Read this: Sophie K: breaking the mould

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How much you give and there's no regular commitment just hit the link in the show description to support now hello welcome to this bonus edition of the media podcast Ironman Tegan the Radio Academy festival which took place in the UK in London Bridge I had a great sleep sessions looking at radio and audio often through this year's theme of redefining plans from Kerrang Radio breakfast presenter, Sophie K talking about smashing through barriers and breaking them the woman in the male-dominated world of rock radio advertising cost they kindly agreed so here it is at the forefront of

Seen she also presents an Absolute Radio 80s a TV presenter a journalist and podcast host she has the squeaky shoes ever but she's had to work hard to get where she is breaking the mould it's Sophie k.

Thank you so much.

Why she's off ridiculously and ask to speak to you about overcoming and breaking the mould maybe I should start like back is growing up and Uganda in East Africa and I did the radio show from the age of 12.

I've always wanted to do radio and when you live in somewhere like Uganda there's no rules.

There's no you have to be liking this because you're a woman you have to press like this.

You have to be in this type of music because if your skin colour and someone who came to the UK or back to the UK

And decided to be a rock presenter.

I thought if I work hard enough, I'll be able to make it in the world of alt rock and metal actually is very very difficult to break into no matter who you are and I started by doing all the usual things are starting online channel.

I was doing bits and bobs of work here and contents.

I'll never forget the day.

I got my first ever audition for a huge job.

There's a panel of celebrity judges and I've got this in the bag.

I've got presenting experience the crowd chanting my name and it got to the end and they chose someone else and I ask why.

And somebody said to me because you don't look like a rock fan.

And at first I was really even anyone in like a metal piece on anyone in the band and all the information and it clicked ok.

I'm a woman black mixed and yeah.

This isn't so much of that.

I may have basically told me that rock audiences wouldn't accept me but here's the thing about me.

I'm sure a lot of people have been held back in their life.

Will tell you.

Don't piss me off because when you do, I have a point to prove and so what I did is I went and I studied every single magazine.

I studied I listen to Every radio watch every YouTube video I created this knowledge in my head of Who every musician was whoever band was who their fans were what they were saying on YouTube so that my knowledge could never be I joined an online station, can I start a show on that's really embarrassing if you ever get chance don't listen to it.

I challenge what women workers at the time.

I was watching and like women wearing PVC in there off and fetish models and like the men would be going I remember when you released an album in 1994.

I was actually they're boring everything learn about presenting before that is that's not what people always want to watch There's a time and place for that something you and I know I made a name for myself more so with.

Dance and appears and so it got to the point where piazza offering me interviews but I had no place during these bands are way too big for the Amazon and normally he wouldn't time is but because they got to know me and they knew that I always cheer their bums up I became the person that got all of those difficult interviews what I learn in this process in the thing that I always tell people is rock fun.

Don't actually care the industry does and The Gatekeepers do but the fans these guys.

They're actually really to see a woman or a person of colour and need to be like in the comments on my god.

She knows her stuff and that's what they wanted to say but all of the people who have been doing it for years and have Gate kicked.

They didn't really want me to be that and I found that out when I got my first paid job in radio live that team rock and Misty were absolutely amazing and there was a powerful team behind him.

Before and because all of the high Rocks the bosses in the money people decided that I just got it cos I was the token.

Ben I shouldn't get any budget so I had 0pr of the only show with zero marketing budget and I are due to no entry with my big boobs and I won't come on this isn't fair this isn't right and I've told you lately that just the way it is so what I did is alright.

Ok.

You pick me off now.

I'm going to find a way around it the theme to this.

I'm not a token.

I know what I'm doing so what I did is I start studying what has gone viral in the news.

I start trying to figure out why stories went viral so that I could then start doing stories that went viral and I did everything go publication.

I then looked at how to in social media, but not in the way radio traditionally doesn't just posted listen to me at this time.

I'm on I posted stuff at each platform and was native to eat platforms and enjoy it there, but then it would create a sense of this show is everywhere this girl is everywhere who is she what you doing and then I used beds on my show 15 to 24 year-old and the station pretty much had people older than that so what I did is I used artists like Justin Bieber and Katy Perry

The time is my bed which no rock presenter has ever done or done since in the history of rock and so what happened on social all the older fans would go what they're absolutely ridiculous talking about and all the younger generation who actually don't care about listening to pop they interchange.

They will like shut up.

This is Sophie case really cool.

I created this argument on social that meant that my show became even more viral and my followers were even more tribal and I became a second processing to show on the station which the big game did not like that station shut down and I went over to my dream.

Kerrang radio at Le fit that you can see the thing and I took those same techniques over to Crown with me and for the first time.

I really felt like I've been hired for knowledge and not the skin colour and that's what was really really powerful for me and they gave me a chance to be notice and you can tell I wasn't just a token to the fans because with into radio books that include the audience by 150% which was massive crime.

I'm also on Hits radio really freaked out fleur East backstage doing that for I'm on Absolute Radio of work for loads of brandy for the random currently weather for brands at work for in the pass.

I have worked a lot of brands and people would look at this and they look at me and they go you've overcome adversity you are done.

and what's weird the further you get the more you find and the more you discover in the more difficulties and the things that I found today is especially since the death of George Floyd people in Rock on Ark and I can tell the difference between when someone is getting me in for my knowledge my skill rather than

What the skin colour little box that I tick and here's the thing?

It will catch up because people say that I'm the Unicorn but I'm not because if you go through into tiktok the second most stream stream genre of music that second most strange genre of music on tiktok.

is alt music

and none of these people here and white juice absolutely none of them and so what I've done and I'm very proud to have created is the space within Media where these can be represented and where they can feel heard where the Bands get champion.

They know that they can come to me for where I'm at over started podcast called on Wednesday if we were the first ever in rocks have women of colour let alone two women and one non-binary person and we talk we talk about sex we're not supposed to talk about rock that forgot my dick.

You may get tokenize in your career and I think if there's any bosses watching this they question themselves whether they just thinking I just get a black bum on a seat or whether they're going left get Talent

But if it's people who are coming and they know it's a hard industry.

I think the thing you have to remember is that you can find your way around you can use the fact that there's an space2create space for yourself and you can create space for others which is the best feeling in the world.

I can tell you that so to anyone making it in this world.

Good luck to you and I hope it goes well and I hope you don't have to face half of the battles that I face and I only told you a fraction of them that was Sophie K thanks and the Radio Academy for sharing the session with us tickets for the festival still available if you want some really interesting artists of the industry including BBC content Charlotte Moore on her plan audio and a new scheme for Indies Claudia Winkleman and Clara amfo in conversation plus some radio keep talking about a youthquake in Reading all the details and how to watch the sessions.

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