Pursuing Music in NYC (Part 2)
The program taught us the fundamentals of publishing, how to file our own copyrights, how to use tools to analyze demographics of certain regions, and ultimately culminated in a program performance showcase and an exercise where the class negotiated a theoretical record deal. While each lesson was dense with invaluable information, I learned most through the guest speakers of the program. Professor Tallman’s intense interconnectivity throughout the entertainment industry awarded us students with the most experienced guest speakers across the music industry, including but certainly not limited to the publicist of 50 Cent and the Kardarshians and Grammy-nominated songwriter Billy Mann, who has worked with–I believe he described it as–almost “every artist under the sun.”
After watching the Broadway play & Juliet!, we learned about the distinctions between the different recording and publishing rights that artists, songwriters, and producers have. That lesson itself was particularly interesting because the play, an adaptation of the original Romeo & Juliet, only used pop songs written by legendary musician Max Martin. We learned about the necessary processes to perform covers of songs at live shows and how royalties are collected in such situations.
Quite honestly, I could write a complete memoir detailing every single experience in New York City that shifted my world outlook–winning a gift from a Sony executive, having a conversation with Billy Mann, and being interviewed in Washington Square Park by Sophie Beren of The Conversationalist are just a few of the many transformative moments from my time there. The city was certainly overwhelming at first–I nearly broke down my first night there. With Professor Tallman’s approval, we often had to sleep in class to compensate for sleep lost to the packed evening itineraries. However, the more time I spent, the more I fell in love with the people and experiences the city had to offer. At the NYU Music Business Summer Institute, I’ve grown more as a person and grown closer to my peers than I have during any other short period of my life, and it has certainly evolved my infatuation into a genuine, passionate love for New York City.
