One Day, One Job » music

Jazz at Lincoln Center

Willy Franzen — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 15:56:13 +0000

I may not be into jazz, but I will readily admit that people who like jazz have better taste in music than I do. I don’t know why I feel that way, but jazz gives off an aura of being ultimately cool. You just can’t tell a jazz lover that he has bad taste in music. If you’re one of those people who is cooler than me, then I hope that you know about Jazz at Lincoln Center. It’s a New York City based non-profit arts organization that aims “to enrich the artistic substance and perpetuate the democratic spirit of America’s music.” Their mission is accomplished through four key strategies: Curatorial, Educational, Archival, and Ceremonial. Whether it’s producing and presenting performances or maintaining “a comprehensive library of original scores, transcriptions, arrangements, books and artifacts important to jazz,” Jazz at Lincoln Center is doing its best to promote the art.

Jazzy Jobs

Jazz at Lincoln Center is everything jazz. While most other genres of music are driven by commercial interests, it seems that jazz—along with classical music—is more tied to the arts scene than popular music. That’s why non-profits like Jazz at Lincoln Center play such a big role in promoting and preserving the art. If you’re a jazz lover and looking to work in the non-profit world, then you need to head over to the Jazz at Lincoln Center Jobs page. They have a number of seemingly entry level job openings that include Concert Marketing Assistant, Human Resources Assistant, and Production Assistant. There are also Usher positions available. The application instructions vary from job to job, so check out the individual job listings for all of the details.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you a jazz lover?

Grooveshark

Willy Franzen — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:56:47 +0000

When’s the last time you bought a music CD? For me it has to have been something like 5 years ago. Oddly enough, in the glory days of online file sharing when Napster and then AudioGalaxy were around, I was buying lots of CDs. Not anymore. Now that downloading songs is kind of risky (unless your Dad is a good defense lawyer), a lot of people have moved to listening to music through web apps. Some use YouTube. Others use Pandora or Last.fm. Then there’s Grooveshark. They’re a Gainesville, FL company that was started by University of Florida students, and they let you listen to music online for free. They still have some intellectual property issues to work out, and their business model could use some refining, but they’ve grown to 40 employees and their user bases is trending nicely upwards. If you want to be part of a startup that could change the way the music industry works, this might be the place.

Get Your Groove On

Grooveshark’s business model has already changed a few times, but right now they’re an ad supported free service with a premium subscription option to remove ads and get some other extra features. They’re apparently in negotiations with a number of major record labels to make sure things are on the up and up, so that might lead to some more changes. What Grooveshark does is pretty simple at the consumer level, but there are a ton of complexities that lie under the surface. If this sounds like the kind of place where you want to get your start, then check out Jobs at Grooveshark. Their current job openings include Web Developer, Java Developer, and Database Engineer. Right now they’re heavy on tech positions, but if you take a look at their team you’ll see what other kind of job opportunities might be available in the future at Grooveshark. You can apply through e-mail to jobs@grooveshark.com, but be sure that you read the job descriptions closely first. They have very specific application requirements for each position.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you use Grooveshark to listen to music?

RightsFlow

Willy Franzen — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:28:52 +0000

Copyrights aren’t what they used to be. It’s not that they’re any less valuable, it’s just that it’s so easy to rip someone off these days. Every day my posts are automatically scraped by bots and republished on sites that slap ads on my content to make pennies. The photos that you posted online might end up in a multi-million dollar ad campaign without your permission. And then there’s the world of music. Piracy and infringement has completely changed the face of the industry. New York City’s RightsFlow is an employee-owned company that “specializes in intellectual property licensing and copyright management” in the music industry. Their core areas of service are Strategic Planning, Business Analysis, Music Licensing Services, and Digital Music and Media Strategies. Put simply, they help artists and labels ensure that they are fairly compensated for the work that they produce.

Are You Right for RightsFlow?

RightsFlow’s website uses a lot of buzzwords that I’m not quite familiar with, but it’s pretty clear to me that their combination of industry expertise and technological aptitude enables them to push innovation in an industry that is unwilling to accept that the game has changed. Through “FLOW”, their “proprietary royalty and licensing system “they’re able “to provide labels, distributors, and online music services with a turnkey solution for licensing, accounting, and royalty payment administration including mechanical, DPD, physical, ringtone, interactive streams, and limited downloads, as well as subscription and ad-supported models.” RightsFlow has put together an extremely impressive clients list, and they seem to be growing at a great rate. That’s why it’s no big surprise that they’re hiring. If you check out their Jobs page, you’ll see that they’re looking for a Database Engineer and a Copyright Coordinator. Both jobs appear to be suitable for new grads, and you can apply by sending a resume and cover letter to info@rightsflow.com. You should also use the information on RightsFlow’s Contact page (like the CEO’s e-mail address) to your advantage.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about what RightsFlow does?

Topspin

Willy Franzen — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:29:26 +0000

We all have at least one friend who “has a band.” He’s the one that sends you a Facebook Event invitation for his “gigs” every other week. He’s also still on MySpace (because it’s awesome for bands, of course). It may just so happen that you friend is actually really good, but he’s still waiting for his big break. Regardless of your friend’s talent level, there’s a good chance that he’s struggling with marketing his band. (That’s why that big break hasn’t come yet.) Your friend may think that MySpace is advanced as band marketing gets, but it’s not. There’s a new game in town, and it’s called Topspin. They haven’t launched yet, but they’ve already put a lot of work into achieving their mission “to provide artists the tools they need to build successful businesses.”

Your Résumé Needs a Little Topspin

I know that’s it’s hard to get really excited about a company that doesn’t even have a public product yet, but sometimes you just have to trust the judgment of venture capitalists. You also have to like the fact that Berklee College of Music (one of the most prestigious music schools in the country) has teamed up with Topspin in an “exclusive partnership to develop online music courses designed to teach artists, managers and labels on effective use of the Topspin platform to market music and develop fan relationships.” That Topspin platform sounds a little mysterious, but as far as I can tell, it’s a web app that will allow bands to easily mange things like catalogs, connecting with fans, and generating demand for music.

Topspin has offices in Santa Monica and San Francisco, and they already have a sizable team. Their Jobs page says that they’re looking to add to the team, although it doesn’t get specific. If you have an interest in music, marketing, business, and technology, then you’d be hard pressed to find a better place to work than Topspin. You can apply by sending a personalized cover letter and a résumé to jobs@topspinmedia.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do any of you have friends whose bands are actually good?

JamLegend

Willy Franzen — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:08:44 +0000

I’ve already written posts on Activision (Guitar Hero), Harmonix (Rock Band), and Tapulous (Tap Tap Revenge), but can you ever really get enough of the music playing video game genre? Of course not! That’s why we’re looking at JamLegend today. How are they different from the other game makers that I just mentioned? First, JamLegend is free. Second, it offers more songs. Third, you can use your computer keyboard as a guitar. Fourth and most importantly, it’s social! You can play your friends, you can play the world, and you can even enter tournaments to win prizes. JamLegend isn’t just the name of the game, it’s also the name of the company, a small startup based out of San Francisco.

These Jobs Are Your Jam

If you’re a music loving video game junkie who is fascinated by the social web, then you really couldn’t find a better fit than JamLegend. Beyond that, it’s a good career choice. The video game industry continues to thrive through the recession, and social gaming appears to be the next big thing. That’s why you need to check out Jobs with JamLegend. You won’t find any specific postings on their Jobs page, but that’s ok because I love their philosophy. They say, “Our belief is that we should hire gifted people even before we need them, so send us an e-mail (jobs@jamlegend.com) and tell us why you are interesting.” That’s about it. Awesome. JamLegend does have some positions posted on Startuply for a Flex / AS3 Developer and a Facebook Connect / Social-Web Developer, but it’s unclear whether these are internships or full-time jobs. It really doesn’t matter though, just reach out to them and tell them how you can help them. Don’t constrain yourself by applying for a specific position.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you played JamLegend?

Harmonix

Willy Franzen — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:42:00 +0000

If you’ve been reading every day for the past few months, you’ve probably heard me talk about the recession/video game paradox. When people are out of work, they often play lots of video games. (I also think that people who play lots of video games are often out of work.) Some might claim that video games sap productivity from our economy, but I’d argue otherwise. When a recession hits and lots of unemployed people start gaming, it actually creates jobs in game development. So, when you’re jamming to Rock Band 2 for 9 hours straight instead of job searching, don’t feel too bad, because your purchase made it possible for someone with a little more ambition, initiative, and drive to land a job at Boston based Harmonix. That’s how the economy works. Isn’t it a beautiful thing? If only your high score translated into dollars…

Jobs that Rock

There isn’t a lot of information about Harmonix on their website, but all you really need to know is that they’re behind Rock Band, Rock Band 2, and Phase. There’s a pretty cool video about them on their Jobs page too, but that’s it. Despite the sparse information, people who want to work for Harmonix are probably already familiar with the company. If your interests include music and video games and you have strong Software Development skills, then you’re just who Harmonix is looking for. (And don’t worry about not liking the job. Harmonix was named one of Boston’s 100 Top Places to Work. So what can you do at Harmonix? Right now they have half a dozen job openings, and a couple could be suitable for new grads – Software Developer, Network Services Support and Game Programmer. You can apply for these jobs online directly from the descriptions, and if you don’t have the software skills to do them, then get back to playing Rock Band 2 in your underpants.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you game instead of job search?

Harlem Success Academy

Willy Franzen — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 14:00:11 +0000

Did your Kindergarten class have a special name? Something beyond the teacher’s name? If it did, you probably don’t remember it, but kids at Harlem Success Academy are going to remember the names of their classes for a long time. Not only are their classes named by the colleges that their teachers went to, but the classes are identified by the year that they will be graduating from college (if my math is right, then this year’s Kindergarteners are the Class of 2025). I think that’s pretty inspirational, and that’s the point. Harlem Success Academy is a charter elementary school that is exactly what its name says it is.

You Can Succeed Too

Harlem Success Academy has a different culture and a different take on academics. It all comes down to results, and that’s what Harlem Success Academy is all about. They’ve only been around for just over two years, but they were able to take their first class of 1st Graders from 44% reading at grade level to 96% reading at grade level by the end of the year (and 2/3 were reading at 2nd Grade Level or above). That’s a serious accomplishment in a short amount of time. It seems that Harlem Success Academy has cracked the code when it comes to improving educational outcomes in underserved communities.

If this sounds like something that you’d like to be a part of, then you’re in luck, because Harlem Success Academy is doing a lot of hiring. Their job listings show 25 current positions that they’re hiring for. Three of these are in Elementary School Teaching – Elementary School Teacher (with openings in Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade, Third Grade, Science, Special Education, Music, Dance, Sports, and Art), Assistant Teacher, and Special Education Teacher. It’s hard to tell whether these jobs will be well suited to a new college grad since the job descriptions aren’t very clear about what the experience and degree requirements are, but they’re certainly worth inquiring about. There are also openings that are seemingly entry level in Student Support Services (Educational Associate, Speech Therapist, and Teacher Aide) and Administration (Instructional Data Analyst, Technology Assistant, School Affairs Coordinator, Finance Assistant, Recruitment Assistant, Executive Assistant, and Special Projects Manager). You can find full descriptions of each of these jobs on the category pages that we just linked to, and you can apply for the jobs directly from the descriptions. And in case it wasn’t obvious, the jobs are located in Harlem, NY. Now go tie your personal success to the success of Harlem Success Academy and apply for a job!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about getting Kindergarteners focused on going to college?

Fuse Marketing

Willy Franzen — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:00:55 +0000

Hopefully college hasn’t drained you of your youth, because its going to be one of your strongest assets if you want to apply for an entry level jobs with today’s company. Fuse Marketing is a youth marketing agency that focuses on offering Consulting, Event Marketing, Communications, and Creative services. They work to “connect brands with youth through sports, music, fashion and other relevant youth cultural interests.” They’ve worked with Eastern Mountain Sports to build a more youthful customer base and with the Association of Surfing Professionals to increase awareness of its World Championship Tour. These are just a couple of examples of how major brands trust Fuse Marketing to reach young people.

Light Your Fuse

If you want to work for a company where your lack of experience is an asset and your youthful ignorance is worth something, then Fuse Marketing is a company that you need to look at. Their general focus is on youth marketing, but they get more specific than that. Fuse helps companies with sports, music, fashion, buzz, viral, lifestyle, entertainment, ethnic, and college marketing. Within each of these categories they have expertise on targeting tweens, teens, Gen Y, and Gen X. Their site is loaded with case studies based on their Consulting, Event Marketing, Communications, and Creative practices. A quick look at those will give you a more detailed look of exactly what kind of work Fuse does.

Fuse Marketing doesn’t currently have any job listings that are specifically suited to new college grads, but you have to think that they love hiring at the entry level. There is a Brand Consulting Group Account Manager that requires 2 years of experience that might be within reach, but even that’s a stretch. There are 60 Brand Ambassador jobs for students on specific campuses, but these are contract jobs, not full-time. They are paid, and they might be a great way to build up a relationship with Fuse Marketing during your Senior year to make way for a full-time job after graduation.

The good news is that Fuse Marketing accepts applications for unlisted positions. That means that you can send them your resume, and they’ll let you know if they have something that will be a good fit for you. You might even be able to convince them to create a new position for you if you’re impressive enough. Fuse Marketing is headquartered in Burlington, VT, but they also have an office in New York City. You’re not going to find a better company to cold call, so get to it and show them why you’re going to be a youth marketing superstar.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which of Fuse Marketing’s case studies do you find most interesting?

Carnegie Hall

Willy Franzen — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:42:06 +0000

We’ve written about Andrew Carnegie’s generosity before – we discussed entry level jobs with the Carnegie Corporation of New York back in May. It’s just one of many non-profit organizations that bears Carnegie’s name. Another is Carnegie Hall, which Andrew Carnegie built because of his interest in music. It’s an architecturally beautiful building in the heart of Manhattan with a storied history and amazing acoustics. It’s also host to approximately 250 performances every year. Carnegie Hall is the “ultimate destination for music lovers across the world,” according to Sanford Weill, the Hall’s Chairman of the Board, and it’s hard to argue with him. Carnegie Hall is all about music at its best, and if you believe strongly in the importance of music, you should consider working at Carnegie Hall.

Get a Gig at Carnegie Hall

If you think about it, Andrew Carnegie is responsible for creating quite a few interesting entry level job opportunities. I bet he didn’t think about that when he donated all that money. His donations have certainly gone a long way. If you truly love music but don’t know how to turn that into a career path, you should consider a job at Carnegie Hall. It can provide you with great work experience in a setting that you’ll love. It can also provide the foundation for a great future. I have a friend who started working at Carnegie Hall after graduating from college, and now she’s working in investment banking. It certainly will open up new opportunities for you.

Carnegie Hall currently has three job listings that look well suited to new college grads. These are Associate Editor, Performance Manager, and Technical Analyst. The titles almost sound like higher level jobs, but the descriptions confirm for us that these jobs should be considered entry level. Carnegie Hall is located in New York City, and so are its jobs. You can apply for a job at Carnegie Hall by sending a cover letter and resume to hr@carnegiehall.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Live Nation

Willy Franzen — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:15:18 +0000

Artists and record labels are starting to realize that live music is a great way to stay profitable. Although the digital download business is seeing amazing growth, the idea that people should pay for songs has pretty much gone out the window. If you can fill up a venue with adoring fans (who paid an arm and a leg for tickets) and sell them t-shirts, posters, and whatever else people buy at concerts, you can still make a lot of money. If this trend continues Live Nation should be primed for success, they have the “most live concerts, music venues and festivals in the world and the most comprehensive concert search engine on the web.”

Entry Level Jobs at Live Nation

If you love live music, a job with Live Nation might be something worth thinking about. Their website, LiveNation.com, is targeted towards becoming the world’s largest concert search engine, and they also own and operate the House of Blues, “a home for live music and southern-inspired cuisine.” It seems that they’re trying to cover all of the bases when it comes to making it easy for fans to see their favorite artists in real life. They make searching for concert tickets simple and they provide in-depth information about artists and venues. Beyond that they also run House of Blues which hosts a ton of live music events.

Live Nation’s Jobs site won’t allow us to link to specific job postings, so we’ll tell you which job titles to search for and you’ll have to use their search function to find the jobs. You’ll have to list all jobs, and then scan the jobs for the titles that we mention. Live Nation is apparently headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, but the jobs that we’ve found are located everywhere but LA. The only clear cut entry level position is as a Field Management and Team Development Coordinator (New York, NY), but you may want to take a look at Account Manager (Charlottesville, VA), Accountant (Bala Cynwyd, PA), Assistant Merchandise Manager (Fort Worth, TX), and Sales Manager (Dallas, TX) because the experience requirements are minimal. There are also a lot of hourly jobs at House of Blues locations, but we won’t go into detail about those. You can apply for jobs with Live Nation on their website.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How often do you go to see live music?

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

Willy Franzen — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 12:37:37 +0000

When did it become cool for companies to use the term “rock star” in reference to high potential recruits? It seems like everyone these days is looking for a rock star this, or a rock star that. At first, it was cool that employers compared top talent to those who have reached the ultimate level of fame; however, the term has lost it’s edge now that its use has become so widespread. In any case, if you think that you’re a rock star, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a place where you should fit right in.

Do You Belong in the Hall?

An artist becomes eligible for induction to the Rock Hall 25 years after the release of his or her first album, while a “rock star” new hire becomes eligible after only 6 months on the job (joking). Take a look at a list of Rock Hall inductees, and see how you stack up. You can also take a look at this unaffiliated site to see how your favorite artists who aren’t yet eligible are expected to fare. In 1995 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (which is a non-profit) was opened in Cleveland, OH to celebrate the history and culture of rock and roll. Although we haven’t visited, it looks like they’ve put together quite an impressive collection of exhibits; in fact, you’ll notice that all of the pages on their website (except the home page, which we just linked to) has a randomly selected “Spotlight Artifact.” They’ve got some pretty cool stuff!

You Must Have Scored 100% on Entry-Level Job Hero on Expert

The link between success in college and success in the workplace is much like the link between being good at Guitar Hero and being good at actually playing a guitar. Doing one won’t make you much better at the other, but people who excel in one circumstance are more likely to excel in the other too. So what should you have accomplished in college to make you a strong candidate for a job at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum? A background in accounting or music will probably help, but what you really need is a passion for Rock and Roll music.

The link to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s Careers page is a bit hard to find as it’s under the More tab of their main navigation, but once you find it, you’ll see that the Rock Hall is offering new college grads two great jobs: Education Instructor and Accounting / Merchandise Assistant (this link goes to a blank page right now, but there’s a description on the main Careers page). Most of the other positions seem pretty high level, but these two are about right for a new grad. Like we said, the description for the Accounting position is missing, but the Education Instructor description has all the details that you’ll need to know.

Applicants need to include an application form with their cover letters and resumes – all of which can be sent to hr@rockhall.org. So if you love music, and think Cleveland is somewhere that you want to live (yes, two posts about Cleveland this week, because as they say, Cleveland rocks – see: Cheezhead), this is a great opportunity for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

We’ve been trying to think up a replacement for the term “rock star” when it comes to recruiting, but so far we’ve drawn blanks. Leave a comment and tell us what the next hot term for top talent will be.