Daniel Codella
How did you start working for Sonoma Wire Works?
I was holding an event at my college called Sound Advice: Making a Living in the New Music Industry, which was a two part event consisting of a screening of a film on the music industry and a panel discussion with industry experts. Doug was one of the audio experts invited to speak. I really wanted to show people all the different career paths available to people interested in audio. Doug came and spoke, and I gave him my card. A few months later I posted on my LinkedIn page that I was looking for work. I received an email from Michelle asking if I'd like to come interview. The initial position was for a marketing assistant, but it's morphed into artist relations.
When did you first start playing music?
I come from a very musical family. We've always had a home studio and both my parents are musicians. I grew up playing piano as a child, and then moved on to guitar. When I was a teenager I got into recording and updated our home studio to a pretty cutting edge digital set up. My father represents companies that make soundproofing material so we lined the walls with the foam. Never had one noise complaint from the neighbors!
Does being a musician yourself help you in your current position?
Absolutely. As a user of the software myself, I feel like I can honestly and thoroughly explain how they might use it. I also release music with my band, Polare, and have been able to use my existing contacts to get the word out about Sonoma Wire Works products. I also have the privilege of trying out all the software before it's released which is a lot of fun, and allows me to throw my two cents in as far as features.
What does a typical day of work consist of for you?
First thing I do is check my email to see if any of our artists or press contacts have sent any messages. Then, I usually update all our social media sites with any news we may have. I also try to keep in touch with all our contacts and will try to call or email them every few weeks. By being dependable, trustworthy, and friendly, you build relationships with people in the industry. Many times, people have to know and like you before they will check out your product, so I take my job very seriously. Marketing stuff usually occupies the rest of my afternoon. We have several product lines now and lots of new things in development. I assist Michelle, our VP of Marketing, with things like writing press releases, designing marketing materials, adding content to the newsletters, and even naming products. Being a small company, all of us in the office are prepared to do tech support, shipping, make InstantDrummers, or even just clean up! Lastly, I usually like to end my day with a game of ping pong!
What do you think the future holds for Sonoma Wire Works?
Everyone in the office has been really creative lately. We have so many new ideas floating around, it's hard to decide which ones to pursue first. I can't get into specifics, but you'll definitely see some more compatibility and integration between the product lines. Lots of great new content will soon be announced for the Discrete Drums product line. RiffWorks users have alot of bright spots on their horizon as well. As far as the artist relations front goes, lots of big name musicians are falling in love with our products. We recently launched the Artist Spotlight area of our website that features amazing bands, singers, engineers, and songwriters that use our software in their music. More and more artists are expressing interests in making PromoTracks which allow FourTrack users to interact with music in a whole new way. I feel very privileged to work with such a brilliant and creative group of people, I'm hoping some of it will rub off on me!
Where can our users learn more about you and your music projects?
For anyone interested in my current and past music projects, please visit my website Musicismine.net. My band, Polare, has a website as well: polaremusic.com. Thank you for letting me share a little about myself!
