A journalism graduate has achieved his ambition of working in the music industry by landing a job at a PR company that manages the band Keane.

Jon Lawrence was previously a press officer for a new independent record label and has also worked free to gain experience.

He completed his BA (Hons) Journalism degree at the University of Central Lancashire in 2005. He spent a lot of his free time writing for national music magazines and in his second year edited the music section of the university magazine Pluto.

He said: "I undertook plenty of work experience placements at as many music PR companies as possible, whether they were independent or major record labels. I just needed to get in there and learn the ropes. It was essential to getting where I wanted to be.

"That definitely gave me a foot-in for work experience, because it showed I cared enough to give up my free time for something I loved, despite being work based.

"The magazine always got complaints for the music pages that I was editing. I saw it as a triumph, because at least the readers felt compelled to complain."

Jon admits its hard work to switch off from his job but says he enjoys the perks of working in the industry.

He said: "We've just taken on a band in Paris so it would be rude not to go over and see them - especially if that coincides with our other bands playing out there."

And he still keeps a hand in journalism by continuing to write for magazines.

He said: "There was a point where I decided that I didn't want a life of always looking for the next opportunity as a freelance music journalist, and short of desperately knocking down the door for a staff job on a music magazine, music PR was a more than appealing alternative. You have to stick to your guns though – there are a lot of knock backs before you get an opportunity."

He added: "I still have a great deal to learn before considering future options and I’m happy where I am. I guess I am lucky to be working with one of the UK's biggest bands because you see the industry from both ends."