Berklee Blogs highlights the experience of Jaclyn Sanchez, a dual major in Music Business and Music Production and Engineering. Today, we hear how Jaclyn has been with her internship site The Record Company as it grew from a small idea to a an important asset in the Boston youth music community. Jaclyn shares how she has learned valuable marketing lessons through working with one of The Record Company’s key sponsors…

I was bit worried at the start of my internship, because I had attempted to intern at the Record Company (TRC) about a year ago. It didn’t work out unfortunately, since TRC was still growing as a new business and was not structured enough to have an internship program that worked well for me. Though my relationship with TRC as an intern didn’t work out, I was definitely a client of TRC who worked there often. I always believed in TRC’s mission in providing affordable access to record making and as a youth program for teaching youth about records.

Starting out this time around, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Quickly my doubts went away and the growth I have seen at TRC is incredible. TRC has become an amazing place- technically speaking- and as a business that fulfills its mission. It was personally fulfilling to volunteer for youth field trips where groups of 8 or 10 kids would come to the studio and record covers. Compared to before, where we couldn’t get any kids to come, to having organized fieldtrips was a great way of witnessing how growth and perseverance is necessary in every aspect of business and life.

About two weeks in, TRC held an event with one of TRC’s sponsors, Audio Technica. At this event I was assigned to be the assistant engineer on the live demonstrations we were holding at the studio. It was amazing to spend the entire day testing mics and recording a live band with people who worked for such a big company. They took us out to dinner after, and hearing how they valued our opinion about their products and how to promote their products, was a lesson in itself on how branding and marketing works. They knew that students who attended the event would not be possible customers for years, but what was important was the impression they made on the students. I can use myself as an example, before this event I probably wouldn’t have paid attention to this brand of mics at all.

Being an Music Production and Engineering major as well, we have access to a few good Audio Techinica mics, but I never in 3 years had used one. Not because they weren’t good, but I had not really seen anyone use them and I didn’t know much about them. I always used mics I knew worked well for certain instruments. Being forced to only use Audio Technica mics, made me pay attention to the quality of their mics. To my surprise I actually feel like I found a few gems that would now be new option that I automatically choose in my own sessions. Besides learning about mic choices, I also learned how branding works, making that connection with students who in the future will buy products is crucial to the success of companies like Audio Technica. This is one example of how my first few weeks has impacted my outlook on many aspects of my career as an engineer and entrepreneur.

 

Bio

Jaclyn Sanchez is a Miami native of Cuban and Ecuadorian descent who identifies herself not just as a vocalist, but also as a musician, engineer, and entrepreneur. Jaclyn developed her talents and skills at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. Jaclyn’s innate entrepreneurial spirit and desire to give back led her to create Just Relieve, a non-profit intended for raising awareness and funds for charities through the arts. Despite the amount of growth Jaclyn developed musically and the success of Just Relieve’s first event, she knew in her gut Berklee was where she belonged. She re-auditioned in the summer of 2008 and received a partial-scholarship to attend Berklee. Jaclyn resigned from her own organization to follow her dreams at Berklee. Currently, she is in her last semester as dual major in Music Business and Management and Music Production and Engineering. Jaclyn has also engineered a variety of projects and two full-length albums. She is also the lead singer in one of Boston’s top wedding bands, Boston Common Band. She intends to keep her desire to raise awareness, funds, and relief through her own music and career as a freelance engineer.

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