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.

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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.

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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 how he found his internship at I.A. and a bit about it’s unique “independent music company vibe”.

I feel like I’m really starting to get the hang of the vibe at Indie Ambassador. I can really tell that the guys I work with are Berklee alums because of how much they remind me of myself. I’ve begun to relate to all my co-workers on a more musical level. Subtly, my favorite part about working at I.A. is that there is music always playing which prompts discussion between everyone working there.

I’ve found that pretty much everyone at I.A. has had musical roots in the whole “warped tour” scene. This means a lot to me because it was of course the scene of music I grew up listening to. It also says a lot about the DIY ethic. Punk and alternative/indie music has always been my entire world, and it’s absolutely amazing to finally see in first person, the fundamentals of the movement implemented in the real world. The ideas that shape music and art can also shape the business world. I have known this on a fundamental level for quite some time, but my experience at I.A. has shown me its true application. If one understands the ideas and motivations behind the somewhat-recent shift of “punk” into the mainstream, one gets an idea of what I would call “genuine” business. It’s all about a tightly held together group of people working for something they truly believe in. Those are the fundamental signs of a successful business, and I see that in I.A.

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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 how he found his internship at I.A. and a bit about it’s unique “independent music company vibe”.

My internship at Indie Ambassador began on the very first day of this semester. This was the first time I had to commute to work in Boston (to one of the last stops on the Orange line), so that day I remember being a bit more nervous about getting to my night class on time than my first day of work. In fact, I felt rather comfortable going into my first day. I noticed this attitude and at the time it actually surprised me. I am one to not necessarily get nervous about things, but I tend to build up a lot of anticipation for new experiences. The relaxed attitude I felt going into that day definitely had an impact on first impressions and hopefully said something about my confidence. I think the reason I was able to go into this new experience so ready, was the internship I had in the fall. It was at Pirate Promotions, and it introduced me to the “independent music company vibe”, I guess you could say. It was also mentioned to me in my interview at I.A. that Chris and Ben, my supervisors at I.A., were friends with Steve, my supervisor at Pirate. This gave me the impression that their work environments would be comparable, and in fact, it has turned out to be that way. 

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