Internships Are Music to Their Ears
ningcontentIf you’ve always wanted to be a musician, but you don’t know exactly how to go about getting a job in the music business, you might want to look into the growing trend of music-oriented internships at local colleges.
Austin Community College is just one of the schools throughout the country that is trying to make it easier for students to pursue a career in the music industry. The school’s Commercial Music Management Program interns team up with local music-related businesses and entrepreneurs to help keep their operations running.
The program provides interns the chance to work at music-related businesses, including small recording studios, clubs, venues, nonprofits and churches.
According to an article by the Austin Business Journal, the program’s interns haven’t necessarily received more attention due to the current economy, but more people have been enrolling in the program.
“With the economy as it is, community colleges are rocking,” Geoffrey Schulman, department chair for the program, said in the article.
There are currently more than 350 students enrolled in the program. To receive an associates degree in the commercial management program, students first have to complete and internship. Unfortunately, about 90 percent of the internships are unpaid.
“We want them to get a taste of what it’s like to actually have to go out there and have to do it with pressure,” Schulman continued. “Instead of doing it just for a grade, they have to do it for themselves and for the people they work with.”
Interns have worked everywhere from the Texas Music Office to The Parish, a live music venue on Sixth Street. Austin’s music scene is heavily made up of small businesses, so the ACC program places a strong emphasis on teaching its students business skills.
“They have to take accounting and marketing and small business management because a lot of them are going to have to start their own companies,” Schulman added. “We set them up to do business, whether they want to be a musician, manager or concert promoter.”
