In September I waved a sad goodbye to City as I handed in the final piece of work for my MA Music course. In the weeks that followed I was lucky enough to step into an internship at the acclaimed Songlines magazine. Focused on world music, the magazine covers musical traditions, artists, news, reviews and more, and the team in South London have been an absolute pleasure to work with.

Following a tour of the Mark Allen offices and a hearty attempt at remembering everyone’s names, I was quickly given a number of interesting projects to begin. Tasks have included communicating with PR contacts and artists, gaining experience with magazine layout software, sitting in on editorial meetings and offering an initial verdict on CDs sent in for review. Much to my excitement, by my fourth day I was writing copy for the magazine, researching ideas for news as well as sub-editing and proofing work. I am even featured as a contributor in the Jan/Feb issue, and will have a CD review published in the following issue!

It has been fantastic to see first-hand how a magazine is run and gain some helpful and relevant experience in the industry. Each member of the team made me feel so welcome, as did Gramophone with whom Songlines share an office. My initial expectations of making coffee and photocopying were exceeded by miles, and I would recommend Songlines to anyone looking to do an internship in music journalism or publishing. Huge thanks to Laudan for recommending me for the role.

Rachel Cunniffe, City BMus and MA Alumna