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An Evening with Music Industry Executives

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Barry Nelson

This week, Owen students had the exclusive honor of attending Vanderbilt Media Group’s (VMG) event “An Evening with Music Industry Executives.”

The VMG, a newly-relaunched Owen club devoted to serving students with a professional interest in media and entertainment, hosted a panel discussion and Q&A with senior music industry executives and luminaries hailing from record labels, artist business management, songwriting, publishing, and digital/social media.

Panelists included:

Tim Dubois, VP & Owen Adjunct Professor of Entertainment & Media Management
Ken Robold, Executive VP/GM at Universal Music Group & Owen EMBA Alumnus ’99
Duff Berschback, VP Business Affairs at Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Jamie Cheek, Partner at Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc. (represents artists such as Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, and Pearl Jam)
Brian Peterson, Founder of social media start-up, RedRovor
Tom Douglas, Songwriter (2011 Grammy- and Oscar-nominated songwriter)

Hosted by industry legend Tim Dubois, this fascinating group discussed the inner workings and current state of a music industry famously in crisis, their visions for the future, how the industry might recover, and broader implications for media. The event was well-attended by a broad mix of first and second year students, who asked a number of insightful questions during the Q&A. Afterwards, a wine-and-cheese reception with live music took place, giving students the opportunity to mingle with the panelists. VMG is committed to hosting similar events in the future, covering different industries within media and entertainment.

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Posted in Graduate Life, Guest & Alumni Bloggers, Industry Insights, Nashville, Why Owen? | Tagged music industry, speaker series, vmg | Leave a comment

Selling More Than Albums

Posted on February 4, 2011 by Hannah Johnson

If you listened to pop music during the 90’s, then you’ve heard Christina Aguilera’s music. She has been wildly successful with 4 Grammys and more than 43 million albums sold. When she first appeared on the scene, people thought she was another Britney Spears copycat with her bubble gum pop music. Later, Aguilera was able to generate her own buzz and establish herself as a pop icon with a different sound. He sophomore album, Stripped, could best be described as raw and provocative. She dyed her normally blonde hair dark, wore risqué clothing, and shook her hips while singing about getting “Dirrty.” The album was a hit and even though she greatly changed up her image, it was accepted by her fans.

Her most recent album, Bionic, was another re-invention of Aguilera. This time, she dyed her hair platinum blonde, wore skin tight cat suits in promo shoots, and her first single told of “kissing all the boys and girls” on the dance floor. Unfortunately, the recipe was a failure and Bionic was certified a flop; Aguilera isn’t even going to tour to promote her album. To make matters worse, media outlets complained that Aguilera was trying to be too much like Lady Gaga with her party attitude and crazy clothes. Aguilera has spent more time defending her Lady Gaga look-a-like style than selling singles in the past 6 months.

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