48 hours ago Lisa Cheung was in Antigua surrounded by palm trees, golden-brown sand beaches, a tropical blue sea and constant RAIN! But co-ordinating events at this years DJ Jam-Fest was NO holiday! A gruelling 18 hour a day schedule, day-time & evening events to organise, disgruntled holiday makers and Thirty plus DJ’s to baby-sit brought more than its fair share of drama……. Welcome to Lisa’s world.

Fast forward two sunrises, its 9.30am and Lisa is back in the offices of Choice FM in the heart of Leicester Square. As soon as she steps into the office it’s clear that today is not going to be a day for the faint hearted. In just 90 minutes (at 11am) the final artwork & radio ads for an exclusive new ‘Masterstepz’ event must be fine-tuned, proofed, approved and sent to production!

11am arrives and the ‘Masterstepz’ task is concluded in the nick-of-time (of course), but as the clock strikes Lisa realises she has until 5pm (just 6 hours) to get through what could easily amount to a weeks work! The contractual negotiations between Choice FM and DJ 279 must be concluded, artwork approved, Live PA’s booked and the out-side broadcast production arranged for the re-launch of the hot Hip-hop event ‘Friday Night Flavas’.

In between negotiating contracts, proofing & approving artwork and consulting with Amba Callender (Head of Marketing) there are the small matters of scheduling the Choice FM Hummer activities, co-ordinating Choice FM’s street team for the week and managing the guest-lists and event activities for Choice’s other big club night ‘Fabulous Fridays’!

A testing day in the office like this and the tropical scenery of Antigua seems like a distant memory. It’s now 8pm DJ 279 is happy, promo looks great and everything is set for the re-launch of ‘Friday Night Flavas’, the Choice Hummer is fuelled-up and ready to roll, and the street team have been fully briefed. Lisa is finally about to head home from the office to ‘pack a bag’ for a well earned weekend break to Amsterdam. Before she left Lisa found time to give us an insight into the life of an Events Co-ordinator for one of Black music’s hottest brands. We didn’t get to ask her what she was planning to pack in her bag but no doubt it will consist of mobile phone, blackberry and a direct hot-line to Choice FM, just to ensure that in her absence they maintain the title of London’s #1 station for Hip-hop and R’n’B!

What is your official job title?

Events Co-ordinator (Marketing Department) at Choice 96.9 FM, London’s #1 station for Hip-hop and R’n’B.

Describe what your job entails?

I'm normally working on 5-6 projects at a time but my core role is the organise and deliver a range of events for the station.

What was the pathway to your current job?

What events / people were instrumental in you getting to where you are?

When I first got into the music industry, I worked voluntarily on various events to gain the experience and I have had a lot of support from people in the industry. After working on the talent competition with Amber she asked me to work with her on another talent search called ‘Live the Dream’. Those talent competitions gave me the chance to show my co-ordinating talents and help me get to where I am today!

What successful music industry personality would you like to meet and what 3 questions would you ask him/her?

I would love to meet Richard Branson and I the questions I would ask him are:
1. Who or what has inspired him?
2. What advice would he give to up and coming entrepreneurs?
3. What are the best bits about his job?

What is your favourite part of your job?

That's a tough question to answer because I really do like every part of my job. For my favourite It would probably be seeing the end result of my work, I'm best pleased when I know the venue looks like it's branded sophisticatedly, the event is sold out and everyone has had a great experience.

What part of your job would you pay someone to take away?

I would really pay someone to take away the administration side of events i.e. the phone enquiries, photocopying, laminating and the general running around.

How much do you make a year?

£25K - £30K

Name some of the projects/campaigns you have given the Midas touch to?

There's been a few, my favourite ones have been the Alizé Rose Launch Party, The Choice 16th Birthday Party and the Studio Line Street dance sessions.

What has been your most rewarding project to date?

I would have to say the Studio Line Street Dance sessions, Every part of organising this campaign I enjoyed very much. L'oreal wanted Choice to relaunch they're Studio Line hair products range with an idea which would create excitement and participation and we delivered a dance competition which saw thousands of entries. The events worked well and L'oreal were so pleased with the success that we are already in talks to run more events for 2007!

Is the UK black/urban music industry ready to 'Get PAID'? Give the reasons for your answer......

Absolutely! If you work hard and are actually trying to do something good then you should get paid to do it. I think the black/urban music industry DESERVES to get paid, It's a business at the end of the day. There should be more people/companies working together to make OUR UK music industry a profitable and respectable business.

What are the most important things you have learned about getting ahead in the game?

Keep eduating yourself about the music/entertainment industry - it's such a dynamic scene so you need to be in the loop of whats happening to make the right moves to get ahead. Also make the right impression on those people who can help get you to where you want to go and more importantly work hard.

What advice would you give to someone trying to achieve a similar success to yours in your particular area of the business?

You need know what you're aiming for, stay focused, work hard, be true yourself, don't sell yourself short and respect others!

Interview by ADÉ