Living Independently in NYC to Study the Music Industry

New York City is a playground I’ve romanticized for years as a musician. This summer, I was able to put my infatuation with the city to the test and spend two weeks living independently near Washington Square Park. While I stayed in the city to take Music Business classes at NYU Steinhardt as part of the Music Business Summer Institute, I was awarded an experience that not only gave me invaluable knowledge surrounding the music industry, but also taught me about myself and allowed me to grow as a person. 

Throughout the summer program, Professor Elizabeth Tallman gave us students the most dense, engaging experience she could. Our schedule typically involved a lecture and guest speaker from 9-12pm, then another lesson from 1-3pm, then an evening event. These evening events were some of the most exciting occasions I’ve attended–an exclusive tour of Radio City Music Hall (including the Roxy Suite), a music industry lesson from Sony Music executives and a tour of the Sony Music offices, a trip to see & Juliet on Broadway, and even VIP Box Seats at an Alicia Keys concert.

The program was led by Professor Elizabeth Tallman, who may now be one of my favorite people I’ve ever met in music. Every lesson throughout the program was riveting since she constantly gave us students her perspective as somebody who has lived through the music industry. Professor Tallman was the Senior Director of Marketing at A&M Record and Island Def Jam Records, and would often casually tell incredible stories of her work in the industry with some of the most high-profile names in music. In addition to teaching us several important skills across the music business, she taught us the importance of personability, and she constantly brought the best energy out of every student. That consequently brought us students closer together, which fostered beautifully collaborative environments in our dorm room studio sessions late at night.