The Glossary: John Cleary | Distribution Manager & Junior Label Manager, Juno Records

In the run up to Dig Deep - RA's pop-up charity record fair raising money for War Child - this special Glossary series explores the many facets of record label management and distribution through the eyes of label workers and founders from across the scene.

Next up its John Cleary - Distribution Manager & Junior Label Manager at Juno Records

What is your name and job title?

My name is John Cleary, and I am the Distribution Manager & Junior Label Manager here at Juno Records.

What is your role at Juno, and what does your day-to-day look like running it?

My day-to-day can vary depending on what day of the week it is. My work week starts on a Monday, which means it’s release day for our exclusive labels. Every Monday we have a nice bunch of new releases fresh off the press, ready to be shipped to a lengthy list of record stores around the world. My main priorities on a Monday are making sure that the releases go smoothly and on time to our website, ensuring that each release has the correct data and assets included. Before the orders for the week start flooding in, I usually have a bit of time to get through the stack of emails that have come in over the weekend. Once the emails are sorted, it’s time to process the incoming orders. Processing the orders mainly consists of invoices and logistics, and luckily, I work in a small but solid team of 4 or 5 people (depending on the day), so this work is distributed evenly across the team. Monday to Wednesday is usually the busiest time of the week for orders, as the stores we are selling to also have customer pre-orders waiting for our new releases, so it’s important that they get the stock as soon as possible.

Every week we receive new submissions from the labels. We announce the new releases every Wednesday, usually around 8 weeks before they get released. This is prime time to have a listen to the tracks weeks before you would hear them in the clubs or see them in your local record shops – one of the perks of the job! I manage a handful of labels here, so it’s a good time to discuss future releases with the labels and offer my advice on a strategy for their release campaigns, along with handling any general queries they might have.

Before you know it, it’s already Thursday and we receive our weekly delivery from the pressing plant, stacked with new releases usually set to be released within the next week or two. Each release requires a thorough quality check before it goes on sale to the public. I spend most of my Thursday and Friday mornings making sure each release has the correct centre label and sleeve artwork, the correct tracks are pressed on the correct sides, and just making sure there are no pressing faults, like cracks, pops or warping. It’s quite helpful having a pair of 1210’s by your desk for this task, and while some times in can be tedious and time sensitive, particularly when you are trying to approve 15 – 20 release two days before they are set for release, it’s beneficial for me to know the releases inside and out.

Once all the releases are approved, I liaise with the label managers and production manager to set up our releases for the following Monday morning. This usually takes us up to 6PM on a Friday, and then it's time to enjoy the weekend.

What are the essential skills needed to work in your department successfully?

For me, the most important skill to have is strong communication. You will be communicating with many record labels and stores every single day, whether it’s negotiating a good deal with a store or signing a new label, strong communication is a must. If you are a good negotiator, the chances are you will do pretty well in a role like this. A&R is obviously a good one to have too. Knowing how the music market works and being able to identify a good label will not only draw other good labels to your company, but it will of course give a massive bump to the sales department too.

It's not a skill, but having a strong personal interest in vinyl and the genres you will be working with is a good place to start. If this is an industry you are looking to work in, aim for companies that represent the music you love. You don’t want to spend your working days constantly listening to music that does not align with your tastes, as this may lead to severe headaches (I’m not a doctor).

What's the best piece of advice you've been given about working within record distribution / your specific role?

The best advice I have been given is get out and network. Go to gigs, go to parties, go to your local record shops, go to industry events. Introduce yourself to artists, label owners, record shop owners and even the person who asks you for a lighter in the smoking area. It’s often the outings you least expect where you end up meeting the right people. Every artist wants a label, every label wants a distributor, and every distributor wants a record shop to buy their records, so it’s quite often you will meet someone with the same interests and aims as yourself. You never know who you could meet!

What have you found most surprising about your role - good or bad?

What I have found most surprising about my role is how consistently busy it is. Throughout the year there is no real ‘down time’. Sure, the few days between Christmas and New Years Day can be a bit quiet while everyone is at home, but there is always at least one person in the office because it doesn’t come to a complete halt. Besides that it’s pretty full on all year round.

In January/February, some stores have been closed for the holidays and probably haven’t bought any new stock since mid-December so there can often be a rush to get fresh stock in. It’s not wise to release new music during Christmas week, so we are often double stacked with new releases in January too. Also, January is when people are full of new ideas and resolutions, so a lot of people have a motivational kick, which leads to new ideas and projects getting started.

Once it hits spring a lot of labels want to get their releases out in time for summer, so you can expect to receive a lot of new submissions in spring. Summer is the busiest time of year for the music industry, with festivals every weekend, beer gardens full and plenty of street parties too. It's the perfect time to release new music as it will likely get the most traction then.

While everyone is enjoying festival season, this is an ideal time to prepare for autumn, which we know as Club Season. Autumn is the busiest time of year for nightclubs, primarily to do with the change in the weather, so a lot of artists and labels will have fresh new music to release, keeping the dancefloors full.

Moving on to winter, like most industries, the build up to Christmas is hectic and it really does not stop until Christmas Eve. Coming into this role I was expecting it to be relatively busy, but not this busy!

What keeps you motivated, even when it’s challenging?

The thing that keeps me motivated even when it’s challenging is knowing that I have the opportunity to make an impact within the industry. I have the opportunity to connect with labels and artists which can ultimately change music scenes, and inspire people. I have the opportunity to work with labels that have identity and purpose. Even in my sales role, promoting a particular release to the right record store can increase sales ten times over, which gives the labels a huge boost and it allows them to sign more artists and develop the labels sound even further. Sometimes all it takes is one good tune.

Are you in Berlin on 20th and 21st February 2026? Come and join us at Dig Deep charity record fair and help us raise money for War Child.

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