Berklee Blogs

First-hand accounts of the Berklee experience

Tag: entrepreneur (Page 1 of 2)

entrepreneur

SXSW Hackathon Helps Music Catch up to Technology

By Matt Mannino

Matt Mannino at SXSW

Matt Mannino (right) at the SXSW Hackathon

When I was selected by BerkleeICE to represent Berklee in the SXSW Hackathon and Incubator, I was honored, but also unsure of what to expect from SXSW. I had heard of the hype surrounding SXSW, but I was not expecting to meet such an overwhelming creative energy flowing through Austin. For a week and a half, the city becomes a breeding ground for ideas as bright minds both young and old examine the current state of the music, film, and tech industries, and try to pave a better future for the way we experience entertainment and the world around us.

Read More

Music Business Seminar – Creative Entrepreneurship Week

Students Michael Deacon & Tre’von Griffith from the global entertainment and music business master’s program reflect upon the eighth of the Music Business Seminars, where they attended the Creative Entrepreneurship Week with guest panelists Panos Panay, Ken Zolot, Thanos Giamas, and Stéphanie Moretti.

Creative Entrepreneurship Week

The first week of December brings lots of things, the Festive season for one; but at Berklee Valencia, this heralded the arrival of Creative Entrepreneurship Week, an impressive weeklong bootcamp to help hone our entrepreneurial skills. This entailed a series of seminars, panel discussions, workshops, and consultations filled with entrepreneurial tips, tricks, and industry insights with attendance from Panos Panay (Founder of Sonicbids and Berklee College of Music’s Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship), Professor Ken Zolot (Founder of Innovation Teams Initiative and Senior Lecturer on Innovation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and Thanos Giamas (Investor and Music Producer), with a special guest appearance by Stéphanie Moretti (Artistic Director of the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation).

Read More

Devin Wojtanek: Internship while on Lockdown

Berklee Blogs introduces Devin Wojtanek, a Music Business major and spring intern, as he begins his internship with Indie Ambassador, the team behind presskit.to, a portfolio web app designed to enhance communication within the professional music & entertainment industries. In today’s blog, Devin gives us an intern’s perspective on the recent marathon bombings and learning while on lockdown…

Writing this today, I would like to be able to talk about all the progress Indie Ambassador, as well as myself, have made over the past two weeks. Quite unfortunately though that would be difficult, as within the past two weeks, I have only made it into work once. There’s no “good” time for your city to be put on lockdown.

The last time I did make to Charlestown, it was a pleasant day, warmer than we’ve been used to lately. It was a very relaxed, just coming off a successful stint of meetings with Berklee, I spent the better part of the day dog-sitting our office dog Henry (most enjoyable), as I was continuing online research for companies. My most recent assignments have been a little broader and less specific. It’s mostly self-directed research online, looking for other music companies, whether potential partners or competitors, and taking notes. Our SXSW online radio station was so successful that IA has decided to carry on the station indefinitely, playing old and new sessions. Thus, I’ve been researching other online radio stations, seeing what they do best, and imagining what a successful station for IA would look like.

Read More

Devin Wojtanek: Navigating the New Music Industry

Berklee Blogs introduces Devin Wojtanek, a Music Business major and spring intern, as he begins his internship with Indie Ambassador, the team behind presskit.to, a portfolio web app designed to enhance communication within the professional music & entertainment industries. In today’s blog, Devin shares his thoughts on entering a new music industry as a student musician…

In the past few weeks at Indie Ambassador, there has been a spark of intensity in the atmosphere surrounding our growing project with Berklee. To recap, Presskit.to has been developing an “opportunity”/job listing board for Berklee LA alumni. Along with hooking these alums up with a Presskit, this jobs board is directed specifically for Berklee grads in LA looking for the types of jobs needed to advance their careers. Justine, the alumni coordinator stationed in LA, came over to Boston last week for a meeting, an experience that was very interesting to sit in on.

The relationship between a collegiate institution and its alumni is almost sacred in a way, as the perceived viability of the school is dependent upon the success of their graduates. At a place such as Berklee, were the nature of the art and its subsequent relation with commerce are in a constant dance with each other, it is almost impossible to determine what an average career path for a Berklee alum would look like. This is why grads’/alumni’s career paths can vary so drastically, from a small town music teacher to the super famous.

Read More

Devin Wojtanek: Thoughts on SXSW

Berklee Blogs introduces Devin Wojtanek, a Music Business major and spring intern, as he begins his internship with Indie Ambassador, the team behind presskit.to, a portfolio web app designed to enhance communication within the professional music & entertainment industries. In today’s blog, Devin tells us about an exciting new project and his thoughts on SXSW”.

Indie Ambassador was super involved in this year’s SXSW. I unfortunately have never been able to make my way down to the lone star state to partake in the giant music fest. By virtue though, I really felt like I was involved in something bigger than myself these past couple weeks. It makes me yearn to be there in person one day, possibly playing the Berklee Showcase, working with some company, or of course, just being there for the music. 

Read More

Page 1 of 2

Copyright © 2023 Berklee College of Music