A career that tops the charts

OUR ROLE
Front-end teams develop the web products, the mobile apps, everything that the end user sees and uses. As the backend team, we develop the software and programs the devices need in order to function.

In our roles, the end results aren’t something you see directly in user interfaces. You can’t show friends a web site or an app to describe what you build on the backend, it’s just metrics and obscure lines of codes. My greatest satisfaction comes when our client teams have nothing to say…there are no bugs and everything is working flawlessly.

RUNNING SPRINTS
As a technical leader of a backend team, my goal is to make sure the team has enough knowledge of the projects we’re working on, that we’re using technologies correctly - not overprovisioning a server for example – and being mindful of cost and performance concerns. I also make sure the work-life of the team is correctly balanced.

I do some code changes myself, but most of the time I do code reviews, providing feedback, and talking to colleagues about things we can do to improve the changes we make.

Working in agile methodology, I also make sure it’s clear for everyone what we have to do in our two-week sprints. I make sure there are no blockers, answer questions, and that all the requirements get met.

START WITH A SCRUM
We start every morning with a 15-minute scrum. The number of people in the meeting depends on the size of the project. We use this time to talk about what and how everyone is doing, and to make sure no one is feeling isolated or struggling with a task. It’s a time to share when you need some advice or don’t understand something – everyone is there to help.

DYNAMIC TEAMS
We put different teams together on different projects. We shuffle the cards, so people get to work with a mix of people. We don’t want someone to work in a single lane if they don’t want to. If they want to see something new, use a different technology, expand their skills or knowledge, it’s welcome and encouraged. We respect the will of each member of the team to work on any subject they’re interested in, and take that into account when planning our projects.

THE TOOLS AND THE TIME
What I like about TouchTunes is that the leaders are really open to any personal initiative. If you have an idea, you want to improve things, you can go for it. If you think there’s something we can do better, we’ll give you the tools and the time to show us. We’ll sit at the table and discuss how we can support your project and define the boundaries. I’ve shown those types of interests, I've asked to be more involved in a few projects/initiatives and that’s how I’ve advanced here. Now, I try to provide those same opportunities to my team.

A DIVERSE STACK
We use a vast range of technologies and stacks for our products, which take some time to learn and take ownership of. I like the diversity of our technologies and the way we always look for better solutions. We’re always eager to find new ways to create better results. We never say we’ll stick with this one technology for a long time just because it’s working - we always need to keep improving.

In addition to new innovations, we are always well aware of the technical debt we have and we make a real effort to ensure it’s continuously improving.

VOICE AND CHOICE
I started my technology career as a consultant and when you’re in that role, you're not really given a choice, you do what is assigned to you. As a permanent employee at TouchTunes, it’s different. I have a voice. I can raise questions, I can share ideas. There are many companies where you don’t have a choice - direction comes from the top and you just execute - it’s not like that at TouchTunes.

AN IN-PERSON KINDA PERSON
While most TouchTunes employees work remotely part-time, I’m one of the few people that come into the office every day.  I really like the human contact, being able to have coffee with colleagues, and discuss a project, or a technology, or even just a TV show. I’m a food lover, and at our office, TouchTunes provides free lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’s a great time for even more people to gather at the office.

A COMPANY NOT FOREIGN TO FLEXIBLE WORKING
We have a nice policy of allowing staff  to work in a foreign country for up to two months. We just have to make sure we’re sync with our home office at least four hours a day. I had the opportunity to work from France in September, which made it possible for me to see my friends and family.  Many of my colleagues have worked from other countries as well.

We have a lot of international people at TouchTunes - Brazilian, Russian, Chinese, Russian, Pakistani, Mexicans, Columbians - there are so many people from all over the world. Although I work in Quebec, we tend to use English in the office, but with a patchwork of accents.

DEVELOPING MORE THAN SOFTWARE
I think my workplace is one of the most influential places for me, in terms of building my understanding of cultures and opening my mind. Working closely with people from so many different places gives such interesting perspectives. Something that’s so obvious for me can be so new for someone else.

A COMMON THEME (SONG)
Like a lot of people here, I really love music, any type of music. I like a lot of different genres, electronic music, heavy metal.  We often talk about music at work, and sometimes I’ll go to a concert and stumble upon a colleague. TouchTunes employees just really have a connection with music. Most relate to it personally, and we have a lot of colleagues who are musicians doing small shows with their bands.

MOST REWARDING PROJECT
My most rewarding project involved some technical debt that was supporting a few services deployed in 2014. The features were all well maintained, the way they were deployed hadn’t changed since launch, even though so much had evolved since then…new standards and new technologies. So we took a look at it, and knowing the application was critical and the code was good, we saw a way to improve it by focusing on the way it was deployed.

Working as DevOps for this project, we took the good base, put the application in a container, and built an entirely new process to deploy in production. So we didn't change the code, we changed the deployment – and that was very rewarding. We made it so straightforward and way more modern.

WORKING AND LIVING IN HARMONY
I originally came to Canada for my studies. I thought I would be here for one year, but eight years later, I’m still here. I love that there’s so much diversity in Canada. There are many immigrants from all over the world, and people are able to live in harmony.

SUCCEED OR FAIL AS A TEAM
At TouchTunes, we are not competing with colleagues for anything. Management insists we are one team and it’s true. When trouble arises, we don’t lose time pointing fingers. We acknowledge mistakes as a team, and we fix them as a team.

PLAYING MORE THAN MUSIC
We have a frisbee team in the summer that competes with other companies. You’ll hear people talking about it afterwards…what was the score, did you win? We also have a group of volunteers who organize occasional events. Halloween costume contests, easter egg hunts…little things that make life at the office a little more spontaneous.

WORK IS CHALLENGING (IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE)
We like proactive people here, people who give personal thoughts on projects. As a technical leader, I like being challenged by my peers on my estimations and on my work. I like to be questioned. I like when I get feedback. I think it’s boring otherwise. I know I’m not the one with the perfect solution. We improve when we are challenged.

NO-TROUBLE TROUBLESHOOTING
I provide low-level tech support and customer service to people using the TouchTunes app and people who work at venues; I do basic troubleshooting through email and chat.

On a typical day, we’ll get between 100-150 questions, most of which are very basic. People write to us to ask to play their song, or to get a credit refund if their song didn’t play. Our SLA [service level agreement] is to respond in 24 hours. I really like the routine of my job; I like getting into the groove of handling my tickets.

REMOTE WORKING THAT WORKS
There are four people on the team and we all work remotely and at completely different hours. Still, we are a close team. We talk every day, and connect via SLACK all day. Whenever I have questions, it’s super easy to get a hold of a colleague to get some help. Everyone is friendly. My boss knows all of my kids - and my cats - by name!

SUPPORT AND BALANCE
What I like most about TouchTunes is how supported I feel, both in and outside of my job.

In addition to working and being a mom of three kids, I’m in school part time, pursuing a degree that will take four years. When I went back to school, I was nervous, but TouchTunes has been 100% supportive - it’s been a huge weight off my shoulders. I have kids, I have school. Not a lot of other companies take that into consideration. This is a great company for flexibility.

ENTERTAINING MESSAGES FROM THE OVERSERVED
Occasionally, we’ll get some very interesting tickets overnight from people who are clearly enjoying themselves at a bar.  I once had someone who was a bit unhinged at 3:30 in the morning with a complaint. They wrote back the next day to apologize and said they had too much to drink!

GREAT GIG FOR MUSIC LOVERS
I love music and working here has made me realize how little I know about it!! Half of the time I have no idea what band someone is writing to us about, so it’s a great way to find new music!

Everyone at the company is so passionate about music. Our CEO wears band t-shirts and has a link to his Spotify in his email signature. I’ve even been inspired to pick my guitar back up!

A PLACE WHERE IT’S “IN” TO BE “OUT”
This is a job where you can actually take time away from work. The company strongly encourages you to use your vacation time. I love that concept; people above me are like,  “Hey, make sure you take some time off!” It’s great working for a company that values your free time.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
We have a fun culture…there are holiday parties, special interest groups on SLACK, volunteer opportunities and even fitness competitions where the company donates to the winning team’s charity. You just never feel alone, there’s always a group to join.

ADVICE TO NEW HIRES
TouchTunes is very good about promoting from within. You can get in on the ground floor and make your job what you want it to be. If you want a good, steady job it can be that; if you want to grow and move into different roles, you can do that, too - the opportunities are here.

TOUCHTUNES TRACK STAR
My team and I oversee the core catalog. We work closely with the record labels on their priority releases and create special music promotions. We hand select the music tracks that go on the jukebox, and we create and maintain our playlists.

While I personally work on a range of activities, my main focus is to pick and order the music as we further expand our catalog. To do my job, I have to make sure I’m on top of music and other trends that may influence how well a song performs on our Jukes. I’m constantly looking, seeing what artists are out there, what songs are performing, and using that to make decisions for our jukes.

SMALL BUT MIGHTY
I have a supervisor and oversee three people so all together, we’re a team of five. We’re a small team, crazy busy, in a good way. I like to say we’re “small but mighty”. We each bring something different to the table, as we have different music tastes and expertise in different genres.

TYPICAL DAY
On a typical day, I start by checking emails. I pull reports, review data and make decisions on music to add. I then order the content, prioritizing it for the licensing team and making sure it's tagged appropriately. I review and update the playlists I manage and work with our label partners on priorities, and of course, troubleshoot for my team wherever needed.

PLAYING FAVORITES
Across the team, we create and manage a lot of playlists, from those in the “Hits” category, which mirror the Billboard charts, to genre playlists (Pop, R&B, Christian, Punk, Country, etc.), to thematic playlists like (Good Vibes, Best Drinking Songs, Up and Coming, Women Who Rock, Birthday Songs, etc.).  I love that we’re able to bring people together through music.

WHISKY FOR WEEKS!
A fun fact - Chris Stapleton’s Tennessee Whisky was the number one song for 250 consecutive weeks! Only one song was able to break it, Cardi B’s WAP, which was number one for four weeks.

A JOB THAT FUELS MY FIRE
I’m a huge music fan, it fuels my fire. Speaking to labels, listening to all this awesome music coming through and figuring out where to put it – it’s definitely very exciting. What’s really fun is that I get to listen to new music before it comes out.

COOLEST PROJECTS TO DATE
I worked with Def Jam records on a Def Jam classics playlist and promotion.. As part of it, we created a “play-it-to-win” component, where TouchTunes users could win a Def Jam pack with a bomber jacket, CDs and records.

For another project, a couple of us flew to Miami and got to meet with J Balvin, a hugely popular crossover Latin artist. He did an interview in front of a TouchTunes jukebox and we had the opportunity to show him the product and how it works, which was an awesome experience.

WHEN BUSINESS IS PERSONAL
I have a robust personal connection with music. I grew up around hispanic salsa merengue. In high school, I had a blog “Writings on the Stereo,” where I reviewed new music.  I was also president of the theater club, involved in musical theater, and sang in choir. I would go to studios with my mom and my resume looking for work…I always wanted to wind up in the music industry.

I got my start in advertising and media, and then my first role at TouchTunes as Music Coordinator…same general realm as what I do now – ordering music, making playlists updates. After being promoted to Music Supervisor, I’m much more involved in the strategy.

EASY TO CONNECT AND COLLABORATE
The culture here is innovative and fun. The team is warm and welcoming. It’s easy to collaborate with people and you can learn any aspect of the business you want, whether that’s product, creative, production - there’s an open door policy. People have a lot of passion here and are always willing to help.

(NEW) MUSIC TO MY EARS
Since working here, my music tastes have evolved. I’ve been introduced to a lot more artists from different genres. My knowledge of Classic Rock and Country has really increased. Being immersed in music – constantly listening – has only made me more of a music fan. I love that everything I do revolves around music.

CARE AND FEEDING
Essentially what the Licensing team does is take care of the catalog of music on the TouchTunes jukes. This involves adding new releases and also regularly adding older songs to the mix. We’re always in the process of refining the TouchTunes catalog.

A TYPICAL DAY
I’m fairly new to TouchTunes, and all of my days have been pretty different so far. I’m often combing through different spreadsheets trying to figure out ways we can optimize what we’re adding to our catalog. I also get to spend a lot of time in discussions with labels and publishers to get new deals in place for TouchTunes. Working new deals can be really rewarding, especially when there’s a negotiation process and both sides come away feeling good about a deal. Overall, I really enjoy getting to work on so many different things on a day-to-day basis.

The rest of the licensing team works on clearing publishing rights. We receive requests to add songs from the Music team. We then make sure we have contracts in place to put it up on the jukes. We check that we have the correct publishing info… fill in any blanks, and ensure that the publishing rights and the songwriters are all accounted for.

FROM INFORMATION MANAGEMENT TO CATALOG MANAGEMENT
I studied information management in college and then worked for a financial tech company, managing database upgrades on the back end. I always wanted to do something with music but didn’t know how.

I went back to school, getting a Masters in Music Business from Berklee College of Music, which included one year in Valencia, Spain. It was a great experience and gave me a crash course in the music industry. After that, I got a foot in the door with my first industry role, which set me on the right path. A few years later, it’s all come together at TouchTunes. Being able to work in this space is unique. You get to work from the perspective of a tech company, and work directly with the music industry.

A WIDER LENS
I love that I’m working on a range of different projects, I’m able to exercise my brain all the time.

Working out processes, and asking, can we do this or that better? Being involved in operations at TouchTunes has given me a wider lens than any of my previous roles. I’m learning a ton every day.

NO SILOES
At TouchTunes, there’s a culture of collaboration within departments. At some jobs, you worry about stepping on other people’s toes, and don’t have much opportunity to take on additional responsibilities. Here it’s all an open discussion…we talk about what we’re working on and what others are working on. I can ask whoever a question or get involved in other projects - there are no barriers.

DO WHAT YOU LOVE
Music is a huge part of my hobbies and activities outside of work, too. I go to lots of concerts and shows. My passion was founded in high school when I was in a rock band. Ever since, music has been a big part of my life.

BIG TECH YOU CAN FEEL GOOD ABOUT
A lot of big tech companies and products, such as social media, are known to have adverse effects on people. The jukebox does not. It’s just a fun piece of equipment. I don’t have any moral qualms about what I’m doing for my career - I’m simply helping people have fun, and that feels really good.

HIGH ENERGY, HIGH ACTIVITY
My role is to lead a team of inside and outside sales professionals in selling fun, and doing it profitably. We have a team of 16, which also includes account representatives. The Outside team typically takes care of our larger accounts and Inside cares for the smaller ones. Our account reps do the paperwork for all the accounts. Our team is high energy, high activity.

TUNED INTO OUR CUSTOMERS
The way we make money is by selling Jukes to operators and distributors, and then taking a percentage of the money the Jukes generate (music service revenue).

The term “operators” is a throwback to when these businesses sold or rented coin-operated equipment to bars, restaurants and other venues – things like cigarette machines, video games, pool tables, dart boards and jukeboxes. 

There are about 2,500 such operators in North America, a large percentage of which are second and third generation folks. They tend to be family-run businesses. These operators install our Jukes in the venues and take responsibility for maintenance, promotion, and support.

We also sell to distributors, which are businesses that typically purchase a range of different inventory, carry it in a warehouse, and sell or rent the equipment to operators.

Operators can buy directly from us or from a distributor, which means distributors are both a client and a competitor. We don’t undercut distributors - operators will give the sale to whoever adds the value they need. 

TEAM DYNAMICS
I may be the leader of the sales organization, but what’s printed on my business card doesn’t matter. I like to say, “We are one team” - everybody helps and supports one another. Everyone here also really believes in what we do.  

PRODUCT PLACEMENT
The operators we sell to typically work directly with the venues. They’ll go to the bar and offer to install a TouchTunes Jukebox for free - and then split the music revenue with the venue, a portion of which comes to us. 

Operators often give promo cards (for free music plays) to Bar staff and patrons, and that generates a lot of engagement. It’s rare that someone starts using a Jukebox with a promo card and then just stops; the promo cards are a great tool to get people to start using the app. 

DIFFERENT FROM OTHER SALES ROLES
The biggest difference in working in sales for TouchTunes is that things happen here in real time. Everywhere else I’ve worked before was more project-based for example, a new building, a new business. Here we may get a distributor wanting to purchase 800 Jukes. It’s not based around a particular project, and you don’t know when it may happen, so you have to be the first on the scene. It’s a very fast paced sales environment. 

NEW STREAMS FOR STREAMED MUSIC
We sell our core Jukes, but we are also working on new revenue streams. For example, TouchTunes’ TouchTunes Unlimited. Essentially, we’re taking the same Jukebox and putting it in the workplace, for employees to use and enjoy. Employers pay a monthly fee to have the Jukebox there for their employees.  

NEVER THE SAME DAY TWICE
Much of my day is talking with operators, doing “wellness calls” - just checking in. Often I’m telling them about something new we’re doing, listening to what they want to tell us about, or reviewing how pricing works. As an example, we have surge pricing on song plays when a bar is jam packed, so I walk operators through that sort of thing. 

In general, we are very engaged with the operator community and are always looking to add value. We connect with them through things like newsletters, meetings, and various interest groups. We really never have the same day twice. 

MUSIC EQUALS LIFE
The coolest thing about working for TouchTunes is the connection with music; it’s the lifeline that brings us all together. We have a saying: “music equals life.” I know I personally wouldn’t want to go a day without music. If I’m out someplace where there’s a Juke, the next 15 minutes of music is on me.

SUCCEEDING AT TOUCHTUNES
To succeed at TouchTunes, you have to be a little type A and you can’t be shy. You need to be willing to travel, willing to work early or late, and interested in going to locations with operators. You have to be a teacher. We are always teaching operators and teaching staff about our Jukes, and showing them how the bookkeeping works. And of course, you have to have a love of music, you gotta be a fan.

SELLING FUN
There’s no culture like TouchTunes anywhere in the world. We’re a company ahead of its time - a tech savvy company that sells fun!

CREATIVITY AND DISCIPLINE
In my role, I order and program music for the jukebox and manage on average four playlists per week. When the label has a new release, I review it and see if it might be a good fit. I get to be both analytical and creative, picking which tracks go on which playlists. My job is the sweetest marriage of creativity and discipline!

MASTER MIXER
When a playlist needs a little love, I check to see how each song is doing, and can switch songs in and out as needed. Our genre playlists have around 200 songs each, while our Viral Hits playlists range from around 50 to 100 songs. We also make theme playlists such as Girls Night Out and Country Love Songs and we make seasonal playlists such as a Cinco de Mayo playlist and a Black History Month playlist.

THE RHYTHM OF THE ROLE
On a typical day, I log in around 9:00am, I open my software and pull the report from the prior day, including prior day album deliveries. I review everything distributors send from the label and pull around 15-40 albums or singles on average to review. Then I do metadata tagging and put it in our system, check the order, and then check with the Licensing team to get the tracks cleared so they can go on the jukes.

We have monthly meetings with the labels, which is when I get the opportunity to hear music that hasn’t been released yet. I love these meetings - I call them my “music nerd geek sesh.” I love that I can discover a ton of new music and in genres I wouldn’t listen to on my own.

ALREADY TUNED IN
I knew about TouchTunes by seeing and using the Jukes out in the wild. I also have a friend who works on the Royalty side of the business, so when I learned of an opening, I jumped on it. To get the role, I really had to prove myself, that I wasn’t just a kid on the street who loves music. I had to demonstrate my music history knowledge and all that I could offer.

MUSIC HAS ALWAYS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL
I started playing the cello when I was 11, and went on to major in Music Business in college. While there, I spent about 25 hours a week practicing and in rehearsals. Although I went to a performing arts school, I always knew I wanted to be behind the scenes. I have terrible stage fright. It wasn’t until my first internship in publishing that I saw – and began to love – the business side of music.

I started with two industry internships, which led to my first paid job, administering and managing rights for songwriters. After working there for four years, building a solid foundation in contacts and licensing, the TouchTunes opportunity came along. I was hoping this job would be everything I want it to be, and it is! Music Supervisor is my dream title.

WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT WORKING HERE
At TouchTunes, there’s a big emphasis on listening to, and trusting, your employees. Anyone can contribute good ideas in any aspect of the business. We are not siloed – employees are actively encouraged to talk to anyone and everyone.

DANCING AT MY DESK
The common ground at TouchTunes is music – everyone I connect with has a passion for it. You’re immersed in it. Sometimes, I’ll put my headphones on and not realize it, but I’m actually dancing at my desk!

ADVICE TO WANNABE PLAY-LISTERS
To be a TouchTunes Music Supervisor, you should be open to listening to all types of music - don’t pigeonhole yourself into just Pop or specific sub genres. You have to program music that is the right fit for the audience and playlist, which might not always align with your personal taste. Although my personal specialty is Alternative Rock, my music knowledge and tastes have evolved so much.

IN TOUCH WITH THE JUKES
I work on the software that runs on the actual, physical TouchTunes Jukeboxes. My job is to make sure that when people are out and using our Jukes, songs get played and people can hear them! They can add credits, pick a song, and then their song plays!

A JUKE OF MY OWN
I participate in all aspects of software development. I work on the code, the tests and the release pipeline that deploys our software on the actual physical jukeboxes, so that eventually people in a bar would be able to hear their songs. To test my code, I actually have my own TouchTunes Juke on my desk at work. That way, if I write code for something to happen, I can check that it actually does!

WORKING IN THE JUKE TEAM
Our team does a mix of maintaining older software for the older Jukes and writing new software for the newer Jukes. We add new features, fix any bugs and do code reviews for one another.

Typically, one team member writes a piece of code and submits it for review, and then one or two teammates look at the changes. Throughout the day, we have lots of discussions via Slack and Zoom or in person, sharing ideas and serving as each other’s sounding board for any issues. There are lots of opportunities to transfer knowledge here. I think no matter what you’re working on, a fresh perspective is always valuable. People see things differently, it’s important to exchange ideas.

STARTING THE DAY ON A GOOD NOTE
My day starts around 9am and we have a daily update/scrum meeting at 10am, which lasts around 15 minutes. This is where we share what we’re working on and anything we might be struggling with. It’s an opportunity to share progress and problems. 

In general, we are pretty busy - there’s lots of work to be done. We plan our work using the Agile methodology.

As a developer, I’m lucky to have a mostly free schedule. I don’t have a lot of meetings throughout the day. I do some planning design, but the bulk of my time is spent on problem solving.

ART, MEET SCIENCE
I didn’t always know I’d be a software developer. As I was getting my undergraduate degree in fine arts, I took some computer science classes. I discovered that I really liked programming…I get excited when I write something that works. I like to understand algorithms. So that led me to study computer science in grad school. It wasn’t very hands-on, but grad school gave me the ability to understand theory and abstract things. I learned how to learn really fast!

While in grad school, I got some internships in software development. I liked the fast pace, the new challenges every couple of weeks, and the opportunity to solve a problem. One of the internships led to a job in game controls software development, where I worked on the common functions of a video game controller. After working there for a while, I saw the TouchTunes job posting and it looked really fun. I thought jukeboxes are cool, and I love music…so it seemed like it would be a great opportunity (and it has been).

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
I like that TouchTunes has a commitment to diversity and inclusion. It comes from upper management; they are always initiating things to promote diversity. We also have a diversity and inclusion group, which is pretty involved and raises awareness of days like Juneteenth and International Women’s Day. 

As a woman in technology, it seems like there’s better representation of women in development roles at TouchTunes versus other places I’ve seen. Our SLACK has different special interest groups and there’s a women’s networking channel that I’m part of. 

I MADE A SONG PLAY!
As a developer, it is very rewarding to put something on the Jukebox and have it actually play. It’s such a fun, tangible result. Yay, I made a song play!

ESSENTIAL QUALITIES 
As a software developer, you have to be good at problem solving. You’re going to get stuck – a lot – and you have to figure it out. Teamwork and communication are also really important, especially with lots of people working from home. Additionally, you have to be willing and want to learn new things. The industry changes so often, the learning never stops!

ALL ABOUT THE BASS
I grew up playing classical piano, but I recently picked up the bass guitar. It’s really fun! After so much theory, my brain is working in a very different way. Now I can jam along with my favorite songs. I'm learning in my home, and play whatever I feel like playing. The experience makes me really admire musicians.

PET PROJECT
Outside of work, I foster kittens. The most I’ve had at one time was five, which was total chaos, especially when they had the zoomies! Only problem with fostering, is that I keep wanting to keep them all!

AN OFFICE WITH A COOL VIBE
Being a music company, TouchTunes is a fun environment to work in. The office is full of colors and Jukes are everywhere. We have posters of musicians, and albums all around. It really puts you in the music mood, and gives you more connection, personally, to the work we do.

WHEN YOU JOIN TOUCHTUNES…
You get to take on exciting new challenges. And you get a helpful, supportive team, which makes that possible.
 

A MUSIC PRODUCER OF A DIFFERENT SORT
The title “producer'' is a term that comes from the gaming industry. It’s our way of saying, “I’m a project manager.”

As a Producer, I support the Backend Services and API team. What you see on the outside is the mobile app and jukeboxes, but internally, for the mobile app and Jukebox to function, they need the backend server to transfer data and send commands. I support the whole Backend team, which works on the server infrastructure.

AT THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING
The Backend team is at the center of everything. We’re the biggest team in the Engineering department, and we serve multiple internal clients. The Mobile, Jukebox and Web teams are our primary clients, but we also serve Finance, Marketing and upper management. 

As the project manager for the Backend team, my job is to make sure all client requests are properly prioritized. I make sure we have proper staffing plans and timelines for projects. I report every two weeks to upper management on how our projects are going and determine whether we need any adjustments. 

TUNED INTO EACH CHANNEL
Every project has both a frontend and backend component, with backend addressed first. I’m like a communication channel between management, the Backend Engineering team and the Frontend team. I get to work with everyone.

PLAN, ASSESS, REPORT, REPEAT
I start every morning with a daily standup or scrum meeting. This is when I meet with the team to learn about progress, talk about new issues, and follow up on any issues that have already been identified. 

Every two weeks, I take part in a sprint planning meeting, which is when we plan the next two-week development sprint. Not every sprint needs a deployment; a sprint can contain just analysis or development and testing of code. 

After those sprint planning meetings, I make sure everyone on the team has the right amount of tasks. Then, at the end of each sprint, I report on it. If something is demo-able, we’ll do a demo. We always do a retrospective on how it went. If there were any issues, we come up with solutions and action items to resolve them.

TEAM PLAYER
Part of my job is to improve our team members’ lives. For example, if someone lacks specific training, or there are process improvements that are needed, I make sure these needs are met.

I’m also a shield for the team. Any outside or ad hoc requests go through me, so the team can stay focused. If we do add something ad hoc, I make sure to take something equal out of the planned work so the team is not overly burdened.

BIG-TIME PLANNER
This job is great for me because I love to plan. Even in my personal life, I’m always the one planning vacations, making lists, etc…I’m just a big-time planner. It gives me immense pleasure when my plans are followed, and when a project completes on time and succeeds. 

PATH TO PRODUCER
I came to Canada as an immigrant in 2018, and TouchTunes was my first job here. Before TouchTunes, I primarily worked as a developer. I was a computer science major, and at the tail end of my last job in India, I worked as a programmer and served as the scrum master. I really liked it, and that’s what got me into project management.

I joined TouchTunes as an Associate Producer in 2018, and was promoted to Producer a year later. I am still learning a lot. During the pandemic, I got my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, to continue to build skills and improve my credentials. 

MUSIC IS MY OUTLET
I studied vocals as a kid and grew up listening to songs from Indian movies. One of the ways I coped during the pandemic was by recording karaoke versions of songs and posting them on my Instagram (@wakeupsri). I sing in Tamil, Hindi, English, French, and because I was bored in the pandemic, I also learned Spanish.

A JOB WHERE IT’S EASY TO BE VOCAL
One of the best things about our culture at TouchTunes is that people are easy to approach. We don’t have offices. Here, everyone is on the same floor. You don’t have to schedule a meeting to raise a problem or share news, you can just go and talk.

We also like to do activities as a team outside of work. Whether it’s playing or watching a Frisbee tourney or going out for drinks, it’s easy for us to bond.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
As a TouchTunes Producer, you’re given full freedom to make your own decisions, they are not imposed on you. You have full independence, you just have to keep people informed. I like that I get to work with talented people who trust and respect me for the job I do.

GIVING CREDIT FOR GREAT PROJECTS
I’ve been blessed to work on critical projects that are huge and impactful, so I am quite happy here. One of my favorite projects was a data project for ‘Everywhere Credits’ project. Up until then, when you used a Jukebox, you’d pay a certain amount to get song credits, but they were tied to that location. This project made it so you could use your at any TouchTunes location.

Currently, we’re expanding the TouchTunes music catalog, which is a huge and important project. 

CARE AND FEEDING
TouchTunes takes good care of its employees. Onboarding takes place over the course of three months. We make sure new staff are fully integrated onto the team, and great care is taken to assign staff to projects they are most interested in.

Most staff are able to work a hybrid schedule of remote and in the office, and there are free lunches at the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays! 

MUSIC MAKES IT!
Music has always been a passion and a big part of my life. It’s what made me apply to TouchTunes. Not many people get the opportunity to work in something they are so passionate about.