Case studies - Robert Jerome

Robert Jerome is a 16 year old songwriter and singer from Chelmsford who attends the prestigious BRIT School.

What was the most valuable lesson you learnt from your school days?
The most valuable lesson that I learned was that you should never pretend to be someone who you are not. I have always been a mature person and always enjoyed the company of adults more than my peers while I was growing up. Also another lesson is to enjoy life whilst you are a child, because life only gets harder as you grow up.

Can you tell us a little bit about you and your music?
Well currently I’m writing some new material and have also released some new songs on my MySpace and Facebook sites. I previously entered the UK Songwriting Contest (twice) and reached the semi-finals. I was quite happy with this considering my age at the time; I was only 16 years old when my song Once Again reached semi-finalist position.

I’ve also written a musical around some of my songs which is being showcased at The BRIT School in London by the Musical Theatre Department as part of Festival Week there.

Another area which I’m involved in as part of Festival Week is The Fairfield Halls & Bloomsbury Theatre in London where one of my compositions will be sung by the whole cast of a play. This will be shown to over 5,000 school children from many schools in the London area during the day and ticketed performances to the general public in the evenings.

What are the best and worst parts about trying to make it in the music business?
The best parts about trying to make it in the music business are getting to do what I love. I have a lot of passion for what I do, which is songwriting and composing, and I get a lot of encouragement from my family, friends and fans to get on and do well.

The worst part about trying to make it in the music business is the sheer vast amount of competition that’s out there. This can make it really hard to get noticed especially when a lot of people have music produced in the studio to a very high standards of production.

When you were at school did you know what you wanted to do for a career?
Initially I wanted to be a pianist working in a piano bar from a very young age, but then discovered that I was more interested in writing records for other artists as well as for myself. I quite liked the idea of writing under pressure and meeting a deadline from a music publishers’ and being a songwriter in demand. Of course I would like to be a performing artist as well, but figured it may be a whole lot easier by just being the composer.

How can young people turn their talent into their job?
It is up to the young person to decide whether or not they want to take their talent further. If so, then it’s really worth looking at a performing arts institution of such as The BRIT School, LIPA or Access To Music.

They will help a person become attuned to how the music industry is run and help you polish your performance skills to become as good as they can possibly be.

Why do you think it’s important to support young people's talents?
This is where it all starts. Most talent is usually discovered at a young age, and develops and becomes finely tuned and improved over the years until it is ripe and ready to be showcased in front of the right people.

Who in your life has helped you to Shine? Who inspires you?
I have my parents to thank for helping me get to where I am at the moment. Without their support I don't think I would have had the confidence which I have now to go on stage and perform in front of loads of people. I used to feel terribly nervous before going on stage, but now I get a kick out of performing for a live audience. Nothing comes close to the feeling of the audience truly enjoying your performance and appreciating what you do.

What other talents do you have? Any secret gifts like being able to wiggle your ears :-)
I try to joke a little bit in life because I find that if I take life too seriously, then life wouldn't be much fun at all.

How do you think schools can help young people to develop their ideas and have the confidence to take them forward?
Schools can help young people develop their ideas by supporting them and believing in what they do. Also schools should be encouraging to their students in the areas they are talented in. This is the reason why I decided to go to a performing arts school which specialised in only performing arts subjects.

What do you think about the Shine festival of talent? Is it something you would have engaged with if it was available while you were at school?
Yes I would definitely have engaged with the Shine festival if I’d had the opportunity to engage with this brilliant platform while I was at secondary school.

What’s the best advice anyone's ever given you?
"It's not what you know, it's who you know!"

What advice would you give to young people wanting to go into the music industry?
You have to be committed to your job in music whatever specialism you decide on. If you want to go into songwriting, performing, management, A&R or promotion you cannot give up on your goal.

Also be really determined and never let people put you down, and if they do then take their criticisms in a positive way, because it's all experience for you and will ultimately help you get on and find your own way into the ever changing industry.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I see myself in 5 years from now working for a music publisher as one of their songwriters. This is ultimately my dream job, but then again as they say there are dreamers and doers, and I can safely say that I am a doer rather than a dreamer.

You can hear Robert at www.myspace.com/robertpauljerome and www.robertjerome.co.uk.