Berklee Blogs highlights the experience of Jaclyn Sanchez, a dual major in Music Business and Music Production and Engineering interning with The Record Company as it grows from a small idea to a an important asset in the Boston youth music community. Today, Jaclyn reflects on what she has learned and where she needs improvement as the New Year approaches…

Can’t believe the Holidays are here already! It’s been about three months since I started my internship and I can’t believe how much I’ve been able to learn and experience. Sometimes it is difficult to see the bigger picture when you are busy doing the day to day things like cleaning the studio, having weekly staff meetings, checking check lists, and so on.

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Berklee Blogs highlights the experience of Jaclyn Sanchez, a dual major in Music Business and Music Production and Engineering interning with The Record Company as it grows from a small idea to a an important asset in the Boston youth music community. Today, Jaclyn tells us how she saved the studio from a “plumbing malfunction” and learned valuable lessons about finances and negotiation…

It has been a hectic two weeks! Matt, the Executive Director, entrusted me with my own set of keys to the studio to be able to lock up and load in on my own. I felt so honored to be trusted with that sort of responsibility.

Life has a funny way of rewarding you though: The day Matt gave me the keys he had to leave early, so I had to lock up when I was done fixing cables. As soon as he left, I decided to use the restroom… Coffee can be a bit harsh on the stomach. To my surprise without enough time to even get my hands wet to wash them, the toilet began to overflow. As I rushed to grab the plunger immense amounts of water kept gushing out– a plunger was hopeless. I couldn’t find where to shut the water off. I immediately called Matt and asked ” WHERE DO I TURN OFF THE WATER?!” It was under the kitchen sink. The immediate danger was the amount of water that was spewing out into the live room and classroom, with the cables from the computers in the classroom.

I ran and slipped, but was able to save the equipment and avoid possible electrocution. It was unimaginable the amounts of water that came out of that toilet in less then 10 minutes. Matt returned and the task of getting rid of the water began. From throwing kat litter on the water, to vacuuming the water into buckets, to using all the rolls of paper towels. By 5 pm the studio was ready to be back in business, just in time for the 7:00 pm client.

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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.

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Berklee Blogs highlights the experience of Jaclyn Sanchez, a dual major in Music Business and Music Production and Engineering. Today, we hear about the role models Jaclyn encounters at The Record Company, an independent record label promoting youth music education and independent record making…

My first month at the Record Company (TRC) was very exciting. I did not expect to learn as much as I did. Matt McArthur, the executive director of TRC, is so transparent about how he runs the company. I really feel like I am a part of a team at TRC. Overhearing business conversations, discussions about the construction of the second studio, and day-to-day activities—such as fixing cables and ordering supplies, have taught me what it takes to run a successful business.

Something I found that was impressive was the fact that in TRC’s was able to aggressively control debt in their first year of business. This was very impressive to me and inspired me in my own personal life. Like most students, I have loans to pay off that will basically feel like I’m paying rent twice. This can be very discouraging. Seeing how disciplined Matt was about paying back debt as an entrepreneur and having a successful business, encouraged me to feel like it is possible to pay off debt, run financial risks and be successful.

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