Open Comments, hosted by The Open Group
Welcome to Open Comments hosted by The Open Group*, where we’ll discuss things openly with our guests from a variety of backgrounds and from different walks of life. Through this podcast, we hope to give you an inside look into a variety of topics with an equal mix of humor and candor.
In this series so far, we have touched on the following topics: Healthcare, HR, Diversity + Access to Technology, Cybersecurity, and lots more. We hope you enjoy our show and look forward to bringing more topics into the fold. Let’s get started!
*The Open Group is a global consortium that enables the achievement of business objectives through technology standards and open source initiatives by fostering a culture of collaboration, inclusivity, and mutual respect among our diverse group of 900+ memberships. Our Membership includes customers, systems and solutions suppliers, tool vendors, integrators, academics, and consultants across multiple industries.
Disclaimer: The Open Comments Podcast (hosted by The Open Group) is presented purely for informational and educational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by the hosts and the guests are their own and are not intended to harm or offend any group, organization, company, individual, anyone, or anything.
Host: Ash (Marketing Specialist, The Open Group)
Open Comments, hosted by The Open Group
Open Comments - Episode 27: Success, Low Points, and Continuous Learning with Rob Saunders
Rob Saunders' journey from Coventry to the heart of the music industry is nothing short of inspiring. Imagine growing up surrounded by your parents' vinyl collection, cultivating an insatiable passion for music that leads you to manage a band and navigate the complexities of the music and PR industries. Rob's mantra, "keep fighting the tide," encapsulates his relentless perseverance and dedication. He offers wisdom for anyone at a crossroads in their career, emphasizing the value of chasing your dreams and learning from every stumble along the way. Whether you’re graduating from university or just starting out in your career, Rob’s insights on seeking independent advice and remaining resilient are invaluable.
In the second half of our conversation, we dive into Rob's professional world, exploring his roles within DEUCE Music and DEUCE PR. He shares his commitment to lifelong learning, the necessity of varying one’s work environment to stay motivated, and his own strategies for maintaining productivity. Discover how you can connect with Rob and stay updated on his latest endeavors through his websites and social media. As we wrap up, gratitude is extended to Rob for sharing his journey and to our listeners for their continued support. Stay tuned for more episodes packed with stories that inspire and motivate.
Copyright © The Open Group 2023-2025. All rights reserved.
Welcome back to Open Comments with me, ash. On today's episode we are joined by Rob Saunders, juice PR. Thank you, rob, for joining us on the Open Comments hosted by the Open Group podcast today.
Speaker 2:Thank you very much for inviting me.
Speaker 1:Thank you To start off with, please can you tell us about your career journey so far and how you got into it all?
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I left school knowing what I wanted to do. I wanted to get involved in the music industry. But I come from Coventry in the Midlands and there was absolutely zero opportunities there at the time when I left school. So in fact, I always remember just going to my careers officer when I was about 16, just telling him that I wanted to work in the music industry, and he just looked at me blankly and just gave me an application form for a car factory, which was where a lot of people went to after school in Coventry.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I just ended up then working in a photo lab, followed by a well-known insurance company, and then, when I moved down to London, I ended up working in IT. But I always knew what I wanted to do, but it was just a case of finding the right opportunity. But then I got the opportunity finally when my brother-in-law he wasn't my brother-in-law at the time, but my brother-in-law had a band and I went along to see them and I naively said I'll manage you. And so, uh, it just went from there that's amazing.
Speaker 1:And did you always have a passion for music, like in terms of managing, or did you it? Was it more like you, like aspects of it, or was it just like it was? Just like you was? Um, you know, you had this idea from the get-go sort of thing yeah, it's right, it was from an early age.
Speaker 2:My mom and dad used to buy me uh singles, um the old 45s instead of instead of pocket money, so I used to just build a collection from that. Well, from an early age I used to uh, used to play my mom and dad's uh music collections as well, um, on the vinyls. So, no, it's always been there. I wouldn't really say I've got much of a musical bone in my body when it comes to playing instruments or anything like that, so it was really going to be the next stage of just being able to work with talented musicians instead.
Speaker 1:Nice. And how would you say you overcome challenges, and is there a mantra that you stick by?
Speaker 2:I mean, I always remember a friend of mine saying keep fighting the tide. And so I think that's the mantra that I go for, because there's always going to be things being thrown at you. Nothing's ever going to be made easy for you. Nothing's ever going to be made easy for you, I think. When I first set out on my own, I naively thought there would be lots of government support to help encourage you to do well, but I soon realised there was none, and so I've ended up getting quite pig-skinned and treat every challenge thrown at me as an attempt to beat the forces that be to stop them from doing what I enjoy doing.
Speaker 1:And for those coming out of university who are unsure about what they want to do, or even those which may have gone to college or may not have even gone to university and are just starting out, what advice would you give them in terms of them finding their way or even where to start?
Speaker 2:I mean, well, I left school at 16. There wasn't really university opportunities back then unless you was really really intelligent, so that was just the way it was back then. So there's still an awful lot of people that leave school at 16 and maybe do some day release for colleges, so it doesn't really just apply for university people. But my advice would be don't be afraid to follow your dreams. If it doesn't work out, at least you know you gave it a try. If you don't try it, you'll always be thinking about what might have been, and I know plenty of people far more intelligent than me who have had really good ideas but didn't have the nerve to follow them up because they'll scare the failure and what friends and family may think.
Speaker 1:So my advice would be just go for it and on that note as well, what do you think lifelong learning means to you, or even just like continuous learning, like within yourself, and also like helping and supporting others as well?
Speaker 2:yeah, I think the most crucial one is learn from your mistakes. I think anyone that's gone out there on their own has made mistakes, and the key really is to not make that same mistake twice. It's schools or, as far as I know, universities and stuff that can fully prepare you for going out there on your own, and there's always different industries with different problems, so so you will make mistakes, but just learn from them and, as someone who runs an independent business, is there any advice that you could give to any of those um who are just starting out independently or who want, who are wanting to?
Speaker 2:you know, go down the independent route um, yeah, don't don't take advice from anyone working a nine-to-five job. Um, I find that those people where, as much as they may be nice people, they have no idea what it's like working for yourself and sometimes there is an element of uh, of jealousy, uh, with what with some of the advice that they may give. So that's something that I've just found. I'd much rather listen to people who have gone out there on their own rather than people that are working for someone else. But other things is try to vary the environment that you're working. So it might sound nice if you've been working for a company for years and years.
Speaker 2:It may sound nice working from home every day, but I can assure you it gets very boring. So I always just try to change my environments and go out hot desking. I've joined a members club in London where I'll go a couple of days a week, and so it makes quite a huge difference being surrounded by people, even if you're not talking to them, and if you are stuck at home. Get out at least for an hour and do some exercise, go for a run or something, because that helps clear your head and it makes a change from just staring at a screen all day. But I think crucially, don't expect instant success. I mean it took me six weeks before I saw the first bit of money coming in when I launched Juice, so it can take some time to build.
Speaker 1:And how would you say you stay motivated in what you do?
Speaker 2:I find making new contacts helps me stay motivated and it helps make everyday difference. I mean with the music world. I mean I do various different stuff in PR now, but predominantly it's music. But in the music world it's very creative. So you get to meet lots of interesting people and I'm always striving to make juice better. So when I provide a good service to these people they can lead to other opportunities and referrals to more potential clients. So making it, making every day different, it's my main. It keeps me motivated. If I was to work in an office which I've done in the past this it can be the same old, same old every day. So how would you which I've done in the past? It can be the same old, same old every day.
Speaker 1:So how would you say the musical landscape has changed in the last few years.
Speaker 2:I think the obvious one is the streaming, which has become more popular.
Speaker 2:It seems to be the main source of listening to music, more probably over the past 15 years than the past couple of years, and so this has made a bit of an impact on bands and artists' earnings which has been well publicised. So it seems the only way that they can make proper money now is through live gigs and merchandise. The problem is, if you're a new band, how are you going to draw those people to your first couple of gigs? It's very hard to get things off the ground, but that is the main problem. I mean you could be fortunate enough to have music selected for an advert or a film or TV series soundtrack music selected for an advert or a film or TV series soundtrack but streaming has become quite a problem with earnings now. So I think that's the main thing. There needs to be some sort of change, whether it's to encourage more people to purchase CDs and vinyls again. But it's going to be very hard to change people's mindset when they've got everything on a small device.
Speaker 1:So what are you most looking forward to career-wise for the rest of the year?
Speaker 2:To be honest, I just take every day as it comes. Really, I've got a few gigs lined up which I always look forward to. Some of them are with acts that I've been promoting, so it's always good to promote them and then get the chance to see them perform live. But, like I said earlier, every day is a bit different in this business, so I never know what's around the corner.
Speaker 1:And if you could give your younger self some advice before starting in your respective position, what would that advice be and why?
Speaker 2:I wish I had the courage to go out on my own earlier in my life. I don't think it's encouraged enough to follow your dreams. As I said before and perhaps I listened to too many people it put me off the idea of going out on my own. Out on my own. Even the last boss that I had before I started Juice didn't understand why I was leaving a comfy job to follow something that I had quite a lot of interest and enjoyment in. In fact, his leaving words were Rob, I enjoy clay pigeon shooting, but it doesn't mean I can make a career out of it, so that's always stuck with me.
Speaker 1:And for those that would like to learn more about you where can they reach you or find out more about you?
Speaker 2:the easiest one is to go to my two websites, which is juicemusiccom and juiceprcom, and you'll see links to all my social media pages there perfect, thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you again for your time today. It's been great learning more about what you do, what lifelong learning means to you and more. And thank you to all our listeners who have been tuning in and, until next time, stay tuned for more episodes coming soon. Thank you.
