Interview with Faryal Khan-Thompson — SVP Marketing & Community, CD Baby

Faryal currently serves as SVP for Marketing & Community at CD Baby. Up until recently, she was TuneCore’s Vice President of International, overseeing TuneCore’s international operations and responsible for the brand’s growth and expansion into new countries and territories. She holds a BS in International Relations and History & Policy from Carnegie Mellon University. Faryal has a professional background that spans the areas of Localization & Globalization, General Management, International Business Strategy, Operations & Strategic Partnerships. Prior to joining TuneCore, Faryal was at Tag, an international creative production agency, where she was Global Head of Localization overseeing a global team and supporting many clients across a wide range of industries, to help scale their brands globally and strengthen market positioning via localization.

Faryal also currently serves as a board advisor for Rywave, a music NFT platform whose mission it is to enable artists to fully utilize their talents, reach audiences faster, generate new revenue streams and connect with fans in new ways. She is passionate about creating more opportunities for independent music creators in today’s digital economy and democratizing the industry, and believes music creates connection and transcends borders, now more than ever. 

 Faryal also has a great passion for music, and comes from a very musically oriented family. She did musical theater for 20+ years and has a younger brother who is an independent artist and a mother who is trained in Indian-classical.

“Times are changing and I want to be a part of that change…this is also why I feel that representation is so important because the more diverse the industry gets and the more we can show different faces in different roles in the industry, the better off the industry will be.”

Q: What impressed you the most about the participants of The Port Authority Music Export Academy?

I really appreciated their seriousness and their insightful questions. You could tell that these are musicians who are dedicated to their craft and are serious about crossing borders and breaking into the U.S. market.

Q: What resources do you utilize to consistently keep up with industry news or trends?

It can definitely be information overload, but I do my best to stay up on industry news and trends by leveraging different tools and music industry publications, as well as testing new features available to musicians. I really love LinkedIn for following key music industry people and filtering by trending music hashtags for breaking news - it's been extremely valuable for me. I also subscribe to Music Business Worldwide, Billboard, etc., listen to music related podcasts, and am a member of organizations like Women in Music and Keychange that are more focused on topics that are personally important to me but where there is a lot of information exchange, free webinars and educational opportunities and networking - all of which help with staying up to date on industry trends. I also try to sign up for accelerator or loyalty programs through top creator tools and DSPs so that I can get early access to new features or programs allowing me to be first in line to know what might be trending or about to hit the market.

Q: What was your biggest motivation to pursue a career in the music industry?

My biggest motivation to pursue a career in the music industry was personal passion and desire to inspire, democratize, and drive change. I did musical theatre for many years and come from a very musical family - but one where it was always something we could do as a hobby or "on the side". As a South Asian American, I wanted people to see that there are more careers than being a doctor, engineer and lawyer - and that if music is your passion, you can make a living doing what you love. That bled into the desire to want to make a career in music more accessible and possible for more people. Times are changing and I want to be a part of that change. I believe in the idea of democracy and think anyone should be able to share their music and make a living - music is one of the few things that connects us and transcends culture, religion and tribalism. This is also why I feel that representation is so important because the more diverse the industry gets and the more we can show different faces in different roles in the industry, the better off the industry will be. So I guess it's a combination of sorts where my passion aligned with my skills and my desire to make a difference.

Q: How do you approach growing your network of connections in the music industry?

I can't underscore the importance of networking and making meaningful connections in the music industry, especially for artists looking to break into the US market. Since I also pivoted into the music industry a few years ago, this is an area I have really invested in. Some approaches I take:

- Utilizing LinkedIn to make connections and then reach out to set up virtual coffee chats with new people weekly.

- Attending industry meetups and events in my area as much as I can.

- Asking for introductions through people I already know if there's someone I admire or want to make a connection with.

- Listening to new music and reaching out to artists who resonate with me.

Basically I go for it. I don't let fear of rejection hold me back. What's the worst that could happen? Someone doesn't respond or tells me they're not interested in connecting. Best case? I forge a new relationship that could blossom into something. I've had this happen so many times and you don't always know when or how connections will show up in the future - but they have resulted in partnerships, new projects, career opportunities, etc.