LIV WEST

I recently got to sit down with the lovely Liv West to chat about her journey through the creative industry. From fashion to radio to video commissioning and now a Creative Producer for the well-known and loved Chicken Shop Date with Amelia Dimoldenberg. We discussed how she followed her passions to seek out opportunities, her experience with imposter syndrome, and the importance of creating space for collaboration.

Can you tell us a bit about your journey so far in the industry? What has been a goal you’ve kept from the start?

So, I never saw myself in production, which is hilarious to me. I always said I would never be a producer even though I always thought it was really cool what my sister did, I always wanted to be a presenter. When I did a study abroad in San Diego that’s where it began.  

I basically had this Uber driver that kept being assigned to me. He was young and nice, he was a musician as well as having different jobs.  We just got on so well one day he was like, should we just start hanging out, so we’d go to this reggae bar every Wednesday. He really opened my eyes to understanding there was more to the music industry than being a musician, which sounds naive, but I grew up thinking you become a pop star, or a manager to work in music. When I went back home I knew in my head I wanted to make this work.  

I started interning in the summer at Hoxton Radio Home then I ended up being at Rinse FM for about two years. I loved being within the culture I loved and was learning from people that understood the importance of representation breaking away from mainstream concepts in the music industry. I was balancing that alongside working other jobs and uni. That’s the one thing I find quite difficult is being pigeonholed, and I think even in the creative industry you’re asked to pick a lane, and I don’t want to have to pick a lane when I have an interest in different things.  

Then while doing all this I wanted to get into grime more. I applied to write for GRM daily as i kept getting bounce back emails, so I thought fuck it I’m going to write an article and then just find someone on LinkedIn. So, I was then writing three times a week for GRM daily. Which led to finding an opportunity as a video assistant, then a commissioner within a major label.

You have to go with your gut. Experience is never pointless. 

Completely, all these things were adding to my portfolio, although it was a lot of unpaid work it showed my passion, and interests were persistent over a long period of time. I was always thrown into the deep end but as cliche as it sounds, I think you have to do that to learn. 

But I began to absolutely hate it. I loved my job, but I hated the culture, and I really struggled with the corporate life of basically always being told what I can and can’t say or how to do things which was just heightened by misogyny. I have a lot of privilege in being a white woman, but it was still really hard for me, so I can’t even imagine what it would have been like for any person of colour. Which ultimately affected my mental health so badly, I quit. 

I planned to go traveling then I seen a job posted on Amelia Dimoldenberg’s story looking for a creative producer. I remember reading through it thinking that’s me, I had no interest in producing at the time, but I loved her content and felt like the role spoke to me.  

At first, I didn’t get it. Which I was gutted about, because I felt it was the first time I had aligned with someone creatively where my input meant so much and was appreciated.  

For the first six months working for Amelia, I just had this severe anxiety because I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing, but it was all working. It was just this feeling of imposter syndrome.  

It’s that feeling of self-doubt, even though you know you’re capable you have to just push through that feeling and know you’re there for a reason.   

Exactly and I have been there for around three years now.

From these experiences working in different team structures, how do you approach and embrace collaboration?

I don’t think you can be creative without collaboration. You have to have a really good community around you that are like-minded people that understand what you are trying to achieve. You can’t do everything on your own. It’s about being open to whatever the other person thinks, feels and wants to do but also feeling like okay I might differ in opinion in this way, but I can give in another. 

It’s about creating a space where collaboration thrives.

Absolutely. One thing I struggled with in a corporate situation is this lack of vulnerability and creativity in the sense of being able to make something and maybe it not working and that being okay. Collaboration brings in a different benefit because we all have a different set of skills. But it is also difficult because one thing I think that the creative industry lacks in general is credit. It’s one thing that creatives want and rightly deserve, acknowledgement is so important. It’s not about using collaboration to your benefit but embracing it to lift your team up as a whole. 

As you highlighted before we can often be naive to the opportunities out there. Coming straight from uni I began to realise how unaware I was of different roles, which can be exciting but extremely overwhelming. What advice would you give to someone that is trying to find their niche? 

I’m a big chatty girl and about a year and a half ago I was at a networking event, talking to someone quite senior at a label and we were talking about their artists, and I was just flippantly saying oh she should do this and this. Then from that came a consulting opportunity.  

I think that shows how important having conversations can create opportunities while also helping you figure out what parts you really do and don’t like.  

It’s about having a bit of an eye and looking out for opportunities that might not be generic or typical. Alongside that I think your mindset is essential. Accepting that you’re going to try some things that you might not like. 

Lastly, how do you stay inspired in a world/industry that may feel chaotic and crowded at times. 

I think when I’ve had a few really dark years, and since then I just see life really differently. I genuinely appreciate every little thing in my life, I get inspiration from the interactions I have. Being super observant and learning from other people whether they are strangers or family. It is my every day, what I see and hear that pushes that need to create. 

Follow Liv on -  

Instagram: @liv.west 

TikTok: @islivwest