The Music Industry Program (MIND) at the Frost School of Music doesn’t just prepare its students for jobs after graduation. The elite program also works diligently to ensure that its students secure internships with companies that offer invaluable experience and connections in this competitive industry.
MIND is one of the top-rated programs of its kind. This is in part because of additional advantages it provides students, such as work experience with student-run enterprises ‘Cane Records and Cat 5 Music, and in member-based organizations like the Music Industry Association and GRAMMY U (whose managing director is MIND alumna Jessie Allen, B.M. ’10). MIND frequently hosts panels with successful alumni and events with industry groups, and shares internship opportunities in a weekly newsletter. Students are required to complete at least one internship to graduate, and most will do several.
All of this gives MIND students a crucial edge in a process where hundreds may apply for internships at top companies. “It is absolutely as competitive as getting a job,” said Professor Serona Elton, director of the music industry program.
“Our students’ resumes show that they are studying music industry with us and participating in these extra-curricular activities, which makes them impressive enough to get an interview. In the interview, they shine by showing they know the vocabulary and they understand what that employer’s role is in the music business ecosystem.”
Studying within a music industry program that is based within a school of music also adds to MIND students’ appeal. “They have a musical sensibility and fundamental understanding of music, that combined with their music industry knowledge makes them more valuable to these companies,” Elton said.
Among the MIND students who interned at leading companies this summer were Hannah Avery, at The Mechanical Licensing Collective, which collects royalties for some types of streaming and downloads; Jaxson Fogel, at United Talent Agency; Analexis Foss, at Interscope Records; Sameer Kumar, at Live Nation, the country’s largest concert promotor; Sofia DiMarco, who interned at the Universal Attractions Agency; and Madison Serletic, at Sony Music Publishing Latin (led by Frost School alum Jorge Mejia, B.M. ’96.)
This summer, Max Levy, a MIND senior, completed his second internship (his third overall) at Red Light Management, a top independent artist agency that represents acts such as the Dave Matthews Band and The Strokes. As co-president of the Student Music Industry Association, Levy had also worked with the club to help other students secure internships, bringing in guest speakers, and organizing networking events and workshops on specific skills such as resume formatting and interview preparation.
“The MIND program occupies a small niche, and it definitely gives us a leg up,” said Levy. The wide range of subjects he’d studied, which included copyright, music publishing, contract law, and a host of industry topics, gave him an advantage in his interview, he said.
At Red Light Levy shadowed agent Griffin Schwab, commuting to the company’s Manhattan offices from his family home in New Jersey several days a week, and joining him for concerts and events on weekends. He worked with Schwab’s clients, Stolen Gin, The Los Angeles League of Musicians, and famed jazz artist Christian McBride, artistic director of the Frost School and Jazz Aspen Snowmass’s JAS Academy summer jazz program.
“The coolest part of my job was that every day was different,” Levy said. “I saw so many things I never thought about managers doing, from pitching clients to open for bigger artists on tour, or running their social media page, or booking studio sessions.” He worked backstage at the massive Governor’s Ball festival, where he saw artists he admired like Role Model and MK.gee up close, and experienced the casual, fast-moving mix of industry players.
Red Light also offered virtual seminars with team members from across the country, enabling Levy to learn about areas like radio, tour marketing, and brand partnerships, and make valuable professional connections as he prepares to graduate. He learned things he would not have discovered otherwise.
“Managers are mediators between record labels, artists, and booking agencies,” Levy said. “It’s a very high-risk, high-reward field. I gained valuable insight into the rewarding and challenging areas of that.”
Levy’s experience illustrates what makes internships so important, said Elton. “Internships expose students to what a day in the life doing a certain job in the industry is like,” said Elton. “That helps them learn what they like and what they’re good at, and what they don’t like and what they struggle with. And it helps them start to build a network of professional relationships and mentors who can help them when it comes time to get a job.”
