To celebrate Women’s History Month, we caught up with some of our partners and friends to find out more about them and their roles within our ever-changing industry.
First up, we had the pleasure of speaking to Rachel Silton from Qobuz USA.
Rachel is the newest addition to the Qobuz USA team in her role as Acquisition & Marketing Manager. Prior to her position there, Rachel was Marketing Director for NYC Winter Jazzfest and Sound Mind Live. She worked as a Project Manager at Motema Music and has led marketing campaigns for GRAMMY-nominated artists including Joey Alexander, Anat Cohen and Mark Guiliana.
Thanks for taking the time to speak to us Rachel, so when did you first become interested in audio tech?
I first became interested in audio tech when I was taking a music history course senior year of college; our midterm and final projects were to record and submit a track for each. I brought some friends into the studio to accompany me on a couple cover songs (one was an acoustic version of Lady Gaga’s “Papparazzi” – ha!) and befriended the audio engineer who thought I had a great recording voice. He invited me to come back into the studio to work on some additional songs throughout the school year. The recording studio was a comforting and exciting place where I could escape the stresses of schoolwork and focus on expressing myself through music. I was fascinated by all the subtleties of recording – how adjusting the placement of a microphone ever so slightly could make a massive difference in the tone of my voice. While spending time at the studio, I started to learn about sound quality and recording equipment and have continued to gravitate towards music and high-quality audio ever since.
Could you tell us a little bit about your job at Qobuz and what you enjoy most about?
Yes, I lead marketing and acquisition for the Qobuz USA team. Qobuz is a streaming and download service that caters to audiophiles and music lovers by offering Hi-Res streaming and downloads (FLAC 24-Bit up to 192 kHz) as well as unique editorial content. There is honestly a lot I enjoy about my job. Here are some of the best parts:
- The team is a group of down to earth, hardcore music lovers who work hard and have a sense of humor. Working alongside a team of people I respect, admire, and can also laugh with, is a huge plus.
- Ever since I made the move from working in media/advertising to music, I have felt grateful to be working in an industry that both excites me and feels like a natural fit. Music has always been one of the most fulfilling aspects of my life, so I love being able to work alongside artists, labels, distributors, and audio companies to ultimately promote something I genuinely care about: the music listening experience.
- I have always been drawn to French language and culture so being immersed in it at work is an added bonus. I was a French major in college and spent time studying and interning in Paris. As Qobuz is a French company, headquartered in Paris, I am often interacting with my colleagues in the Paris office and love getting to practice my French a little!
Ok we know this is an extremely hard question but what is the best concert you have ever been to?
Since choosing one concert seems way too hard, I am going to choose the entirety of Newport Folk Fest. Newport Folk Fest is my happy place- my favorite three days of every year. I have seen a long list of my favorite artists perform at Newport as well as legends like John Prine, Patti Smith, and Dolly Parton. Sadly, the festival did not happen this past year due to the pandemic, but I’m hopeful for 2021!
We love a bit of Patti Smith! Another tough question for you … What is your favourite album?
I hate this question- how can I choose one? Today I’ll go with Amy Winehouse Back To Black
Great choice of album! For women or anyone new to the world of audio tech for that matter, where do you think is a good place to start?
I am still pretty new to the world of audio tech so here’s a list of suggestions based on how I’m starting:
- Stream Hi-Res music on Qobuz
- Look into buying some quality headphones (I have been considering a pair from Grado)
- Attend audio, tech & music industry conferences (even in the current COVID climate, there are lots of livestream events)
- Watch Qobuz Live, a weekly livestream series that streams from Qobuz USA’s Facebook and YouTube every Thursday at 4 pm ET. It is a great opportunity to learn about different audio brands, ask questions, discover new products and music, etc.
So, we know you are still pretty new to your role but what has been your biggest highlight whilst working at Qobuz so far?
The biggest highlight was probably our John Coltrane livestream event that happened at the end of September. This was a special edition of our weekly Qobuz Live series to celebrate John Coltrane’s 60th anniversary of Giant Steps with our friends at Rhino. Four leading saxophonists joined us for a live discussion, including Archie Shepp (who played with John Coltrane) as well as younger artists who are very relevant in the jazz scene today: Lakecia Benjamin, Melissa Aldana and Shabaka Hutchings. The panel was moderated by two acclaimed music historians, Ashley Kahn and Greg Tate. It was a successful and meaningful event that aligned really well with Qobuz’s ethos.
The video is still up here for anyone that missed it! https://www.facebook.com/100044568813498/videos/371698917557063
Qobuz has lots of brilliant features but which one is your personal favourite?
I am a big fan of our panoramas. Panoramas are longform articles, written by our editorial team, that dive deep into the stories and details behind pivotal artists, discographies, labels — really anything related to music evolution and history. Panoramas are a good example of how Qobuz stands apart from other music services; there is a real emphasis on music education, and our team’s deep love and knowledge of the music is apparent when you read these articles.
And lastly (because we are always looking for new stuff to listen to) Do you have any Qobuz playlist recommendations for us?
I always like checking out our “New Releases” playlists; there is the general “New Releases” playlist which is constantly updated by our team and it is a great way to keep up with the latest and greatest. There are also new release playlists for every genre so you can dive deeper into the genres that you gravitate towards. I also highly recommend the “Listening with…” playlists which are curated by artists; I am always curious to hear what my favorite artists are listening to.
Thanks for taking the time to speak to us, Rachel. To all our iFi journal readers, be sure to follow Qobuz USA on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram under the handle @qobuzusa
You can try Qobuz for free at www.qobuz.com
