Pearls. It’s still one of my go-to guilty pleasure albums!

First concert you went to?

I desperately wanted to see Madonna when she toured Australia in 1993. I begged my parents to take me, but they decided I was too young so my first concert ended up being Michael Jackson’s HIStory concert at ANZ Stadium in Brisbane.

Was there a time when you and your mother didn’t see eye to eye?

When I was a teenager in Brisbane we clashed regularly, so I asked to go to boarding school in Sydney. I always saw myself as a bit of a rebel. I thought my mum was quite strict but if I’d only known just how much stricter boarding school would be!

What teachings/values/morals from your mother have you taken and/or implemented into your own family?

My mum was a primary school teacher and she raised me to love reading, learning and to question everything. It’s something I’m trying to pass on to my kids.

She also never placed any gender-specific expectations on myself or my brother. We could wear whatever we wanted and play whichever sports or activities we wanted to. My brother played in my all-girls netball team and I spent many years refusing to wear any skirts or dresses. I look back now and realise that was quite progressive for a suburban Australian mum in the 1980s.

When did you know you wanted to work in the music industry?

My dream job for as long as I can remember was to program Rage, so I think I’d always wanted to work in the industry in some capacity. I didn’t know anyone who worked in the music industry when I was growing up though, so I had no idea of what jobs were out there, or how to get them. It wasn’t until I started volunteering at FBi, and began meeting people who did all kinds of interesting work in the industry, that I realised it would be possible for me to have a career in music.

What was your first industry job?

In my final years at university I started working for Ministry of Sound radio, and volunteering at FBi Radio in Sydney. FBi was an inspiring breeding ground of talent and many of the opportunities I’ve been offered in the music industry over the past 15 years have come through friends I made whilst there.

Were there any female mentors you felt you could call upon when you started out or did you have to navigate your own path?

I didn’t have a female mentor when I was starting out; but I have met many women throughout my career who I look up to and often call on for advice or moral support. I think it’s really important to build a support network around you and I’m lucky enough to have some wonderful women (and also many very supportive men) in mine.

When I decided to start Cedilla in 2016, it was these women in particular who helped me secure my first clients and advised me on the value of my time. I am forever grateful to them for this.

I believe mentorship is important, and I try to do everything I can to promote and support young people who are female identifying in the music industry. It can feel like a bit of a boys club on occasion and I want them to know that their gender shouldn’t define their ability to work in any industry, particularly music.

Did you worry about how you would make motherhood and the music industry work?

I was completely naïve when I had my first child and thought that everything in my world would continue as it always had, so I initially had no worries at all. In reality, being a mother in the music industry is the same as being a mother in almost any industry, except that our jobs generally have a few more late nights. It can be tough and tiring, but it can also be magical and rewarding.

I feel lucky that my kids have been able to come to events I’ve organised, be on set for shoots I’ve produced, and watch content I’ve worked on, so that they can experience what it is I do every day. I love hearing my kids talk to their friends about my job, but I’ve also had moments where I’ve regretted not being able to hang out after a gig, or attend a festival, and have wondered if I’ve missed out on opportunities because I have kids.

My clients over the past few years however have all been very supportive of my desire for a work-life balance that enables me to watch my daughter’s dance classes, or take my son to drum lessons. And there are so many parents in the industry who are balancing work and kids in an inspiring way – I just think we all need to be louder about it, and start normalising the fact that many people in our industry also have kids at home, both women and men.

Was there ever a time when it felt like it could fall apart or did?

Mum guilt is a terrible and very real thing. I often feel like I’m the one who should be there if my child is unwell (even if their dad or other family members are around), and I never want to miss any of their assemblies, concerts, sports matches or other school events.

The first year that I managed Partnerships for CMC Rocks QLD, I left my then-2-year-old daughter with my parents, and moved into a campervan on the festival site for a week. On the last day of the festival, my mum called to say that she’d taken my daughter to the doctor because she was a bit sick – and in that moment I was torn between wanting to complete an enormous project that I’d put everything I had into, and wanting to drive to my daughter and give her a hug.

I was very lucky that the CMC Rocks management team are all wonderful people, and as soon as I mentioned my daughter was ill, they were the first to suggest I leave the festival to be with her.

In those moments when it feels like it could fall apart, working with brilliant people can glue it all back together again.

What skills have you learnt to deal with occupational challenges which come your way?

If I can deal with a toddler’s tantrum then I can deal with any tantrum someone in a professional capacity can throw at me!

Obviously COVID-19 and lockdowns have affected the way we as mother’s in the music industry work – we’ve had to rethink everything. What have been the positives to come out of it?

COVID-19 has really highlighted to me how much time I wasted travelling to and from offices, meetings and other cities for work. The extra hour or two I’ve gained back every day by eliminating travel has made me way more productive, and allowed me to hang out more with my kids.

Relationship building is so important in my job though, and it’s hard to build a relationship virtually. I’m still having in-person meetings, but they now happen with take-away coffees in hand while walking around the parks and coastlines of Sydney – which is a much nicer way to catch up than in a board room.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jane Gazzo
Jane Gazzo is a broadcaster, TV presenter, music journalist and published author who began her career in radio, aged 16. Since then, she has presented nationally on Triple M and Triple J as well as BBC Radio 6 in the UK and has hosted television shows such as Recovery on ABC TV. She spent eight years as a presenter on Foxtel's Channel V, where she reported from music festivals, red carpet events and hosted live TV shows, interviewing some of the biggest and best names in the music world.

In 2018 Jane became Chair of the Australian Music Vault Advisory Group and in 2020 she hosted ABC-TV's flagship music show THE SOUND and co-founded the popular Facebook site Sound As Ever (Australia Indie 90-99).