Skip to content

Inside Sony Music

  • Spend A Week in International Marketing With SMG Impact Fellow Francis Amponsah
  • Oct 21, 2022
Spend A Week in International Marketing With SMG Impact Fellow Francis Amponsah

This article is written by Francis Amponsah and is part of the SMG Impact Fellows Mix Tape Series, a collection of first-person essays written by the 2022 Sony Music Group Impact Fellow cohort. Read more about the SMG Impact Fellows Program here. 

Francis was a 2022 Impact Fellow working with Sony Music’s International Marketing team. 

What does music mean to you and how does your outlook on music fit in with your internship at Sony Music Group? 
Listening to music is a form of meditation to me, like another dimension—or an escape, an enhancement to our reality. It’s fascinating to see how music makes an impact on a global scale as an International Digital Marketing intern and even more fascinating to be a contributor to that impact in countries such as the UK, France, Germany, Brazil and more.  

Music is a universal language, and my internship experience has proven just that. It’s eye-opening to see tracks from artists trend in markets you wouldn’t have even expected. For example, did you know that at one point, Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” lyric video was trending on YouTube in Israel at #12? It was also surprising to see DJ Khaled’s “Staying Alive” music video trending at #2 on YouTube in South Africa. 

What does an average week look like in International Marketing? 
I start Mondays off with a deep dive into the releases for the week and create reports on global trends, social chatter, and streaming data of various signed artists to share with project managers.  

Throughout the week, I attend and take notes during production calls and label meetings where teams congregate to make sure everyone is aligned with digital assets and necessary tasks ahead of an album, single, or music video release. I also work on campaign projects such as assisting in the development of ad assets, creating a weekly internal newsletter to highlight digital and TikTok trends and collaborating with two other international marketing interns to discuss our joint internship project/case study on influencer marketing.  

Could you tell us about one of your highlights of the role? 
One highlight is the real-world experience I’ve gained in marketing by assisting the four digital project managers that I work with. This experience broadened my knowledge of the music industry from a marketing perspective because I get to work with colleagues that have different leadership styles and work with different regions and markets. I have a lot of different interests including creative strategy, brand management, and graphic design and feel like I’ve been able to exercise most of them in this role. 

How would you describe your internship experience using a song from a Sony Music artist? 
The song “Blessed” by Wizkid ft. Damian Marley! 

Last but not least, what songs are currently in your rotation and on repeat? 

  1. “Where I Belong” – Joey Bada$$
  2. “Call Me Every Day” – Chris Brown ft. Wizkid
  3. “STAYING ALIVE” – DJ Khaled (ft. Drake & Lil Baby)
  4. “WAIT FOR YOU” – Future ft. Drake & Tems
  5. “KU LO SA” – Oxlade 
  6. “Ice T” – Tems

For more stories on the SMG Impact Fellows second cohort:

Back To Top