Music PR Internships implementation Checklist

Music PR Internships implementation checklist

Updated 12 March 2026

Bringing interns and junior staff into a music PR agency requires structured planning beyond job postings. This checklist breaks down the full cycle—from screening applicants who actually understand the industry through to retaining trained professionals who won't walk to a competitor. Each stage matters; skip any and you'll waste months or lose promising hires.

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Pre-Hire: Sourcing and Screening

Define the role scope and realistic expectations
Critical
Clarify whether this is a true apprenticeship, part-time support, or structured junior position. Write down what you expect them to do in week one and month six—vague briefs waste everyone's time.
Screen for music knowledge, not just generic PR skills
Critical
Ask candidates to name three artists they'd pitch to NME or Clash right now, or analyse a recent campaign. Generic PR experience in fashion or tech won't translate to understanding music media gatekeepers.
Check previous media contact exposure
Have they shadowed a pitch call, attended a listening session, or worked in music retail? Direct music industry exposure is rare—don't dismiss it lightly if they have it.
Set transparent compensation structure upfront
Critical
Whether paid, unpaid with bursary, or receiving course credit through a university partnership, formalise this in writing before the first day. Vague 'possibilities' breed resentment.
Trial task that reflects actual work
Critical
Ask them to write a one-paragraph pitch or analyse a recent press release. This reveals whether they can write clearly and understand news angles—not just whether they're keen.
Reference check with previous media or music contacts
If they've done any music or media work, speak to someone who supervised them. You need confirmation they can handle pressure and turn around work without constant hand-holding.

Week 1–2: Onboarding and Foundation

Deliver full client roster overview and brand tones
Critical
Walk through each active client—genre, current story, media positioning, recent placements. Provide written brand briefs so they can reference rather than interrupt constantly.
Set up media database access and contact protocols
Critical
Ensure they can access your CRM, contact lists, and any media monitoring tools you use. Explain your contact management rules (cold email templates, when to call vs. email, response time expectations).
Introduce them to key media contacts in person or on calls
Critical
Have them sit in on at least three pitch calls where they listen to how you approach editors and journalists. Real pitching sounds nothing like generic PR training—they need to hear it.
Create a starter reading list of industry blogs and publications
Point them to MusicWeek, Music Industry News, relevant blogs and Spotify playlists in your clients' genres. They should be reading what editors read.
Assign a senior staff mentor, not just a manager
Critical
Pair them with someone willing to answer questions and review work without it feeling like a burden. This person shields them from senior chaos while you focus on clients.
Establish weekly one-to-ones and clear learning goals
Critical
Schedule 30-minute check-ins every week to review progress, surface blockers, and set micro-goals (pitch three journalists, help brief a campaign, etc.). This prevents drift.

Month 1–3: Supervised Contribution and Skill Building

Have them draft pitches with heavy review and feedback cycles
Critical
Start with lower-stakes clients or secondary story angles. Expect to rewrite their first 10–15 pitches; document your feedback so patterns become clear to them.
Assign database management and campaign administration tasks
Maintaining press lists, tagging press clippings, scheduling social posts, and logging follow-ups are real work that frees you up whilst building their process knowledge.
Deploy them on research for upcoming campaigns or pitches
Critical
Research which playlists suit a track, which festival programmes are open, or which journalists covered similar artists last year. This teaches them to think strategically about positioning.
Require them to attend one industry event (showcase, label showcase, or networking)
Whether a local in-store, a BBC Introducing gig, or a label showcase, they need to meet people in the industry and understand how the ecosystem works beyond email.
Review and critique their media angles before they contact anyone
Critical
Never let them send unsupervised emails to journalists until they've understood what 'angle' means. Bad angles waste goodwill with contacts.
Teach them how to log and analyse campaign results
Show them how to track opens, placements, social impact, and streaming lift. Numbers help them understand what worked and build a results-focused mindset.
Give them real client ownership of one small project or story
Critical
Maybe they own the day-to-day for a playlist pitch or a B-side release. Success builds confidence; managed failure teaches resilience.

Month 3–6: Independence with Oversight

Grant semi-supervised pitch rights with sampling requirements
Critical
They can pitch to secondary and mid-tier contacts without approval, but must share samples or summaries of outreach weekly. This teaches judgment without risk.
Assign responsibility for one small client relationship end-to-end
Critical
They brief the campaign, pitch, log responses, follow up, and report results. They still ask before major moves, but they own the process.
Require them to present campaign learnings to the team
A 10-minute debrief on what worked, what didn't, and why forces them to think critically and communicate findings. Other staff learn too.
Begin them on secondary story development—finding angles within campaigns
Rather than just executing the main pitch, have them brainstorm a B-story or follow-up angle. This builds creative thinking beyond admin.
Check in formally on progress, compensation, and retention factors
Critical
Discuss what they're learning, whether they feel valued, if pay/schedule is working, and where they see themselves in the role. Catch dissatisfaction early.
Introduce them to senior client meetings or strategy calls
Let them listen in on how you brief clients, set expectations, and discuss strategy. They learn what good communication with clients sounds like.

Month 6+: Transition to Junior Professional

Define the path forward—conversion, freelance arrangement, or referral
Critical
At six months, be explicit about whether this becomes a permanent junior role, freelance contract, part-time placement, or parting ways. Ambiguity kills retention.
Formalise their territory or client list if transitioning to junior staff
Critical
If they're staying, give them a defined set of clients they're primarily responsible for. Clarity on who reports to whom prevents confusion.
Establish professional development—conference attendance or external training
Send them to a music industry conference, online PR training, or a pitching masterclass. Continuing learning signals you value their growth and improves retention.
Secure or formalise compensation to competitive junior rates
Critical
If they've proved themselves, moving to a proper junior salary or freelance day rate is cheaper than training a replacement. Market rates for junior music PR in the UK are £22k–£28k starting salary.
Create documentation of their work templates, client briefs, and processes
Ask them to write down how they approach a pitch, what they learned about each client, and any templates they've developed. This captures knowledge and helps future hires.
Assign them to mentor any incoming interns—formalise their growth
Having them train the next person reinforces their learning and signals progression. It also reduces your training burden.

Ongoing: Retention and Preventing Attrition

Monthly one-to-ones with career progression conversation
Critical
Check in on job satisfaction, work-life balance, and where they want to go next. Early warning signs (quiet, less engaged, interviewing elsewhere) emerge in these conversations.
Expose them to different music genres and campaign types
Working only on indie rock or only on streaming campaigns gets boring fast. Rotating them through different clients keeps them engaged and broadens their knowledge.
Celebrate their wins and placements publicly
Mention their contribution in team meetings or client updates. Junior staff stay when they feel their work is valued and visible.
Offer flexible hours or remote working options if sustainable
Flexibility is often more valuable to junior staff than small raises. If you can accommodate it, it's a cheap retention tool.
Clarify long-term role and salary progression annually
Critical
If they're a junior professional, show them what a senior PR role looks like, what skills they need, and what salary they could reach. Roadmaps prevent departure to competitors.
Avoid overloading them with admin while withholding strategy exposure
Critical
Junior staff leave when they feel like office assistants rather than PRs. Balance admin with pitching, campaigns, and client contact.

Implementing this checklist takes discipline, but it eliminates months of wasted training time and dramatically improves your chances of retaining a competent junior team member. The cost of replacing a trained junior PR is far higher than the cost of structuring proper onboarding, supervision, and retention from day one.

Pro tips

1. Never hire purely on enthusiasm. The most eager applicant often can't write a coherent pitch or understand why one journalist matters more than another. Screen for music knowledge and writing ability before attitude.

2. Your mentor's opinion matters more than yours in the first three months. If your senior staff member (who actually works with the intern) is frustrated, they're already looking for excuses to avoid training the next person. Monitor mentor satisfaction closely.

3. Cold pitching from an intern damages relationships faster than it builds them. Journalists remember who sent a weak pitch—they remember your agency. Don't let them contact tier-one contacts until they've written 20+ pitches under review.

4. Unpaid internships breed resentment and burnout, and you'll lose the trainable ones. Even £200–300 per week or a small bursary signals you value their time and keeps them committed to learning rather than just surviving.

5. At month four, you'll know whether they'll stay. If they're still not clear on media angles or they're checking LinkedIn often, the writing's on the wall. Be honest early—either invest in their growth path or let them go before you've wasted six months.

Frequently asked questions

What's the realistic timeline for an intern to write pitches without supervision?

Most interns need 8–12 weeks of supervised drafting before they understand news angles and tone well enough for semi-independent work. This assumes weekly feedback and exposure to live pitch calls. Expecting it earlier usually results in poor angles or damaged journalist relationships—not worth the time saved.

Should I hire interns through a university placement scheme or freelance recruitment?

University placements offer structured support, credit-based incentives (sometimes eliminating pay issues), and built-in exit dates—useful if you're uncertain about permanent hiring. Freelance recruitment gives you older, more experienced candidates but requires proper pay from day one. Neither is inherently better; match the structure to your capacity and budget.

How do I prevent trained interns from leaving for competitors or going freelance?

Formalise a junior role with progression clarity and competitive pay by month six. Without a defined path or raise, they'll leave as soon as they're trained. Make it explicit: "If you deliver X by month nine, we move you to junior status at £25k." Ambiguity kills retention.

What's the minimum supervising time I should budget per intern?

Expect 5–8 hours per week for the first three months (reviews, feedback, one-to-ones, training), dropping to 2–3 hours per week by month six. If you can't afford this, don't hire an intern. Undermanaged interns create more work through mistakes and need constant redirection.

Can I hire two interns simultaneously to justify the training investment?

Only if you have a mentor structure in place and realistic capacity to oversee both. Two poorly managed interns generate twice the mistakes and twice the frustration. It's better to train one properly and then hire the second once the first is independent.

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