News
Skema’s got talent!
… or when management, marketing and music are in harmony.
Sabrina Cheref (SK 2006), an International Masters in Management graduate, chose to major in business creation in 2006 and her thesis discussed “music from a self-production perspective”. She has just created her own label and released a first album lauded by industry professionals.
Portrait of a “musician and manager”
"I’ve always wanted to combine artistic creation and marketing. When I entered SKEMA in 2003, I was as keen to learn marketing as I was to continue writing and playing music. So I joined the "Tous en Chœur" association to work on an original musical whose profits would go to an NGO (World Vision) and which enabled us to play at the Théâtre Sébastopol and the Lille Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Those excellent memories will stay with me forever. In 2006, I joined a local Rhythm & Blues group. We toured around the region until I returned to Paris, where I joined Orange’s strategic marketing team. I continued to learn the fascinating B2B marketing and promotion profession before taking up jazz studies again, getting two stage shows off the ground, and entering into various partnerships. Fifty concerts and an SNCF compilation with 100,000 copies pressed later, I felt that I had enough experience to move on to the next stage: starting a business and releasing a true product made from A to Z: a digital album and digipack aimed at the distribution circuit. Apart from the financial investment, such a venture requires extensive knowledge of the entire communication chain (marketing-promotion-sales) and, more generally, to be good at everything: creation (sound, visual, etc.), negotiation, prospecting, communication, product referencing, copyright, etc. Fortunately, I find that the creative temperament of artists enables them to be good marketers, and the entrepreneurial temperament helps with sales. Actually, Rémi Huppert, sociologist and founder of the firm RH Conseil, devoted an entire book to musician/managers, in which he invites business owners to draw inspiration from the philosophy of music to guide their process and actions. Something to think about!"
To find Sabrina’s musical projects, you’ll have to look under the stage name “Sans Elle”. “Beyond” is a sketchbook of musical watercolours showcasing jazz infused with soul, blues, world music... and “a voice that calls to mind the warm nuances and subtle sheen of the most beautiful cloths”, according to Félix Marciano, a columnist at Jazz Mag, JazzMan.
"Recorded with 14 musicians representing 9 different nationalities, Beyond reflects my penchant for the intercultural and is an invitation to transgress aesthetic and geographical boundaries... for the better!" says Sabrina enthusiastically.
One thousand copies of the album have been pressed and it’s already been playing on more than 10 web, FM and international radio stations (RFI, Chérie FM). It’s receiving a warm welcome in the soul, jazz and rhythm’n’blues worlds. The album is currently available from her online shop, all legal download platforms, and FNAC Forum (Paris).
Find out all her latest news and concert dates on:
