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Hi, I’m Pearl Benjamin and I’m running to be the Head of Music for Leeds Student Television Society. As an enthusiastic member of LSTV and the music scene, both as a fan and as an aspiring music journalist, I am passionate about curating the best content and creating exciting opportunities for students.

I am so grateful to be a part of LSTV and be surrounded by so many great people. Throughout my time at Leeds, I’ve been involved in various music-related projects and also sports and commercial content. As a result, I have come to understand different aspects of LSTV. I have also spent my time building as many connections with music organizations and artists as possible due to certain roles I have been in both inside and outside university. I hope to continue my love for presenting, filming, editing and being a voice for the music department to this role and continue to support others in any way I can. If elected I aim to focus on the following priorities:

Maintain diverse programming, collaborations and new opportunities, creativity and authenticity, as well as support for students.

I’m excited to bring fresh ideas, my connections, my drive and a deep love for music and the society to Leeds Student Television. Let’s continue to make music coverage an unforgettable part of LSTV. I’d love your support in this exciting journey!

So, vote for me for Head of Music!

My manifesto pretty much sums up everything I would do should I be chosen as Head of Music for LSTV, however I would like to add that I am so grateful for all of the opportunities this society has given me access to so far, so I would love the chance to give back to LSTV as part of the committee. I have so many ideas and would be inclusive of all music genres. I am so passionate about recruiting new members to the society so that more people can hopefully share the joy, enthusiasm, fun, and love that comes with student TV :) (Also the poster should say I was voted Silliest Billy at Winter Awards not Showcase, oopsy!)

Let's make interviews memorable again, for both the artists and the interviewers. Individualising and making artist orientated games and references to improve audience engagement and break tension. These are things I'd like to run through in my pre-interview workshops, so new presenters can get a taste for what makes a good interview. These sessions are also for the camera operators so they can be confident with the tech and minimise stress on the day. For those interested in setting up their own interviews, I plan on making a poster about who to contact, what to say and where to go from there. There will also be a suggestion box, so we don't miss your favourite bands in the area.

I believe it's really important to uplift local indie bands as well, being a roadie for local bands in my hometown, so to do this, I want to introduce LSTV Introducing: a flexible podcast for tale about concerts, interview experiences and local music taste. This will also be put on a rota, aiming to be filmed biweekly in studio 2 of LSR. These will be uploaded to the LSTV Spotify.

I'd also love to uplift the music societies of the union with society swaps: music edition. This is a great chance to try something new and advertise clubs for they add to the music culture at Leeds University. These could be adaptable for short and long form content at LSTV.

I'd also love to provide loads of amazing opportunities to get involved with the music industry in other ways, such as workshops on audio editing, setting up for concerts, using DAWs to create your own music. Part of this would be teaching on how to make jingles for shows, something I have had experience with having made them for my own show on LSR.

I hope to expand the possibilities of working in music at LSTV to inspire more creativity, fun and ambition in those hoping to get into the industry.