MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: ANNIE HORVATH

Could you tell us who you are and what it is that you do?

Hello hello, I'm Annie and I'm the US head of marketing for NY-based record label Partisan Records. 

What do you love about the work?

It's a huge privilege to champion artists that I love (from IDLES to Blondshell to Fela Kuti) and to do so alongside a team of people that I admire, respect, and genuinely consider family at this point.  

How did you arrive at this point in your career? What’s your backstory?

I've worked at Partisan Records since 2012, my first job out of college. I started in the Brooklyn office as a day-to-day manager for its sister management company (now named Knitting Factory Management), working with José González, !!!, Wye Oak, Deer Tick, and others, after graduating from UVA. I moved fully onto the label side as a marketing coordinator in 2014, then spent 6 years working as a product manager before moving into my current role as head of marketing. I've worked remotely from our Brooklyn office since 2018. 

Has there been a light switch moment, a turning point (or two), professionally and or personally along the way?

Honestly, not so dramatically. Being with the company for over a decade now, and working with many of the same people since I first started, has meant the gift of constant nurturing and support from my internal team and leadership. This has allowed me to not only grow professionally but also enabled me to leave New York and move back to Virginia, where I've been very fortunate to start a family. 

Who or what has been your greatest influence? 

I don't think I exist as I do now without my family, how they carry me, and the ways I've learned to love through them. 

What are you currently working on, excited about, looking forward to?

We released a very special record called Getting Killed by the band Geese in September, and it's already been a wild ride watching this album connect with a rapidly-growing audience. When I first listened to the songs with my team, we all felt this shared sense that the band was on the precipice of something massive, and I think we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg now. I'm looking forward to their show at the 9:30 Club in a couple of weeks and to later see their frontman, Cameron Winter, perform solo at Carnegie Hall in December. 

What are you reading these days?

The last novel I read was Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, a devastating piece of historical fiction. Since having my second child in June, I'm definitely struggling to find time and space for reading beyond recommended substacks or longform music journalism. On the latter, Amanda Petrusich's New Yorker profile on Mac DeMarco was great. 

Anything we missed that you might care to share (closing thoughts)? Nothing else, thanks for asking me to participate :)