Brand New NYU Chapter of MEISA Wins 2008 National Marketing Award

Barely one year old, NYU’s student chapter of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association (MEIEA) made a big splash at the annual conference this spring by winning the 2008 National MEISA Marketing Contest.

MEISA is the student extension of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association of which NYU Music Business Faculty Catherine Fitterman and Catherine Moore are members.  Upon noticing NYU’s absence from MEISA, two music business students, Matt Hayon (an undergraduate) and Elnaz Nesva (a graduate student) joined forces to start a chapter at Washington Square.  According to Hayon, the group aimed at “facilitating dialogue and better networking between different music students from across the school.”

When Hayon heard about MEISA’s National Marketing Contest, he approached the club’s membership to gauge interest, and came away with a team of three members with a common background and interest in music licensing.  In order to enter the contest, they had to create a marketing plan for a band, music event, or music product.  Their goal was to come up with something unusual, out of the ordinary, and distinctive. They opted to market a music-related product.

The students—Hayon, Jared Taitel, and Randall Marchan—set to work developing a marketing plan for a product they created: a system for international music licensing called the Music Rights Database.  The team was able to combine “classroom concepts, things [they] had read about the entertainment industry and information technology, and [their] own work experiences,” said Hayon.

And at the end of the conference, they came away with more than their first place trophy and a $200 check. NYU’s chapter of MEISA established connections with several other chapters, and is hosting the Northeastern Regional Conference in November 2008.  In addition, the group is planning events such as a benefit concert and a partnership with the CMJ Music Marathon.

To learn more about MEIEA and MEISA visit www.meiea.org or www.meisa.org, or email meisa.club@nyu.edu.

If you have a story idea about our current Music Business students, faculty members, or alumni, please e-mail it to catherine.moore@nyu.edu.