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Music and Comedy Event Organized by Music Business Students to Benefit Charity
This spring, two Music Business students, Elizabeth Imler and Jake Skolnick, made a difference as they hosted a charity event benefiting Gateway for Cancer Research and Threads That Teach. The event, Josie’s Presents Music and Comedy for Charity, took place at Josie Wood’s Pub and collected over $2000 dollars to split between the two charities.
The performers included NYU students (including Skolnick), as well as bigger names like Donnell Rawlings from Chappelle’s Show. Over a hundred people attended the event, and many (including Imler) volunteered to shave their heads to encourage extra donations. What Imler emphasizes about the event, however, is the way “students can come together for the good of the community.”
Dr. Moore and Music Business Students Study Marketing in the Nightclub Scene
In the summer of 2007, a group of music industry executives from the UK and the US approached Professor Catherine Moore with a problem: their companies wanted to join forces to expand on their considerable success in the nightclub, DJ management, and advertising businesses but they could not find sufficient market data to help with their business decisions. They had approached several top business schools and consulting firms, but had no luck finding the depth of expertise they needed.
The executives had met Moore and several NYU Music Business Program students at a conference and the NYU Program took on the project as a case study. Moore put out a call for volunteers, and got a great response from both alumni and current students who offered everything from first-hand knowledge of the nightclub scene and business in many parts of the world, to opinions about how much “advertising” – subtle or not – can succeed in that space.
The case was completed in late 2007, and first used in a class in Spring 2008. Dr. Moore is now revising the case for publication, and research will be ongoing. We welcome industry collaborators on this and other topics – please contact catherine.moore@nyu.edu to find out more – particularly in the areas of business metrics and international company collaboration.
Below are some excerpts from the case study:
Bridging the Music and Marketing Businesses Through the International Nightclub Scene
The music and marketing businesses are both in a state of crisis. Emerging technologies have shattered decades-old paradigms in both industries. Yet in the midst of this crisis consumers are flocking to nightclubs in droves, are listening to as much or more music than ever, and are certainly still receptive to marketing messages … in the right context.
Does the nightclub scene, therefore, offer a significant solution to these two struggling industries? Are club goers (18- to 30-year-old nightclub patrons and adherents to the DJ and nightclub scene) the type of trendsetters, tastemakers, and early-adopters that could be valuable in launching a new brand or reviving an old one?
One of the aims of this study is to define success measuring tools specific to the DJ-nightclub scene, and the case-study research team developed 12 qualitative and quantitative metrics such as:
- Number of DJs: Increase in Number of DJs Making a Living
- Sales of DJ Equipment
- Increase in DJ Talent Level
- How Often Clubs are Sold and Their Real Estate Value
- Ticket Distribution: Increase in Methods of Ticket Distribution
- Increase in Club Quality
- Traffic to Club Industry Websites
As companies seek to commercialize this social space, it will be important to be alert to and address potential conflicts when the company wants to serve the interests of marketing partners, venues, and DJs. The marketer image and the DJ image both need to benefit from each other, and neither can disrupt the self-generating character of the nightclub scene.
Professor Catherine Moore and MA candidates Susan A. Cistone, Heather A. Scott, Lilyva Liao, Elnaz Nesvaderani, and Jordan Harding in the NYU Steinhardt Music Business Graduate Program prepared this case. MUBG cases are developed as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. © Copyright 2007 New York University.
Music Business Student Proposes New System for Copyright Protection
Matt Hayon, a Music Business undergraduate, completed an independent study with Professor Catherine Fitterman that resulted in a proposal for a new system of copyright law. The system, which Hayon called the "Sliding Scale of Copyright Protection," would classify works as under Gold, Silver, or Bronze Copyrights, depending on the age of the work. This, he wrote, is based on the idea that "works should be afforded lesser amounts of protection over time," instead of going from maximum protection to no protection at a certain point. By this system, copyright holders and the public would share intellectual property more and more as time passes, until the work would ultimately become the property of the public.
Music Business Student Performs in the Musical Duo Sabrina/Giorgio
Even as they pursue graduate degrees at NYU, Sabrina and Giorgio make sure they have plenty of time to devote to performing together. Their musical duo, called Sabrina/Giorgio, combines gospel and jazz with soulful jazz guitar, played by Giorgio, and Sabrina’s vocal melodies.
Sabrina Clery, a current Music Business student, and her husband Giorgio, a family therapist, met and began collaborating in 1999 in Montreal. They draw from traditions in jazz, blues, gospel, soul, folk, and R&B, and are inspired by artists such as Bob Marley, Prince, Ani DiFranco, Lauryn Hill, The Roots, and Ben Harper. With the help of FACTOR, a Canadian Music Grant, they recorded a five song demo in 2004, while performing at popular venues around Montreal.
They left for New York to pursue their graduate degrees and their creative ambitions. Sabrina cites the support of the Music Business program as a major contributor to their success and motivation, saying, “The program has taught me patience and given me the confidence to know that the future I want is inevitable, as long as I work for it and stay focused.”
Sabrina/Giorgio are currently recording their debut EP in their modest home studio (as Giorgio says, “It seems like all you need is a Mac, Pro Tools and a great mic.”), which is set to be released next summer. One of their songs, “Trinity” was selected for NYU’s Village Records’ annual compilation CD.
More than anything else, Sabrina/Giorgio love to perform, and take every chance they can get to do so. They have performed at NYC venues such as The Village Underground, 5 Spot, Sidewalk Café, Rockwood Music Hall, Bar 9, Kenny’s Castaways, The OS Art House, and various NYU events. They often host Living Room Soul Sessions, where they invite friends into their apartment to share new songs or just to jam.
For more information about Sabrina/Giorgio visit: www.myspace.com/risingsoulproductions or www.sonicbids.com/SabrinaGiorgio.
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.
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