Laura Pochodylo and Adrienne Kelley are Part 2 in our Women of Sun Records posts, and they are responsible for the revitalized feel of the legendary Sun Records as Marketing & Social Media Managers. Want to know more about Sun’s beginnings, see our last post here.

Laura is the Marketing Manager for Sun Records in Nashville, a longtime vinyl collector, and radio DJ; she is also a freelancer on various reissue projects.  Adrienne is the Social Media Manager for Sun Records. She handles all of the social pages as well as edit video/create content.

In their free time Laurie is doing an all vinyl weekly radio show for Nashville’s WXNA! She also periodically DJs at bars, and parties, and also plays a lot of pinball.  When it comes to Adrienne: “Outside of work, I spend a lot of time with my dog Finn. I also enjoy watching movies, sewing, crocheting, and reading – pretty much the life of an old lady trapped in a 30 year old body.“

Photos Below: Laura (left), Adrienne (right)

How did you get into your industry / What motivated you?

Laura: “Old” music and record collecting has been my obsession for as long as I can remember, so I figured there must be some home for those skills professionally. It started with an internship at the Rock Hall, then I started my career at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. I took a detour into tech and eCommerce for a bit but returned to music at Sun, and I’m glad to be back. I’m also an all-vinyl DJ on Nashville’s WXNA, and have been since the station’s inception in 2016. Working at Sun is the first time I’ve been on the label side producing vinyl products, which has been really exciting to be involved with.

Adrienne: My inspiration for working in music started at about 9 years old when I listened to an Elvis Presley CD my brother left laying around and I’ve been obsessed ever since. I worked in artist management for 4 years before coming to Sun Records.

What is a day in the life like?

Laura: There’s no average day, but I’m usually either curating a playlist, falling down a metadata research hole, strategizing new catalog releases, meeting with artist teams for frontline releases, gathering promotional info and sharing it with partners. Anything that falls under thinking of new ways to bring Sun Records to both new and longtime fans in cool ways is a part of my day.

Adrienne: It really all depends on the week! To start a week off, I’ll try and plan out social posts/content a week at a time to the best of my ability. Sometimes there are last minute posts to make, but for the most part I like to have it all planned out. From there, I will spend my days creating content from videos and photos that I have compiled. I’ll put together analytics and stats to help me plan content but also give the company an idea on where Sun Records is at social media-wise. Social media is constantly evolving with new platforms and new ways of sharing content.

In your opinion what has been your favorite / the coolest thing you’ve worked on?

Laura: I just wrote my first liner notes for two upcoming Sun releases and I’m excited to see them in person on the back of the LPs.

Adrienne: I worked on a month-long campaign gearing up for the Elvis movie in 2022. It ran June 1-June 24 (the movie’s release date) featuring one song/day that Elvis recorded on Sun Records that’s featured on the Elvis social pages. 2022 was also Sun Records’ 70th Anniversary and it is amazing to be a part of this iconic label.

What has been / is the most difficult part of your job?

Laura: We have essentially rebooted Sun Records as a functioning label. Last year was our first year releasing vinyl on the label in decades, and we had at least one release a month in honor of the 70th Anniversary of Sun. There’s no playbook for that, so it was challenging in nearly every aspect you can imagine but the wins felt amazing.

Adrienne: I wouldn’t necessarily say “difficult”, but the most time consuming part of my job would be creating the content, especially when we don’t own video footage so I have to create things myself, but I really enjoy it!

What advice do you have for someone wanting to get into pursuing what you’re doing?

Laura: Sounds trite, but be yourself. That’s how the best connections are made. And follow what you’re interested in, you’ll have a much better time working on projects you genuinely care about.

Adrienne: Be organized and outline your week! Take time for scheduling posts, time to create, time for community management and responding to comments, etc. I find that when I break up my days/weeks like that, I feel much less scattered!

Are you a vinyl collector yourself? What drew you to it?

Laura: I am! I started collecting before the “vinyl resurgence” happened and it has been wild to see the hobby and marketplace evolve. I initially started collecting because I loved Cher as a child and started to learn most of her catalog was not on CDs, so it was my intro to the vinyl format. Now I have a whole room dedicated to vinyl in my house, it has kind of gotten out of hand.

Adrienne: Yes! It stems from my love of Elvis. The first vinyl I ever got was my mom’s copy of “Aloha From Hawaii” that she got for Christmas in 1973. From there, I’ve gotten a lot of my parents’ vinyl and vinyl from older relatives that they know I’ll appreciate.

What types of things are happening in your industry / with vinyl that you’re excited or worried about? i.e. innovation, or trends you’re seeing.

Laura: I’m thrilled people are beginning to talk about how to make vinyl manufacturing more eco-friendly. It’s also really cool to see new pressing plants big and small pop up in recent years to meet the increased demand. More options make for a more diverse vinyl market which makes me feel there’s a bright future ahead for the vinyl world.

Adrienne: I love that vinyl has become so popular over the last few years. I think that works more in our favor being a historic label, people are posting original Sun vinyl that they see in stores like Jerry Lee Lewis 45s or a Carl Perkins album. So when we had vinyl come out every month during out 70th last year, it became something that Sun fans still wanted to collect.

Who has been influential to you and your growth as a professional in this industry?

Laura: My fellow team members at Sun help support my professional growth every day. I also am really grateful for the network of fellow music freaks I have who are generous with information and connections, but most of all help me feel confident both at work and in all of my record-related hobbies by taking my knowledge seriously.

Adrienne: My family has always been so supportive. We all work in different fields and root each other on in following our dreams. I also worked in management for a few years with Dailey & Vincent (where are my bluegrass fans at?!) and Jamie and Darrin are still so much like family to me and we catch up as often as we can.

Anything else you’d like to add; if not tell us what you’re listening to: 

Laura: Support your local record stores! Listen to independent radio! Keep your records out of your hot car!

Adrienne: Right now I’m listening to a lot of Sturgill Simpson (I love his “Cuttin’ Grass” albums), Charley Crockett, Stephen Sanchez, and the Red Clay Strays.

Find Laura & Adrienne: 

Instagram:

Sun Records: @sunrecordcompany

Laura: @lapocho

Laura’s Radio Show: @runoutnumbers

Adrienne: @adrienne.kelley 

@sunrecords

@sunrecords

Website:

Sun Records: www.sunrecords.com

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