Who You Know: Alexandra Ampofo

NAME: Alexandra Ampofo

ROLE & COMPANY: Promoter at Metropolis Music | Founder of Women Connect + Acoustic Live

HOMETOWN: North London

CURRENT CITY OF RESIDENCE: London

Describe your typical day to day at work:

A typical day at Metropolis for me, will consist of speaking to agents, searching for the right touring period for a particular artist, holding a series of dates and essentially trying to route a tour. This means everything from bouncing venues ideas back and forth, to inputting all my touring costs into a budget sheet. I also take a lot of meetings around scouting for new talents, venue visits and to round the day off, attending our shows in the evenings!

In and around my day job, I also run Women Connect with four friends from Metropolis Music and Sony Music UK. We spend a lot of time updating our website and socials with tangible opportunities for Women/non-binary & gender-variant people who may be looking

for a way into the creative industries. We also collect and distribute sanitary products, campaign for period poverty, mental health in music and various other themed initiatives.

Lastly, I also run Acoustic Live with another one of my business partners. A typical day at Acoustic Live is quite similar to Women Connect except more music related. We pair a lot of our young aspiring singers with mentors and music industry executives who are able to assist our singers on their musical journey. We also spend A LOT of time on soundcloud looking for grassroot talent. That’s actually one of my favourite parts of the day. We have built a dedicated community, providing a powerful space that offers artists a chance to flourish. Our core mission through innovation, collaboration with other brands and the ideal to champion talent acoustically, is to provide resources, performance opportunities to artists and an environment for listeners to discover exciting new unsigned music.

Tell us about your career journey and how you got your current role:

I used to work in venue programming, I then bounced around between agency work and freelancing, to retail and then back to the music industry. It wasn’t a quick or easy journey at all, I’m actually almost a decade into my journey but I’m so grateful to be in the position I’m in. In my current role, I started as an intern in 2018, I was then promoted to an assistant by the end of that year, and shortly after made my way into my position as an official promoter.

What’s your most memorable career moment?

My most memorable career moment happened this year! I worked on the SiR tour and got to meet him. That was a massive moment for me because not only am I literally his number one fan, but I put so much effort into making that tour work. As amazing as our jobs are, a lot of the time they’re not smooth sailing, anything can put a spanner in the works!

What’s one motto that you live by?

I’m going to be honest and say I don’t really have any mottos. All I want in life is to be happy, healthy and to help people. I’m just trying to be an integral person, in everything I do.

Name two women creatives who inspire you:

June Sarpong has always inspired me, seeing a dark skinned Black woman become as successful as she has always made me reach for the stars. She made me believe anything is possible. I’m also always inspired by everything Shanice Mears does. She is so passionate about her projects and it shines through whenever she speaks. Shannie has started some real culturally beneficial organisations and she has such a drive for leadership.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into your profession?

Get to know the people inside the buildings, a lot of our industry is built around the personal relationships people have spent years fostering. Don’t be scared to start a conversation!

Anything else you’d like to add?

I’ve literally said this on every panel I’ve sat on but DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Also, read the room and tailor your approach based on who you’re speaking to. It’s so important to practice emotional intelligence.