New York Spotlight

The buzz from alumni in the Big Apple
January 1, 2014

Lily Golightly ’08

Lily Golightly ’08 owns and operates Golightly Media, a boutique public relations firm. After completing her studies at Berklee, Golightly moved to New York City to pursue her career. Her early experiences in New York involved work for various PR companies. Feeling the entrepreneurial urge, in September 2012, she took a leap and launched her own company with a small staff. “While extremely terrifying, owning your own business is also very rewarding,” Golightly told me over coffee in the company’s office space in New York’s posh SoHo neighborhood.

Golightly and her all-female staff take on only those clients in whom they truly believe. Consequently, Golightly has a wait list for clients who want to work with the company, and many are Berklee alumni. Her clients are diverse but are primarily music artists and companies, and charities with a music focus. As a fellow musician, Golightly can communicate with clients in a way that few publicists can, and she finds the best fit for her artists in the publicity sphere. She helped one of her accounts, Round Hill Music, secure a spread in Billboard magazine. Additionally, she has negotiated placements for her artists on NPR’s “All Songs Considered,” and television spots for touring acts. Going beyond her role as publicist and into the publishing realm, she placed the song “Amazing!” by Hi Fashion in the promo for RuPaul’s Drag Race, Season 6.

Speaking of her time at Berklee, Golightly, says, “I learned so much from my teachers and my peers. I learned how to speak the language of the music industry, which has helped me in my career.” The Berklee family has continued to help her along the way. Now that she operates her own business, she sees the importance of creating a network. Golightly has found that friendships with her former Berklee classmates have transitioned into mutually beneficial professional relationships. Such alliances are vital because they provide valuable word-of-mouth recommendations. When asked about advice she would give to recent graduates and current Berklee students, Golightly says, “Do a good job for people, and they will tell other people. That will help you build your network.”

For more information on the company, visit www.golightlymedia.com.

This article appeared in our alumni magazine, Berklee Today Spring 2014. Learn more about Berklee Today.
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