This is the first in a series of profiles in the Surface Pro 3 Lighten Up campaign, where we sit down and chat with mobile professionals, influencers and creators in Singapore about their work and what they carry in their bag around town.
Sameer has a job that many of his peers would be envious of. The 26-year-old founded with his friends an artist development and label management firm a few years back, and is steeped in the local music scene. Not a day goes by without him shaking hands – either physically or virtually – with some of the biggest and up-and-coming names in music, such as Taking Back Sunday, Pet Shop Boys, and Mumford & Sons.
Despite his cool and laid-back appearance, Sameer works at a frantic pace. He is responsible for everything from communicating with distribution partners, manage retail partners and sales, marketing and publicity, and working with other strategic partners such as brands, venues, and promoters.
But you won’t find him slogging away in a boring corporate office. Sameer gets work done wherever he goes, and is a true modern, mobile professional.
To find out more about the productivity tools in his arsenal, we catch up with Sameer at one of his favorite café haunts which happened to double as his office for the day.
Q: What’s a typical day in your work day like?
My mornings normally start around 9:30am, when I wake up to a slew of angry emails sent over the night from the other side of the world. I usually take a few hours to address those and kick the day’s program up into gear before taking a break at around 12pm.
A quick fuel-up with some coffee and food, and I’m back at work again till about 6pm.
I take a break for a few hours in the evening for dinner meetings, or catch a band in town, and then get back to work around 11pm or midnight when LA gets into their office. That could go on for a few more hours before I try and hit the bed around 2am.
Q: That seems hectic. Do you have to travel a lot?
I would say around 20% of my job is spent on the road. I travel at least once a month for about a week, and often a little bit more when a band is in town, as that involves me having to manage all of their itinerary, their press and public engagements, and more.
Q: How do you still manage to get work done with all that travelling?
It’s definitely been a challenge to get work done when I’m travelling. Sometimes you just don’t have the luxury of sitting down to work even for a minute when you need to be running the show!
I recently got my hands on Surface Pro 3, and it seems to be a great answer to that. Just last week, I was travelling in the middle of nowhere in India and Surface Pro 3 had no problems keeping up with my work, from shooting off emails to a tracking sales on a full spreadsheet.
When I look at gadgets being part of my workflow, it’s important for it play nice and be compatible with my other devices. Surface Pro 3 runs on full Windows, so I can just install whatever I need and start working. The biggest plus is the ability to access a full version of Microsoft Office; this allows me to check on sales numbers and projections on Excel, create album briefs on PowerPoint, and more.
Of course, as someone in a creative industry, I love the way the Surface Pen lets me sketch and scribble down thoughts and ideas really quick.
Q: Are there any particularly challenging aspects to being a mobile professional in Singapore?
I think Singapore is one of the easiest places in the world to be a mobile professional. Co-op spaces and cafés with internet access are accessible and, for the most part, affordable. Perhaps one of the bigger challenge is the stigma that comes with being mobile. Some may perceive that you’re not doing a “real job”, and that you can’t possibly be as efficient in a café as you are in a proper office. I constantly get questions about how I get at work done, especially because my day literally starts by me rolling to the side of my bed, picking up my phone and checking emails.
Q: What’s your favorite part of the job?
I think at the core of every successful band is the fans, and it’s always fun to interact with them. Seeing them go absolutely insane, and run through the emotions of meeting their favourite bands is probably one of most spectacular things. It’s great to know that the bands I work with have some a positive effect on so many people.
I love what I do because of the people I work with. We work with some of the best label teams, the best management teams, and the best bands in the world. To me, it’s people that will always be a driving force in success.
Q: To end off, who should be listening out for?
One of our biggest focus right now is very much on this fantastic act that we have from Singapore called Gentle Bones. A marvellous talent – to me, there hasn’t been an act anywhere close to their accessibility and talent from these shores.
We are also in talks with a few more labels which we are really excited about, so stay tuned!