Andrew Tell
Senior Account Manager, Video Services
Joined The Orchard in October 2012
We know you’ve made quite the ascension at The Orchard and recently moved to a new position on the Video Services team. In this new role, what the #&@$ do you do Andrew?!!?
Well, I gotta start by saying that it’s quite the honor to have been chosen for WTFDYD, thank you! It has been an awesome four years here at The Orchard since I started as a part-time QC Coordinator in what was then a very small YouTube department. Honestly, the growth I’ve been fortunate enough to experience here is owed in large part to The Orchard environment and the people around me.
Video Services has morphed in structure a few different times over the years, but as Senior Account Manager I work with a handful of frontline clients providing YouTube support and strategy for their new releases and back catalog. I work with a range of clients (mainly US-based) covering everything from metal/hard rock, indie rock, and meditation music, to action sports and Film/TV content. I love the variety and am a genuine fan of a ton of the clients and bands I get to work with. Being the main point of contact for my accounts on anything video-related, I consult with labels and creators on strategies and best practices for rolling out their video content and how to best promote it. I make sure new albums are accessible and monetized via YouTube and that new official videos are promoted across specific content. I also ensure that channels and videos are optimized and visible when and where they need to be, and I help with troubleshooting issues and copyright dilemmas in YouTube’s admin for clients. Lastly, I make sure fans have accessible links to buy from retail stores.
Although your job can get pretty technical, do you ever get any opportunities to be creative?
Yes actually, one of my favorite things about the position is that it allows me to be directly creative with labels and artists. Typically, this entails designing interactive full-album stream videos like this. When there is individual artwork for each track, I’ll design images in PhotoShop from that artwork for full album playlists like these so assets on the platform can accrue revenue over time and fans can pre-order and purchase from retail stores.
The cool thing about YouTube is that it operates as both a revenue source and a marketing tool, which allows me to collaborate with marketing and promotional content too. This can include coordinating and filming track-by-track commentaries, Q&A’s and interviews with artists for their new releases in our studio. Lately we’ve been trying to encourage more content creation through YouTube’s Creator Space and that’s beginning to become a viable option. Overall, very excited to see the role video will continue to play within the music industry, and grateful to be in this position.
According to our sources, your music life doesn’t begin and end at the office, but extends to practice spaces and studios elsewhere. What other sonic stuff are you involved in?
Your sources would be correct! I started playing guitar when I was about 13 with some friends and we formed a short-lived band called Nascent. Our first and only gig was 7th Grade Year Book Signing (I forget most of what we played, but do know Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” was in there). I’ve played guitar in a few bands over the years since then after moving to NYC about 8 years ago, and actually put an EP out 2 years ago with my band Jenny Haniver on a label distributed by The Orchard that I co-manage in my spare time called Aion Records. The last band I was in with my brother fizzled out after our drummer got married and scheduling practices and gigs got more difficult unfortunately. I still take guitar lessons occasionally to pick up new tricks and learn new styles, and I also rent a rehearsal space in Williamsburg once a week to jam in with friends. Sometimes I’ll go in by myself too and make amateur Garage Band recordings for fun.
That was probably the raddest year book signing of all time. Thanks for telling us what the #&@$ you do, Andrew!
favorite condiment: It’s a toss up between Spicy Brown Mustard (on hot dogs) and Wasabi mixed with Soy Sauce with Sushi.
best concert you’ve been to this year: Radiohead @ MSG when they were here in July. I got tickets the day of the show w/ my girlfriend knowing they probably wouldn’t be back in NY for years. It was pretty surreal hearing them live and seeing one of my guitar heroes Jonny Greenwood do his thing.
potential Halloween costume: I have to admit, I’m terrible at Halloween. I don’t know why, but I always overthink my costume and if I do end up dressing up, nobody knows what I am, ha! I always get a kick out of the ‘punny’ costumes I see each year so maybe something along those lines? We’ll see!
random fact: I’ve never been to a Broadway Show, any suggestions?
