Music Management with Sam Ruddick

After completing his degree, Creative Events Management graduate Sam Ruddick is now working with globally renowned artists such as Martin Garrix and Don Diablo. We caught up with Sam to discuss his role as assistant agent, his time at Falmouth and adjusting to Amsterdam.

How did the opportunity to work at Ace Agency arise?

At the end of the year working for the university, I started to look towards the future in terms of where I wanted to be. I'd been doing some freelance event production at European festivals with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Dua Lipa and Sigur Ros; but as the majority of this kind of work is during the summer, I needed a full-time position. I decided to take a bit of a gamble and move to Amsterdam.

A close friend and fellow Falmouth graduate was already living and working in the city, so I was able to stay with him whilst I found myself a flat and a job. After a short time working at an event logistics company I was offered the position of assistant agent at a leading electronic music booking firm Ace Agency.

What are the day-to-day duties of an assistant agent?

The role of assistant agent involves a wide variety of different daily tasks. These include creating and maintaining the detailed overview of upcoming shows, reviewing and handling signed contracts and their adjustments, as well as coordinating ticket sales checks and announcements of new shows. Due to the nature of the job, each day can be very different, which definitely helps to keep things interesting.

What are your favourite aspects about living and working in Amsterdam?

Amsterdam is a really fun city to live in, I love cycling so it's great to be somewhere so bike-friendly, and it's just such a beautiful city. I do definitely miss living by the sea, but the huge number of positives definitely make up for that! The city has a very relaxed feel to it which somewhat reminds me of Falmouth.

How did studying at Falmouth help you to achieve your goals?

The Creative Events Management course at Falmouth helped prepare me for the industry in so many ways, it gave me a great foundation to start my professional career. I'm very grateful for the support, opportunities and the room for individuality that the course provided. I wish I could go back and do it all again!