Paul Baxter from Bonnier Publishing talks about his journey from the world of music into publishing as contracts and royalties manager.
Describe your career before moving into publishing. 
Before moving into publishing, I’d been working full time in the music industry for around a decade, predominantly working with publishing (songwriter) rights. I’d worked in different areas across licensing, copyright and contracts, digital distribution, royalties and other project management. While studying for a music degree at Napier University in Edinburgh, I’d also held several music-related jobs, including running the relationship between a recording studio and the whole of my year, started a promotions company, interned with a promoter in Edinburgh and later interned with the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society in Glasgow, who licensed the Scottish Parliament as part of a cross-party group on the Scottish music industry.
When YouTube moved my move to London, I was part of the first team to license YouTube for music use, had the opportunity to work in South East Asia and look after digital licensing across numerous territories across Europe, administered large catalogues for a private investment fund and was lucky enough to work with many of my childhood idols.
But, as anyone working in copyright will tell you, doing all of the things it’s got to change and evolve, including being outsourced, centralised or altered as part of digital administration and moving to a more global-focus on rights management. I decided it was time for something new, and publishing caught my eye.
How did working in another industry help you into publishing?
There are many obvious differences between the two industries but also many similarities. For example, where a song contains copyright in the top line melody and lyrics, a book holds copyright in the text. Where an album cover holds illustrative copyright, so does a book cover. Both have digital download formats which are experiencing changes in their areas and both operate partly on trade and consumer deals. Working in music rights gave me a good grounding, but my knowledge and interest caught the eye of those working in publishing.
There are also many transferable skills like people management, Excel, understanding of finances and taxes, contractual terminology, trademark and extended reading abilities that cross over.
What was your first role in publishing and how did you get the job?
My first role in publishing was as contracts and royalties manager for Bonnier Publishing (covering two of their UK divisions, Kings Road Publishing and Bonnier Zaffre). I got the job because my experience covered lots of different areas in rights, rather than being overly-specialised in one far-reaching area. I was (and still am) extremely passionate about the work I do and an ‘across it all’ gain my I’m one of those that try to immerse myself every aspect of what they do. If I won the lottery, I wouldn’t leave my job, and I think this came across strongly during the interviews.
What would you say are the pros and cons of coming into publishing from another industry?
The pros are that it has taught me a lot of the base knowledge and given me the transferable skills I needed to build upon in book publishing. Additionally, having had ten years of experience and being able to bring that into a business which has established music links. This allows me to work closely with music managers and/or agents about how copyright works while their experience and understanding in the music industry. I am also able to understand different copyright ownership to see if any administration needs to be done with the authors’ estates.
The cons? There is a lot to take in! Understanding how music works to transition into book publishing background requires a lot of knowledge. However, my past allows me to find differences, but not necessarily similarities. I know about the music industry, and I can learn about publishing, yet I’m not always sure of the differences. As Bonnier Publishing is open to hiring people from outside the publishing world and more from those who work within and those like me, we’re able to share knowledge and expertise in order to collaborate and become stronger overall.
What skills do you use in your current role that you gained earlier in your career and that have helped you progress?
I manage author contracts, intellectual property in general, contract negotiation risks, financial accounting, Excel use, project management, and overall administration.
Why is publishing a great place to be?
I can’t say whether publishing is a great place to be other than it’s definitely as interesting as music, but what I can say is that Bonnier Publishing is a great place to be! They allow you to think outside the box and have a professional but fun atmosphere, supportive nature, lack of workplace snobbery and ways of making what I unique in my experience. I genuinely believe that being interested in your work, working in a engaging workplace that challenges you and feeling valued for something you know comfortable are all of balanced importance. I enjoy working in the environment, there’s much more to learn though and I look forward to continuing the development of my skills and experience alongside great people.
This is part of a series profiling professionals working in publishing who started their careers in different industries and diverse ways. Please contact Lara for more details on how to take part.