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Ariel McAphee
Brand Partnerships & Sync Licensing Intern at Capitol Records
Professional Background
Ariel McAphee has forged a remarkable career in the music industry, demonstrating her expertise in marketing and business development through various prestigious roles. With an extensive background in marketing coordination, she has worked at leading record labels such as RCA Records, Atlantic Records, and Columbia Records. Notably, Ariel began her career journey as a College Marketing Representative at Warner Music Group, where she cultivated her passion for music and honed her skills in brand partnerships and marketing strategies.
Over the years, Ariel transitioned through multiple internship roles that provided her with a comprehensive understanding of the music industry landscape. Her early experiences as an Urban Marketing Intern at Atlantic Records and a Marketing Intern at Republic Records sharpened her ability to engage with diverse audiences and promote artists effectively. Furthermore, she made significant contributions as a Brand Partnerships and Sync Licensing Intern at Capitol Records, where she specialized in creating synergistic opportunities between music and various brands.
Ariel's tenure at RCA Records showcases her growth within the industry, where she served not only as a Coordinator and Representative but also as a pivotal member of the marketing team driving successful initiatives for the label's roster of artists. Her experience as a Road Manager for the Spelman College Glee Club and as a Tour Manager for the Spelman College Jazz Ensemble reflects her versatility and dedication to the performing arts, allowing her to develop a holistic perspective on the production side of music.
Education and Achievements
Ariel's educational background is just as impressive as her professional experiences. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Spelman College, a historically black college known for its commitment to academic excellence and the arts. Ariel then furthered her education by obtaining a Master of Arts in Music Business from New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Studying in NYC, one of the world’s music capitals, allowed Ariel to immerse herself in a vibrant arts culture while gaining important academic insights.
Ariel’s commitment to her field is evident in her dual Master's degree pursuit at NYU, which enabled her to expand her knowledge in both music and business—a combination that is indispensable for navigating the complexities of the music industry. Her academic accomplishments, coupled with her hands-on experience, have positioned her as a knowledgeable figure in entertainment marketing and music business management.
Achievements
Ariel's journey through various internships and professional roles has equipped her with a treasure trove of experiences that highlight her capabilities as a leader and innovator in the music marketing field. Her role as the former Director of the College Ambassador Program and Marketing Intern at Loudnklear Entertainment provided her with a platform to showcase her skills in fostering relationships between college students and record labels, creating opportunities that benefit both parties.
Additionally, her experience in marketing and events highlights her well-rounded approach to the industry. As a Touring and Events Intern at Columbia Records, she contributed to the successful planning and execution of tours, showcasing her ability to combine strategic marketing with live entertainment—a crucial skill in promoting music artists today.
Ariel’s unique blend of artistic understanding and business acumen undoubtedly empowers her to innovate and excel in a competitive market, making her an invaluable asset to any music organization. Her enriching journey through the different facets of the music industry demonstrates her commitment and passion for nurturing talent and creating impactful music experiences.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.