Name: Lisa Coverdale
Position: Managing Director
Years at HT: 10+
What do you love most about your job?
I love that every day is different, every day brings new surprises and new chances to learn. I’ve been working with Hold Tight now for over 10 years and at no point has it felt like a job. It’s an endless adventure through music with some amazing people. I feel incredibly lucky. We love and we laugh and we do some incredible things.
How did you get to where you are now?
I grafted and never took no for an answer. I worked in corporate marketing/PR prior to this for a multinational business process outsourcing company. It was soul-destroying but fast-paced and a great place to cut your teeth in the world of work. At times it felt like fighting your way through a shark tank. But I was always into music, especially metal and in my spare time back in the early 2000’s I started a blog, which birthed a Myspace page, then a huge forum, a website, we had a label at one point, we organised meet-ups and holidays. It was crazy, full on and it was fun. It led me to discover so many great bands, labels and people within the metal and rock industry, such as Barley at Basick Records whom I relentlessly pestered to give me a job and he eventually did, just to shut me up. I left my real job in corporate marketing, joined Basick, started my own PR company as well doing music PR and when Barley and James Monteith of Tesseract formed Hold Tight, I was asked to join and here we are. It’s been a weird journey but amazing.
What were the main challenges you faced starting up a business?
In the early days it was just really James and I grafting endlessly. Long hours, small clients, very little money. We worked from our homes with no office space. Those days, in fact those first few years felt incredibly long but we had a ridiculous amount of belief in ourselves and we just kept going, pushing through and working our asses off.
During the time we’ve been in business I’ve had two children, with no real maternity leave because as a small business owner you feel like you just have to keep going in case it all starts to crumble. With my second baby I worked right up until I went into labour, I was actually talking to a client when I went into labour, I told them I’d be right back and I just had to go have a baby but would come back to them later. Then I went to the hospital, had Maya and was back working 2 hours after giving birth because we were on an album release deadline! At the time juggling a new baby with a 2 year old and a growing business was incredibly hard. I had no help, no childcare, just a laptop on my knee, a baby in a sling and a toddler destroying the house. I’ve felt every minute of this business growth, literally. But I never wanted to stop and I always believed we could be more than we are.
Now we have an incredible office in London, we have 8 staff spread across 3 countries. We now not only offer PR but radio plugging, digital marketing and email marketing and soon we’re launching even more services. Our clients are spread all across the globe, a mix of the hottest up and coming names in music and some of the most recognisable legendary bands. I guess as women, by our very nature, we tend to minimise our achievements so it’s always hard to shout about the good stuff but it genuinely takes my breath away when I look back to where we started a decade ago. We’ve faced incredible challenges along the way but always met them head on, as a team and learned from them, turned them around and turned them into positives. I’m really proud of us.
What did you dream of doing when you were younger?
I wanted to live inside a world like Little House On The Prairie. I still do.
Is there anyone that inspires you in your career?
Established industry mentors that I hold dear to me include Nathan ‘Barley’ Phillips (formerly of Basick, now senior A&R at Nuclear Blast) who more than anyone has been a guiding light, inspiration and cheerleader for me throughout the years. He’s such a good person and a good friend. Lee Barrett (founder of Candlelight Records) who has been there for me since the start, one of my biggest inspirations and gave me my first PR job (long before Hold Tight). I don't think he even realises how much he's shaped what I do. Lee, along with Darren Toms of Spinefarm/Candlelight who I just adore, have mentored and shaped the way I work through the years, the music I listen to, how I approach what I do. I know that’s a list of men, on International Women’s Day, but no fucks given…men are awesome too! If I hadn’t had their help and advice throughout the years, I wouldn’t now be here trying to give a step up and a platform to other women wanting to get into the industry so I’m thankful. S’all good.
Which powerful woman do you admire the most?
No one person. I admire ALL of the women who collapse into their bed at the end of every day, exhausted, having absolutely kicked the arse out of their day, knowing they did all they could, maybe they made someone smile, or they were a good person and they achieved all they set out to do. Women, when they’re on top form, are absolutely incredible. Unbeatable. So I admire all the ones out there making a difference in the world. The ones leading by example, the ones lighting up the sky and singing from the rooftops.
What are you most proud of doing?
I’m most proud of being a working mum and never compromising on that. My children mean the world to me and so does my career. It’s very much possible to do both and do both well even though I’ve been told it’s not. I have two little girls and they make my heart sing. I work from home and I look after the girls full time around that. I always have. I do what I do to show them that you can have it all, you can be a mum and be nurturing and wholesome whilst kicking ass in your career and never giving up on your dreams. In order to raise strong women, I believe you have to lead by example and I really try, every day, to show them what hard work, dedication and kindness can achieve so much. In turn they’ve taught me patience, how to play Uno, and how to laugh at myself.
Have you faced any barriers in your career due to being a woman? If so, how did you overcome them?
I have and I haven’t. I’m a bit of a bulldozer so it’s always been incredibly hard for anyone to put a barrier in front of me anyway. Choosing to work within extreme metal and progressive metal, two genres that are absolute sausage fests, has had its moments. But never in a sinister way. More just ‘oh there’s a girl that says she likes heavy music, let’s test her out’ - when you know what you’re talking about it’s really easy to change those sorts of conversations around.
If you could have dinner with three inspirational women, dead or alive, who would they be and why?
Lyn Smith - a friend’s mum who was taken too soon. She had an incredible inner light about her that inspired me to live my life and view the world in a certain way. One of THE most beautiful souls I’ve ever met and I think about her a lot. I’d absolutely love more time with her. Even if just to be able to say ‘Lyn, I did it’. You always think you have time. You don’t.
Björk - she’s just one of the most phenomenal human beings on the planet. Incredibly talented, incredibly creative, thinks outside the box, lives her life to her own rules and absolutely nails it. I think she’s fascinating and utterly inspirational.
Dion Fortune - she lived a fascinating life and I’m sure would have a lot of interesting chat on subjects I’m incredibly interested in.
How important is it for women to lift each other up and what does that mean to you?
I think in an ideal world it’s important for us ALL to lift each other up on a daily basis. Tell people they’re amazing. Tell them they look fantastic. Put out more positivity and good energy into the world. It’s the most simple way to effect change in this life and it’s free and it’s simple to do. Specifically for women, more than ever it’s important to take time every day to tell other women when they’re being amazing. If someone has done something no matter how small, cheer them on. You never know what that person is going through day to day and even the simplest compliment or even just reaching out could mean the world to someone.
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would that be?
Do all the things and do them twice. You think you have time, you don’t. Life is fleeting - so just go ahead and do those things you want to do.
On International Women’s Day, what is the most important message you want to send out to young women thinking about their careers?
Don’t ever give up. If someone tells you that you can’t do something and you think you absolutely can, then do it. Do it better than anyone else and shine so brightly that you burn their fucking eyes.
Finally - Can you pick 5 of your favourite songs across any genre by women to add to a special Spotify playlist?
Sylvaine - Nowhere, Still Somewhere
Florence & The Machine - Jenny of Goldstones
AA Williams - Exit in Darkness
Bjork - Jóga
King Woman - Morning Star
