1. Absolutely no desire for a personal life whatsoever
Being a label boss means not only working 24/7 listening to bands, signing them, getting them in the recording studio, getting their product out, getting them on tour, and making them the next ‘next big thing’, you’ve also got to be prepared for the fact that you will become that band’s surrogate parent.

2. Lots of storage space
1,000 CDs might not sound like a lot of product – but if you’ve got 10,000 CDs hanging around your gaff, you soon notice it.

3. A love of the internet
It’s the future, man! Or it certainly is for Indie labels who struggle to get distribution through the high street shops – just set up a website, advertise your wares, offer MP3’s and other goodies, and, if your bands are any cop, you’ll see orders flooding (well, a healthy trickle then) in from all across the world.

4. Understanding parents/friends/bank manager, etc …
You will never be flush with money, and there will be times when you are so skint you won’t be able to pay to get out the product with which you were going to pay off all your debts in the first place. Blagging is another skill which might come in useful, ‘This one’ll go top ten, Steve Lamaq’s promised it single of the week on Radio 1. If I could just borrow another hundred…’

5. Charm
Whether it’s the gift of the gab, or you’re just a darn nice person, you’ll need to be able to get on with every type of human on offer – from bread-heads to dope-heads, the record label boss deals with them all.