Benee’s manager, Poppy Tohill on life inside the LA music industry

Music manager Poppy Tohill lives in the Silverlake suburb of Los Angeles.

Artist and tour manager Poppy Tohill works with New Zealand singer Benee and is based in Los Angeles. Tohill grew up north of Auckland and now lives in LA’s Silverlake neighbourhood. She shares her experience of life in the City of Angels and what it’s like to work in one of the most exciting music industries in the world.

It’s almost difficult to find someone who was born and raised in Los Angeles and still lives here. The city is full of ex-pats, adding to its diverse culture and creating a comforting sense of camaraderie.

From musicians to actors and beyond, there’s a large community of creatives from New Zealand who have relocated here and continue to welcome and support each other with open arms. Gin Wigmore, Alisa Xayalith, Lisa Crawley and Fleur Saville, who have thankfully been my core supportive network of friends here, whom I would be lost without.

Nothing can prepare you for what it’s like to live in Los Angeles. The city alone (not including the wider county) has the same population as New Zealand, which, for someone who grew up in a small rural town north of Auckland with a bustling population of 2000, is extremely daunting.

The sheer scale and size of everything here, from the roads to the number of cars, the malls and their food portions is something I don’t know I’ll ever truly become accustomed to. For all its madness, it’s a thrilling place to be but it’s not always easy. As magical as this city is, it’s equally unforgiving, relentless, and expensive — much like its entertainment industry.

Living and breathing music for the past 12 years and continuing to work in the industry makes it obvious why I would gravitate towards Los Angeles. Leaving the familiarity and foundations of where I spent years building my career to spread my wings in what is already an extremely cut-throat and unforgiving industry is another challenge entirely. Here, I am undeniably a tiny drop in an enormous ocean – it’s exhilarating, yet totally terrifying.

Poppy Tohill backstage with singer Benee.

There’s very much a sink-or-swim mentality that comes with living in Los Angeles. It seems that people either love or hate this city, there’s not much of a middle ground. As exaggerated as it may sound, LA can make or break you in a flash, beyond just your career.

The idea that everyone is out for themselves isn’t entirely untrue, but to my surprise, the sense of community and those willing to help you is more prevalent than I expected.

The music industry is a beast. The speed at which things move here is unlike anything I’ve witnessed elsewhere and the notion that you’re only as successful as your last project has been drilled into my psyche by many people.

It’s both intimidating and reassuring to know that hundreds of others are attempting to find their own place in the industry at the same time. The idea that no opportunity is off-limits certainly helps with providing motivation, but the pressure to succeed and continuously prove yourself, especially among those who have relocated from elsewhere, is strikingly present and unrelenting. Unfortunately, I have seen the pressure take a toll on others, who have left Los Angeles or the US entirely.

Poppy Tohill with friend Gin Wigmore (right) and Wigmore's husband, Jason Butler.

I’ve co-managed the NZ artist Benee for the past seven years and her growing US touring schedules allowed me the flexibility to be able to relocate while continuing to manage her and run our record label, Olive Records, together.

Most of my own experiences in the music industry in the US so far are from touring. Fully equipped tour buses that become your home for months at a time always seemed such a foreign concept to me. It doesn’t take long for any glamorous fantasy around life on a tour bus to dissipate when you realise the only time you’ll have to yourself is in your coffin-like bunk bed or the shoebox-sized toilet. While unbearably sweaty nights, cold showers and arguments over air conditioning become the norm, the nights of exhausted delirium, endless laughter and never-ending card games and movie marathons can also make the experience just as entertaining and enjoyable as the shows themselves.

Between Gin Wigmore’s dog eating my electric toothbrush and my getting kicked out of venues because security didn’t believe I was a crew member, one major learning curve that took some adjustment was the rigidity that exists around each individual’s role. My DIY initiative has always seen me carry out other small jobs that needed to be done for a venue to be ready for soundcheck or a show. But with litigation and the fear of being sued in the US, the mentality is “if it is not in your job description, do not do it”.

The two degrees of separation between some of the biggest names in entertainment and the many people working behind the scenes is also a change. It takes some getting used to that the possibility of running into your favourite artist on a hike or in the grocery store isn’t that unlikely, although you do see fewer celebrities than you’d imagine.

Poppy Tohill runs Olive Records alongside Benee.

Beyond the illusion of glitz and glamour, the celebrities, fame, fame-hungry influencers, and the dirty sidewalks, crime, and homelessness, lies a city made up of culturally diverse neighbourhoods. They’re filled with creative and like-minded individuals, with an abundance of food, beverages, shopping, and entertainment offerings.

Like a lot of the young creative community in Los Angeles, I feel most at home in my Eastside neighbourhood of Silverlake, where the streets are lined with artisanal coffee shops and funky cafes, multiple vintage stores, trendy bars and music venues. A morning walk around the reservoir and a trip to the well-known Silverlake Flea Market, where you can thrift some great affordable outfits, followed by a sunset picnic in the Meadow is just one of my favourite neighbourhood weekend rituals.

I spent my first few months in LA questioning if this city I had so deeply romanticised was truly as magnificent as I had imagined. The endless sunshine, beautiful beaches, hiking trails, mountains and expansive deserts in every direction, and the overwhelming amount of entertainment and opportunities at your fingertips are incredibly intoxicating. However, with that also comes the hardship of visas, an increasingly high cost of living, the eventual need for a car, and more. But every day that I wondered if I made the right decision, I was reassured there’s nowhere like it and no place else I’d rather be. No offence, New Zealand.

I was immediately drawn to many Americans’ infectious energy and friendly nature when I moved here. The sense of pride they have for whatever they’re working on in their lives and careers is unmatched. They’re unashamedly outspoken in a way that outsiders might deem arrogant or egotistical, but they do so in a gratifying way. Compared to the deeply entrenched tall poppy syndrome that plagues New Zealand, it often feels like a breath of fresh air.

From the outside looking in, Los Angeles is the land of opportunity, or as it’s called, the City of Dreamers. Most people move here with a dream they hope to achieve or an idea of what this city can offer them, but I think that title takes away from the reality of just how hard people work to sustain their life and career.

Many warn you that it is a difficult place to settle into and there have been numerous occasions where I have sat crying on my friends’ doorsteps or on FaceTime, questioning if I’ve made the right move. I’ve stressed over the exchange rate, worried about the cost of living and difficulties with visas, among other things. But I’ve also had unforgettable days working with my favourite artists at some of the most famous venues or biggest festivals throughout the US. These are the days when I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to leave this city.

If nothing else, living in Los Angeles helps you quickly gain perspective on many things. You learn to adapt fast because there’s simply no other option. I made the move because I wanted to push myself and my career outside of my comfort zone. I wanted to experience the challenges, the incredible adventures, and everything in between that comes with living in a big, brash city. Living in LA is worth it all.