After 2011’s blockbuster tour headed by Deadmau5, this autumn is set to be the biggest Creamfields yet. In the headline spot is chart-climbing Frenchman David Guetta – no doubt accompanied by an eye-popping light and pyrotechnics show – with revered trance trio Above & Beyond also locked in alongside Alesso, Dirty South, Excision, Vitalic and many more.

If you’ve always wanted to work behind the scenes on a festival juggernaut like this, inthemix has teamed up with the Collarts 2012 Internship Program and Totem OneLove to get one ITMer interning with Creamfields. You can still apply for the internship right here. We caught up with one of the key players behind Totem Onelove and Creamfields, John Curtin, about what the internship will offer.

Just for a bit of context, can you tell us a bit about how you got personally got your start in the industry?
Via a family friend I started promoting and organising underage events at 15. I loved the organisation and social side of the events. Then I worked as a pass promoter at many different venues (this is when passes were popular) and worked with some great venues in Melbourne running nights.

I was really lucky that I learnt a lot in terms of marketing and promotions through some industry figures, then put a lot of my work into practice by returning to study at a later period when I was 26.

What’s the back-story behind Totem Onelove as a company, and how did the association with Creamfields come about?
Totem Onelove is the parent company of two well known companies: Totem (Hardware/Totem Industries) who have a rich experience in touring, event management, events and festivals, and onelove, which ran a lot of successful club events, a music label with Sony and a strong experience in youth marketing/online.

Creamfields is one of the world’s largest festivals. Managing Director Richie McNeill has worked with Cream and the owner of Cream, James Barton, for many years. It’s a great fit for our calendar and we love working with them.

Why did you think the partnership with Collarts and Creamfields was a good fit?
I think that if you have the opportunity to learn from an institution like Collarts, it is a great fit. In terms of the offerings (music production, audio and creative industries), it just shows how far as an industry we have come and it is a great start for future careers – obviously in music but you could also do another degree or diploma for jobs outside of the industry as well.

Creamfields is shaping up to be bigger than ever in 2012, so what kind of work would the internship cover?
Depending on what the student would like to do as a career but we have opportunities to intern in our music department, event management, marketing/PR/online and we want the successful intern to see a snapshot of our entire business. Plus they will get to check out some of the world’s biggest acts and see what it is like to organise a major event like Creamfields.

How big is the team that works behind the scenes on Creamfields?
We have about 15 people working in our offices in Melbourne and then a lot of staff that work on contract basis. The production team in Melbourne alone for events such as Creamfields or Stereo really balloons during festival season. We also have a few staff in each city that oversee our marketing/production and partners in each city as well.

What are some of the most common challenges faced when you’re putting together a festival like Creamfields?
I guess we really try and make the festival a fair price and putting together the right bill. We are really happy with this year’s line-up with some massive acts, some new cool acts and a strong trance line-up.

What do you think are some of the most important qualities you need to work in this industry?
I think you need to be very self-motivated, work well with others and be willing to take some risk in terms of music trends and what is popular.

If this sounds like an opportunity you can’t afford to miss, make your application for the Collarts/Creamfields internship right here on inthemix.