Richard Mollet - Public Affairs

We’ve had interviews with people who work in music PR before, but while Richard Mollet is very much involved in the music business this is a very different kind of communications.

Richard is Director of Public Affairs for the BPI, the trade body for record companies in the UK. He leads the organisation’s government communications, an important role given the record industry’s reliance on so called intellectual property – that is to say copyrights – the existence and protection of which requirement government and parliamentary support.

We spoke to Richard to find out what heading up public affairs for an organisation like the BPI involves, and also to find out how he got into the lobbying business in the first place.

By Chris Smith

You work for the BPI. Who are they and what do they do?

The BPI is the representative voice of the UK recorded music industry. Essentially they are the body that looks after the interests of UK record labels, primarily the ‘big four’ [EMI, SonyBMG, Universal, Warner] and over 350 independents.

Your job title is Director of Public Affairs. What does that mean and what are the main duties of your job?

As Director of Public Affairs, I am primarily responsible for communicating BPI’s messages to government and parliament, as well as other political groups, organisations and ‘stakeholders’. As a result, I am in constant contact with ministers, ministerial offices and civil servants as well as relevant select committees and the opposition front bench.

My job is to make sure they understand the issues that are important to us, and also our views on appropriate action or our opposition to particular proposals. Then, hopefully, together we reach a conclusion that is satisfactory for BPI and everyone involved in the recorded music industry that we represent.

Describe your average day and things you might do.

Whilst everyday is always quite different, there is a core rhythm to what I do.

The first activity of the day is reviewing the morning’s press for any stories that affect us or are about us. Then, if necessary, a response has to be made if, for example, our position is misrepresented. I also have to monitor what’s going on in parliament and if relevant questions or debates have happened or are coming up and then decide on a course of action.

Whilst the start of the day is all about reacting to what is going on around you, the rest of the day is usually less so. At any one time there are three or four policy developments going on within the government which BPI must be engaged with and so there is always a flurry of correspondence over issues such as online piracy, or meetings with officials about combating counterfeit CDs. Then there are all the relevant committee meetings and ‘all party group’ conferences on important issues such as music industry employment.

The mix of issues involved is forever changing and broad; for example, this morning I’ll be discussing improvements to education on copyright in schools and universities.

What do you like about your job?

If you are interested in politics and have a passion for the political system, then it’s a great way to be engaged with it and take a leading role. You are very much involved in both the parliamentary and governmental sides of politics, and I think that’s a fascinating and exciting place to be working.

What do you dislike about your job?

As with any political job, the downside is the constant battle you are always in. It’s an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ environment at times and you are constantly aiming to get your point of view heard against a wall of background noise. You are competing for access to key officials and politicians and sometimes you fail to win their attention or are outmanoeuvred by the opposition, all of which can be frustrating.

When did a job in public affairs first come on your radar as a career path?

Back in the early 1990s, it wasn’t something that was talked about as a career option, even by careers advisors. I did PPE [Philosophy, Politics & Economics] at Oxford and had a passion for the political process, but after a stint in the Royal Navy it didn’t really cross my mind as a possible career. However, I had a friend who was working in the sector recommend it to me and the rest, as they say, is history.

However, today I think this kind of political work has changed; the sector is considerably more self-confidant and, most importantly, it is much bigger and better known and there are also many more entry routes into the profession.

What would you say is the best ‘foot-in-the-door’ method for any new graduate?

I would say there are two primary routes. The first is to get some prestigious political work experience by working for an MP as an intern or junior researcher. If you are party political you can write to your party with your CV and say you are looking for work with an MP, or you can approach your local MP to see if they or any of their colleagues have opportunities available. Just a couple of months experience will really boost your chances of getting into a political consultancy firm or any other political career.

The other main route in is to speculatively write to various consultancies to see if they can take you on either fulltime or on a short-term contract. The bigger agencies will often have the capacity to take someone on temporarily, especially if they are currently representing a big client. If you just send your CV and a covering letter stating why you want to be a political consultant and why you want to work for that particular agency, you might get lucky, or be called back months later when a position does open up. I’ve seen quite a few people come in that way and after impressing the ‘powers that be’ they are quickly taken on fulltime.

You worked for both Edelman and Flieshman-Hillard before joining the BPI. How does an in house role compare to working in an agency?

I think it’s best described as a trade-off between breadth and depth.

In a consultancy, you are likely to have five or six clients at any one time, which means you will be working across a large number of different policy areas, with various different relevant people and groups. When you work for a specific company or organisation ‘in-house’, you have a more fixed set of issues and are expected to burrow more deeply into them and develop specific expertise. This happens, however, at the expense of all other policy areas.

The other big difference is that, at a consultancy, there is a premium placed on recruiting new clients. This emphasis on winning new business means some entrepreneurial, marketing and/or sales skills are important. Obviously, when you’re working in-house, your one and only client is employing you directly, so that’s not a consideration at all.

What do you think are the key skills for success in public affairs?

I think the ability to communicate accurately and with great clarity and focus is of primary importance – both in writing and face to face.

MPs are incredibly busy people and receive briefs, press releases and policy proposals every day. As a political consultant, you want your client to be heard and represented, meaning your communication must be readable and precise and make an impact. And oral communication is just as important as meetings and conversations form a large part of being effective.

Finally, I think having a very clear commercial awareness is critically important too. I think it is the ability to couple the commercial aspect and the role of business with the political process and its dynamics that really separates the best political consultants from the rest.

More info on the BPI at www.bpi.co.uk