Amel Rachedi
Courtesy of @frozen_energy_photography
The global coronavirus pandemic has negatively impacted many people and businesses. However, differences in ways of working have also enabled people to launch businesses or change their career path. The entertainment industry was shaken up as many shows were historically performed or recorded in person. Many of these shows were forced to go online, oftentimes conducting the interviews via Zoom, a platform that was once seen as low-quality media production. One former Artist Liaison who used the pandemic to transition to a career presenting and interviewing many leading musicians during the pandemic is Amel Rachedi, creator of ‘Brunch With Amel’.
Early Beginnings
Rachedi grew up in Cardiff, Wales. However, after school, she moved to London to pursue a career in media where she eventually worked as an Artist Liaison before being promoted to a manager working across many tours and festivals such as 1Xtra Live, Lovebox as well as managing the U.K. leg of tours for global superstars like Nicki Minaj. This role enabled Rachedi to mingle with several well-known musicians during hosting and attending parties and events. She was frequently told by other people in the industry that she should “be in front of the camera and not behind it”. It was advice she eventually took onboard and whilst unsure how to make the transition decided to spend more time looking into it in 2019.
Career Transition
The early stages of making the transition to a presenter role proved to be extremely tough. Whilst Rachedi did have some experience hosting events and red carpet shows it took some time for people to change their view of her and she repeatedly received calls for artist liaison work. This was compounded when the global coronavirus pandemic meant most of the world and entertainment industry had to go into lockdowns. Through perseverance, she managed to land a gig hosting a series with radio station Pulse88 called ‘Brunch With Amel’ where she would discuss music and life events with a number of celebrity guests. Leveraging contacts she had built up over the years the show managed to become a success however it became obvious to Rachedi that she needed to focus on building her own platform that she could leverage.
Brunch With Amel
Rachedi decided the new show would take a similar format where she would interview guests in the music industry talking about both the music industry and life. She invested the last savings she had in building a home set up to do video interviews for the show which would air across Instagram and Youtube teaching herself video editing. The quality of the show and guests was soon noticed by online fashion company I Saw It First who wanted Rachedi to host 6 shows that would feature on their Instagram Live. This mini-series proved to be a success and featured high-profile guests which included Sean Paul, Emeli Sande and Davido to name a few helping to give the show further credibility.
Amel Rachedi with guest Sean Paul
Courtesy of Amel Rachedi
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More recently, seeking both expansion and an opportunity to feature artists who would not otherwise get exposure in the U.K. she decided to start interviewing international musicians. She has always had an interest in music from regions such as the Caribbean or Africa so decided she would do a short series interviewing artists from these countries. What initially started as an idea and a dream for Rachedi was made possible when she teamed up with her producer Natisia Mcglashan and they organised a tour to Jamaica where she met many guests in real life interviewing internationally renowned artists such as Sean Paul and Beenie Man as well as shedding a light on lesser known artists from the region. The interviews from the tour are being shared on Instagram and Youtube over the coming weeks.
After the tour proved to be a success Rachedi has her sights on featuring artists from other countries as well as new partnerships with brands where she can add her unique spin to the industry.
This article is part of a series featuring underrepresented people making a difference. To submit ideas for features or keep up to date with new releases you can find me on Twitter – @TommyPF91
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