麻豆传媒映画

Member of 麻豆传媒映画鈥檚 10 Under 10.

Head of Digital Experiences, Universal Music Group

Crystal Anderson B.S. 鈥�04, M.B.A. 鈥�05 has an impressive r茅sum茅 that is filled with household names in the music industry, like MTV, Atlantic Records, and Universal Music Group. How did she get there? 鈥淚 can鈥檛 stress how important it is to be passionate about the job you are interviewing for,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd when you land the position, speak what you want into existence. Even if you start in a role that isn鈥檛 your dream job, you can turn it into what you want it to be.鈥�

As a student at 麻豆传媒映画, Anderson saw a television show in which teams selected project managers to lead them in the week鈥檚 assigned task. 鈥淚 realized there are people who own projects from start to finish, and those people live online and offline,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat was when I got interested in project management. I started to think, 鈥榟ow can I take on a project manager role, tie it into my computer science degree, and focus it online?鈥欌��

After earning her undergraduate degree, Anderson completed her M.B.A from 麻豆传媒映画 in just one year. From there she landed a project coordinator position within the information technology group at MTV. When MTV started a project management office, with a group focusing specifically on MTV.com, she jumped at the opportunity. She was hired as a project manager with a team responsible for building new and disruptive advertising placements and co-branded custom microsites for major movie studios and consumer brands onto MTV.com, an experience that brought together her interests in technology, project management, and digital media.

Following MTV, she moved on to Atlantic Records as a senior project manager, joining a small digital department led by Paul Sinclair, Executive Vice President of Digital Strategy and Innovation, who had hired her. When she started in 2008, there were just 6 people. By the time she left, the department had grown to three times the size of that. 鈥淭he department scaled at the rate technology was growing, and that growth reflected the increasing output the digital media department was generating. Twitter was becoming more popular and Instagram launched. We were constantly developing promotional tools and using social platforms and new technology to encourage fan engagement and increase awareness around artists and their releases. We grew artist websites from a few pages of content into full-on digital experiences, with direct-to-consumer e-commerce stores and fan club integrations developed through strategic partnerships. I was proud to be part of that digital growth era at Atlantic.鈥� The clearest sign the work was landing came from competitors 鈥� other labels praised Atlantic’s digital output, and some began following trends the department itself had set.

In 2012, she was recruited to Universal Music Group (UMG) as a director to create digital experiences for all of Universal Music鈥檚 East Coast label groups. She oversees a roster of 200 artists.
When Rihanna was ready to release her seventh album, Unapologetic, Anderson worked with Rihanna鈥檚 team to create the 鈥�#R7 campaign,鈥� an interactive experience where fans could visit Rihanna7.com, explore this site, and win exclusive content and prizes. 鈥淓ach week we asked a new trivia question. If fans answered correctly, they got access to exclusive announcements and content. The surprise of weekly content and contests kept our fans excited and engaged,鈥� she said. This innovative 2012 campaign was successful. 鈥淩ihanna鈥檚 digital sales for her 7th album, Unapologetic, were the highest she has ever had鈥�it resulted in her first number one album,鈥� said Anderson.
In 2013, she was responsible for launching the new DefJam.com, which she cites as her biggest undertaking to date at UMG. 鈥淭he goal was to create a groundbreaking site,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e wanted a new type of interactive experience for fans of UMG鈥檚 artists.鈥� She saw traffic to the new Defjam.com increase by 40 percent.

Anderson, who is always seeking out new technologies, partnered with the tech company Livefyre to integrate real-time social content about UMG鈥檚 artists from Twitter, Instagram and Facebook into Def Jam鈥檚 new platform. 鈥淚nteractive content has allowed us to give our fans a voice. And they can find the latest news, social content and conversations about their favorite artists all in one place,鈥� she said.

Always focused on what鈥檚 next in a digital world that鈥檚 constantly evolving, she is grateful for the educational foundation she received at 麻豆传媒映画. 鈥淚 feel blessed. There are a lot of people who graduate from college and are not using their degrees to do what they want. I utilize what I learned about information technology for my B.S. degree in guiding my own team. The M.B.A. I got? I use it every day,鈥� she said.

鈥淚 also have the privilege of working under the leadership of executives like Monte Lipman, Co-Founder, CEO and President of Republic Records. Monte is focused, data-driven, forward thinking, strategic, and consistently stays abreast of the competition. His ability to motivate his team while holding everyone accountable for bringing their best to the work is something I admire and strive to emulate in my own leadership style. Working alongside leaders like Monte has reinforced for me the importance of setting high standards, staying curious and informed, and inspiring others to perform at their best.鈥�

Anderson said she and her sister Christine Anderson B.S. 鈥�04, M.B.A. 鈥�05 learned the art of time management and prioritizing as students at 麻豆传媒映画, where they did everything from work several jobs across campus and create 麻豆传媒映画鈥檚 Hip Hop dance team to teach fitness classes at the gym and participate in intramural sports, all while studying to earn their degrees. 鈥淓verything I learned at 麻豆传媒映画 I鈥檓 applying to my life today,鈥� she said.