Summit 2015, Austin TX
Monday & Tuesday, March 23-24, 2015
Session 12: Tuesday 3:00 IPO Room
Moderator: Bruce Ronkin
Storm Gloor
Associate Professor
University of Colorado Denver
The Student-run Enterprise as a Learning Experience
The particular focus
of this research is centered on so called “student-run enterprises”:
record labels, publishing companies, booking agencies, and other
entities operated primarily by college students as part of their music
or music business degree curriculum. In recent years more and more
universities have been adding these types of programming to their
offerings as hands-on experiences in which students apply their
knowledge in real-world situations. For instance, their creativity and
entrepreneurial skills, among other factors, can affect the level of
success of an artist, public concert, or a recording. In general, what
are the pedagogical goals of these enterprises as college courses? How
might the learning outcomes be determined and achieved? How do these
compare to other, more traditional, course structures as learning
experiences?
With an understanding of those questions in mind, where might there be opportunities to further enhance the learning outcomes of such experiences? Might there be other types of traditional or more contemporary approaches to learning that could further develop the experiences of students in such courses to better prepare them for their career endeavors? The goal of this research has been to compare and contrast the type of learning in student-run enterprises to that of other teaching and course structures, in order to address queries such as these. Such an exploration might yield potential new approaches to improving overall program offerings in order to better prepare students for entry into their career. It might also have relevance in developing more leading-edge curricula that would address the challenges of attracting quality students in an age in which the value of a college degree and higher education as a concept is even being questioned.
With an understanding of those questions in mind, where might there be opportunities to further enhance the learning outcomes of such experiences? Might there be other types of traditional or more contemporary approaches to learning that could further develop the experiences of students in such courses to better prepare them for their career endeavors? The goal of this research has been to compare and contrast the type of learning in student-run enterprises to that of other teaching and course structures, in order to address queries such as these. Such an exploration might yield potential new approaches to improving overall program offerings in order to better prepare students for entry into their career. It might also have relevance in developing more leading-edge curricula that would address the challenges of attracting quality students in an age in which the value of a college degree and higher education as a concept is even being questioned.
Peter Alhadeff
Professor
Berklee College of Music
Itay Shahar Rahat
Manager, Global CRM Solutions,
Warner Music Group
A Behind the Scenes Look at the Music Business Journal
The Music Business
Journal, now approaching its tenth year, reaches about nine thousand
readers a month and most of them are online. It appears to be the top
Google-ranked music business journal in the world. This session, given
by Berklee faculty Peter Alhadeff, Director, and the MBJ’s Webmaster,
Warner Music Group, Itay Shar Rahat, will explain the MBJ’s backend and
its daily operations. The Journal’s Editor and Content Editor will
likely be able to attend too.
The topic, of course, has pedagogical and curricular implications. The MBJ is an extra-curricular student organization. It is not for credit. Above all, its modus operandi is experiential. Yet, from the start, it has managed to live up to its ambitious mission statement: “to inform and educate aspiring music professionals, connect them with the industry, and raise the academic level and interest inside and outside the Berklee Community.” The history of the Journal also suggests that if the expectations are clear and there is a tangible outcome to the student’s work, continuity of effort with sustained faculty leadership can produce much learning even without a formal course structure.
The topic, of course, has pedagogical and curricular implications. The MBJ is an extra-curricular student organization. It is not for credit. Above all, its modus operandi is experiential. Yet, from the start, it has managed to live up to its ambitious mission statement: “to inform and educate aspiring music professionals, connect them with the industry, and raise the academic level and interest inside and outside the Berklee Community.” The history of the Journal also suggests that if the expectations are clear and there is a tangible outcome to the student’s work, continuity of effort with sustained faculty leadership can produce much learning even without a formal course structure.