So, tell us about what you do!
I’m Juliet and I’m a mother of one. I also work as a digital and music marketing consultant. Right now, I am the Asia marketing and promotion consultant for New York Dance Label, Ultra Music (Steve Aoki, Calvin Harris). I am also the digital marketing director for a local digital marketing agency in Singapore called Massive Group which focuses on digital transformation.
I also have my own business which I set up about two years ago with two close friends from the music industry called Blackstar. We’re a regional digital and music marketing boutique agency that helps independent artists who aren’t represented by major labels. Currently we’re working with American-Korean band Japanese Breakfast. She’s recently launched a book and a new album, so that’s what I’ve been busy with.
You’ve made a switch in careers, what was that journey like?
One of my first jobs was working for Universal Music and Warner Music in Singapore. I was part of the local team that helped to promote and market releases. Subsequently, I went on to broaden my experience in the entertainment industry by joining cable networks like MTV Asia and NBC Universal. Then, with the rise of streaming services like Spotify and Netflix, there was a lot of uncertainty looming over the cable industry so I made a very concerted decision to move into digital marketing. I joined a team set up by one of my ex-bosses, who was roped into set up Expedia in Asia.
Making a career switch from the music and entertainment industry to digital marketing was my second professional milestone that actually set me on the path to what I’m doing now.
You’ve done marketing for a very long time, what’s something that drew you to marketing? Or was there something in the music industry that drew you to it?
Yeah, my friends and I always joke about how we can never get out of the music industry. I guess it's fun because I love music, I constantly have music on. But after working within Singapore for a bit, I felt like I needed to be exposed to more regional work. So when the opportunity for MTV Asia came, I jumped at it because it was a regional position. The whole experience at MTV was so different. I got to learn about the local nuances of different countries and it was very refreshing to be exposed to different facets of creativity in different markets. That's the interesting part about marketing, because as long as you don't stop learning, there's always new things to learn.
I always talk about my project at Warner Music, where we came across this Jazz musician from Canada that the main headquarters didn’t want to push and market. We (the Asia team) picked it up. We worked on this project and that project was Michael Bublé, and he’s a household name now.
If you weren't in music, if you weren't doing marketing, what do you think you would do as a career?
This is where I would quote Ali Wong and say, “I would lie the fuck down and not do anything.” Like seriously. If I had a choice I wouldn’t want to work. But jokes aside, I think I would get bored haha! When I left Expedia my body was breaking down, my work desk was half filled with baskets of anti-biotics, anti-histamines. It was crazy. But within a month of leaving, I was back on LinkedIn looking for part-time jobs. But…if I had to choose I would become a yoga instructor. It’s perfect for me because I like yoga. I get to exercise while teaching people, while meeting new people while earning money.
As a marketing consultant, what are your hours like and how do you negotiate time now that you're a mother?
Wow. The hours are actually quite brutal. So before I was a mother, things were quite easy because there was no one who needed my time. But now I have a system where I’ll try to wake up early, go for a swim, do some work before my son wakes up. When he wakes up say about eight, I have breakfast with him, I send him to school, and then I continue all the way until I pick him up from his school at about six and we have dinner together. Since Ultra Music is based in New York, I have night calls about twice a week. I'll make sure that I get to spend time with my son and then continue working after that.
What does motherhood mean to you?
Wow, it means a lot man. Motherhood taught me about rediscovering myself, relearning and re-prioritising things. And it's a very, very wonderful experience. Like, I really don't think you can expect or plan what kind of mother you’ll be. It's like every day is a new day and you just take it as it comes. It’s forced me to face my fears and to identify what my strengths and weaknesses are.
Sami just turned four in December! Just the thought that I'm responsible for this little thing is very daunting, but I've come to learn that these little things are actually very hardy. While I can teach and guide him, I’ve also learnt a lot from him and I let him guide me in return on how our relationship should be. It’s almost like getting to know a person again. Like you're making a new connection! Except this guy is my son.
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I love being 40, and I didn't expect to love motherhood so much, you know?”
Tell us more about your relationship with your mom.
We have a very good relationship, very close. When I was growing up, she was very tough on us because she was a working mom. And back then, I think like thirty or forty years ago, a lot of mothers would stay at home but she had such a hard life. She had to wake up at like five AM to prepare breakfast and then send us to the school bus. And then she'll go to work at a factory, where she had to be on her feet for nine to ten hours. And then she'll come back and then cook dinner for us. Oh my god. I could never do what she did- being a woman bringing up two kids while working so hard.
There's a lot of different camps on how one should focus on your career versus focus on making the home, making the family. How do you feel about the idea of the career woman having to have some kind of trade off in order to be a good mother?
It's definitely not true, but I guess it's to each her own right? I mean, I respect both. Like if you want to be a stay-at-home mom, it's fucking hard to be a stay-at-home mom. Honestly, it's like, it's a thankless job, man, because everybody thinks that, “Oh wow, you get to sleep and wake up any time you want and stay home.“ Oh my god, I did that on top of my freelancing and it’s not easy because you have all this time that you don’t control. There were times when I was a stay-at-home mom and I didn’t even have time to shower. And you’re with this little person that you can’t even hold a proper conversation with and… you can get depressed you know! It’s really not a cushy job at all.
Whatever the priority is, I guess what's really important is as a mother, you need to free yourself to grow into the role that you want.
You want to be a stay-at-home mom, do it. You want to be a career woman, do it - but do not be afraid to ask for help and seek support because support networks were so important through motherhood. I had a very strong support system with my husband, my parents, my in-laws. And I have this really tight group of girlfriends who are experienced mothers, and they’re so generous with advice and their hand-me-downs. They are so amazing.
What is your definition of success now and how has that changed from when you started working?
When I was much younger, I defined success as a goal. I wanted to be like, the head of a department or a director or something. So that was always my goal before I was a mom. And then when I reached that goal, when I was the head of marketing for Expedia, it felt so good to have that title on my CV. But yeah, looking at all the medicine on my table, was it worth it?
Now I see success as time. Whether or not I have the luxury of time to do things that I like. I see success as raising a happy and healthy kid. And I see success as myself being happy, doing things that I want. I guess the less you want, the happier you are.
This might seem like a sudden change of topic, but you love music… so do you have a favourite song at the moment?
I love this question. Oh my god, this is hard. So I have this this underwater headset that accompanies me when I swim and it’s like a game changer. So I guess my favourite song at the moment would be what's on loop right now. It’s ‘Love Don't Owe You Anything’ by Strays Don’t Sleep. And oh my god. Can I choose two songs?
Sure!
The other one is Jimmy Eats World, ‘23’. My favourite song, it’s so long but it's amazing. Every time I hear this song, all I want to do is just lie down, not move, and just listen to it, it’s so nice.
This interview was edited for brevity and clarity
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