fly with metallica

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking less of yourself.

C. S. Lewis

It all started as a pimp, selling concert tickets. Despite having a steady job and working my way up in the hospitality business, I kept an eye out for new opportunities. Concert promotion didn’t take up much of my time, it generated extra income and I could do it alongside my work at the hotel. One day, the manager of the concert production company asked me if he could pick up one of the bands at the airport and since then he would look for me from time to time to take care of some artists who came to Copenhagen. At first it was about the typical boy bands that were very popular in the nineties, like Take That and NSYNC; but, little by little, I gained the trust of the company and the artists assigned to me were bigger: Michael Jackson, AC/DC, U2, Bryan Adams and Guns N’ Roses.

A few days before I left for Switzerland to take up my new position, a record label representative told me that they were looking for an international promotion manager for PolyGram, their record label. “I think it’s the perfect job for you,” he told me, and confessed that he had already recommended me and scheduled an interview. I went to the appointment and for the first time in the years that I had been working I felt that the music industry was my destiny. I went to talk to my father and he thought it was risky to give up a position I had struggled to get to. “Carsten, I believe that the hospitality industry is your future; But I can’t tell you how to live your life.” He knew what I was like. Since he was a child he never sat still, he had that motivation to learn new things, to show me that he was capable of moving freely. “It’s your decision,” he said, anticipating what was to come. The next day, I quit and took a job at PolyGram Records (Universal Music).

When my coworker Dennis put four Metallica records on my desk… I had never heard his music. I also didn’t know much about the band, except that their drummer, Lars Ulrich, was Danish. “Listen and learn,” Dennis told me. It was my first day at PolyGram and this heavy metal band was my biggest customer. I put my headphones on and hit play… It was the most terrifying music I had ever heard. The four albums were really heavy rock, loaded with low notes, with a galloping guitar and a voice that went from singing to guttural screaming. Now it was my turn to promote and sell his music. It was part of the business. Over time I’ve learned that sometimes you have to move artists whose music is liked by broader audiences and is very easy to sell, like Elton John or Bryan Adams. Other times, you can work with Metallica. So you have to be in tune with the people who enjoy that music and reach out to them.

“One of the secrets of success is knowing how to stay humble. No matter how high you fly, you will always be human and therefore vulnerable.”

Lars Ulrich was a peculiar musician. He was not only a drumming genius and the backbone of a rapidly growing band; he also focused on public relations and marketing related to the band. For this reason, he came to PolyGram from time to time to ask about the results of our latest campaigns, for appearances in the press or for record sales. Every time he heard that Lars was in Denmark, he updated the numbers on the reports and was prepared in case he showed up at the office. And one day he did. I remember that when he walked into the room where he made an appointment, his image seemed very different from the one he projected on stage, where he was seen shaking his head and hitting the drums with energy that took your breath away (I’m not exaggerating: during concerts, Lars would make space to recuperate because keeping up with his songs was physically exhausting). Off stage, he was a smart and unassuming fellow, a lover of art and savvy in business. It was the first time one of the artists had shown an interest in my work and he could see how what I was doing behind the scenes was contributing to his success. I presented him with the promotion plan for the next six months and the details of his upcoming concerts in Europe. “Tomorrow we leave for Moscow,” he told me. Do you want to come?”.

The first time I got on a plane with Metallica, I didn’t know where to sit. It was a private jet where the members of the band flew, four rock megastars, the manager and, that day, me. I felt out of place and I remember thinking, “Be humble.” I had been invited to become part of an inner circle, an experience millions of people could only dream of. Already traveling in a private jet is a luxury few have access to and I did it with Metallica, one of the biggest rock bands in the world. It was like a scene you see in the movies, but it never crosses your mind.