Photo of Terry Felgate

Terry Felgate

Terry credits his time spent as Students’ Union Social Secretary as setting him up for a successful career in the music industry, where he’s worked as Marketing Director of Parlophone, Managing Director of EMI records, and a consultant for BMG Artist Services.

Main details

Department Sociology
Occupation Music industry executive who's worked with names like Blur and Radiohead

"Last year marked 30 years since I began my degree at Goldsmiths, and of friendships that remain to this day. I was lucky enough to have identified and been introduced to a career within the music industry through my time working as the Students’ Union Social Secretary, and to have worked alongside executives and artists, such as Blur, who themselves have strong links to the College. I’ve enjoyed a dream job that allowed me to indulge my passion as a music fan within an industry I wouldn’t have known existed if it wasn’t for my time at Goldsmiths.

I worked at EMI for 15 years, working as the Creative and Marketing Director for the Parlophone label, and leading and developing release campaigns for artists including Blur, Radiohead, Coldplay, Kylie, Gorillaz, Paul McCartney and Queen. I then moved to take on the role of MD for the EMI Records label. Here my responsibility was to oversee all areas of the label: A&R, Marketing, Digital, Creative, and Press & Promo. During this time I took charge of a roster of artists that included Kate Bush, Pink Floyd, Kraftwerk and Iron Maiden, and was responsible for securing new artist deals with Hot Chip, Sigur Ros, Corinne Bailey Rae and LCD Soundsystem. I’m currently working as a consultant to the BMG Artist Services which sees me both sourcing and working on strategy for artist releases.

There have been many, many, highlights, possibly topped by working so closely with Blur for so long. But, more than this, what I hold to be to my greatest achievement since leaving college is to have held on to the most amazing friendships that were forged some three decades ago. My memories of working as Social Secretary at Goldsmiths are of an incredibly vibrant culture and energy throughout the university. I was able to work with, and learn from, some amazing people at Goldsmiths and be introduced to colleagues across the wider industry whom I continue to work with today. It was my experience at Goldsmiths, as Social Secretary, that opened my eyes to wider opportunities and gave me the chance to secure my first foot hold in the industry. I greatly enjoyed my Sociology course, and there are many learnings that have helped me in future work; most specifically when looking to understand audiences, and analyse data. I studied alongside such a wide-ranging group of fellow students, whom all shared a desire to learn and embrace new experiences."

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