How we use your data
We speak to Rob in the PRS for Music Insight & Policy team to find out how they use your data to best serve you.
Can you tell us about your role and what keeps you busy day-to-day?
I’m a Senior Insight Specialist. We mainly deal with member’s personal data (addresses, emails etc) and royalty data – how much they received at each distribution and under what usages. So, the role often involves producing analysis and data for our members. Usually, this is in the form of PRS post distribution reports, which are quarterly reports we produce for the major and leading publishers, to give them insight on their main distribution payment.
We also deal with specific requests from members as they come in throughout the year - this could be a member asking for more detailed analysis on a specific revenue stream or historic payments for a specific work.
How does the work you do impact PRS and its members?
Within PRS, we help the business analyse trends within different parts of the membership. By recognising and understanding these trends in Insight & Policy, this means that PRS as a whole can support members in ways most beneficial to them. For example, I’ve previously worked on a report for the Talent Identification Programme team which was used to identify ‘rising stars’ so that PRS could engage and support these writers at an early stage in their career, setting up a good relationship for the future.
For the major publisher members, our Post Distribution reports give commentary on why different revenue streams and usages may be rising or falling. This helps them to analyse their data, and to forecast for the future.
What do you most enjoy about your role?
My favourite thing is when tasked with producing a complex piece of analysis. It’s often like solving a complicated puzzle and is a great buzz when you figure out how to do it!
What’s the biggest challenge you face when handling members data?
We have so much data for all the different revenue streams, especially within online. The challenge is turning something at the granular level into something that tells a story for the member and helps provide insight on their earnings.
You recently DJed at Glastonbury festival, tell us a bit about that!
I DJed at the Babylon Uprising Tent – I’d met them when I DJed at Boomtown and they asked me to come play for them at Glastonbury. It’s a really intimate tent and lots of people showed up, so the vibe was great! I mainly played UK garage, with a little 90s rave at the end for some hype.
