SD City College Music Advisory Board AMENDED September 2020 Format: This meeting was conducted as a survey on Survey Monkey. Responses were collected during the month of September 2020. I have provided a screenshot of the survey summary and a sample response from one of the members as proof of authenticity. Additional proof of meeting results can be made available upon request.
Members: 1. Trevor Henthorn - Ableton Live Liaison and UCSD Staff [email protected] 2. Rick Wilkinson - Austin Ribbon Microphones [email protected] 3. Jeff Cotta - Tenth Avenue Arts Center, Owner [email protected] 4. George Sanger - Video Game Music & Audio Producer [email protected] 5. John Von Passenheim - Music & Entertainment Lawyer and SDCC Adjunct Professor [email protected] 6. Jun Fujimoto - Yamaha Institutional Solutions Representative [email protected] 7. Ben Sabey - Composer and SFSU Associate Professor [email protected] 8. Chris Warren - Composer, Music Hardware Developer, and SDSU Assistant Professor [email protected] 9. Joe Kucera - Former Head of Audio Engineering Society San Diego Chapter, Adjunct Professor at SDCC and SDSU [email protected] 10. Mike Espar - Film Composer and Assistant Professor at SDCC [email protected] 11. Bob Kostlan - Composer and Associate Professor at SDCC [email protected] 12. Brandon Carroll - Pro Sound Effect, Licensing + Business Development [email protected]
Agenda: This meeting is to assess current and projected future trends in the music industry in order to keep the San Diego City College program’s curriculum, equipment, instructor training, and facilities up-to-date.
Discussion Topics & Responses: 1. Please share three important trends in Music Recording & Production the program should be sure to address. 1. Trevor - Eurorack Modular, Network Audio, Integration with "remote learning" 2. Rick - Distance learning/recording, Assessing, Troubleshooting and Fixing your own cables 3. Jeff - . Making sure the students are fully aware of the realities of making a profession in the music industry. Technological advances in the industry and keeping up with it. Learning the history of the music/recording industry and knowing the importance of having a solid knowledge of that history. 4. George - Make sure the recording/production is done and well-labeled, BEFORE anything fancy. Treat the customer/client with courtesy, be efficient 5. John - Effective online streaming. Musical composition credit/copyright share ownership. Producer compensation. 6. Jun - Game Audio job opportunities. Composition job opportunities. Dolby Atmos and Immersive Audio Mixing 7. Ben - Sound design for games. Scoring for games. Modular synthesis. 8. Chris - remote audio, network audio, shared DAW repositories 9. Joe - Technical skills. Interpersonal skills. Self promotion. 10. Mike - music/audio for film, interactive audio (for video games, installations, etc.), MIDI 2.0 11. Bob - Broadcasting remote live performance. MIDI 2.0. Object oriented coding in programs such as Max and Pure Data to be able to develop unique solutions to performance and productions needs. 12. Brandon - Suggestive technologies, remote recording, cloud processing.
2. Please share three important trends in Concert Marketing & Promotion the program should be sure to address. 1. Trevor - Social media, remote concerts, financial changes due to Covid 2. Rick - unknown
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SD City College Music Advisory Board AMENDED September 2020 3. Jeff - Promote, promote, promote. Seek unique venues to hold events. Don't alienate potential audience members by dragging politics into events. Let art provide an escape from the day-to-day. 4. George - N/A 5. John - Planning, insurance and potential liability. The roles of agents, promoters & talent buyers. Merchandising. 6. Jun - Venue challenges in the new normal. Hybrid AV experiences as a value add. New alternative venues/concert platforms 7. Ben - Youtube. Live virtual events. 8. Chris - online performance, digital playbills 9. Joe - Social Media websites for promotion. Streaming services for project publication. 10. Mike - virtual (online) live performances, social media marketing, branding/sponsorships 11. Bob - Live YouTube, Podcast, or streaming-Radio shows such as Apple Music's new push with their Radio programming. Supplemental content to support albums such as music videos, behind the scenes on the making of, unique merchandising to replace the purchase of a physical CD. Release strategies such as posting a new track / single every few weeks before a new album is officially fully released and offering special can't get it anywhere else content to the true fans. 12. Brandon - SaaS platforms that allow you to leverage multiple services.
3. Please share three important trends for Music Entrepreneurship & Self-Promotion the program should be sure to address. 1. Trevor - Remote contracting, internet collaboration, branding 2. Rick - now that purchasing music is essentially dead, and listening habits have forever changed, how does one earn income by switching to playing live? How can artists gracefully reply and influence venues that want them to play for free? Record deals are dead. Manufacturers do most of the artist sponsorship now. 3. Jeff - Take advantage of the vast amount of promotional opportunities available via the internet. Use the creativity that is (hopefully) a part of the person involved in music industry to make promoting opportunities work. 4. George - Work/life balance is important, not just a buzzword. You are NOT your brand. You are you. Be real, be honest, let the Internet think what it wants. Be true. 5. John - Effective online push marketing. Interdependent nature of music business elements. Developing a fan base in a post-Record Industry environment 6. Jun - Mastering mixed media communications. New monetization opportunities. The importance of having (for the musician) clean audio recordings. 7. Ben - Respondent skipped this question 8. Chris - copyright law for streaming, digital-only labels, streaming platform delivery services (Distrokid, etc) 9. Joe - Business aspects. Legal aspects. Artistic aspects. 10. Mike - leveraging social media for music promotion, music licensing for independent artists, financial management for artists 11. Bob - Online distributions services CD Baby, Distrokid, TuneCore, Amuse, Ditto, Bandcamp, YouTube, etc. Knowing the the differences of services between each company and how to work with them professionally. Strategies for branding. Online promotional companies such as Band Magnet, Indie Band Guru, Omari Music Promotion, and View Maniac. 12. Brandon - Following the right accounts on Instagram can provide great information and tips on running your own business.
4. Please share three important trends in modern Live Music Performance that incorporates technology the program should be sure to address. 1. Trevor - Laptop vs hardware, remote performances, synchronization 2. Rick - self-monitoring mixes with phones and tablets
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SD City College Music Advisory Board AMENDED September 2020 3. Jeff - Making sure that the current improvements in technology are covered. Making sure that performers are knowledgeable in the technical components of a show and not just relying on the tech's knowledge. 4. George - People like to participate. High emotional engagement trumps production values. Community trumps entertainment. 5. John - Online streaming concerts. Sharing of prior concert footage to promote future live shows. Multi-venue "shared bill" concert experiences 6. Jun - Livestreaming. Digital Audio Networks. WIreless Mixing. 7. Ben - MPE midi. Modular synthesis. 8. Chris - SoundJack, Acapella 9. Joe - Technical set-up software (SMAART etc.). Digital networking (Dante, etc). Workflow for fast mixing (pre-sets, pre-planning, snap-shots) 10. Mike - iPad-based mixing, Dante connectivity, live-streaming 11. Bob - Streaming live performance. Live spontaneously created visual and audio elements to accompany music such as reactive video manipulation, algorithmically generated live music accompaniment, and motion capture triggered events. Synchronizing multiple devices with a protocol such as Ableton Link. 12. Brandon - Remote performances, Facebook live, You Tube live, Linkedin Live, etc.
5. Who are three influential thinkers in the Music Business whose ideas our students should know? 1. Trevor - Daniel Ek, Philip Kaplan, Tim Cook 2. Rick - unknown 3. Jeff - Don't have specific names to offer but I would make sure that, again, the students have a well rounded knowledge of all the aspects of the industry from "cast" to crew to management. 4. George - Geoff Emerick, Max Martin, Andy Warhol 5. John - Jimmy Lovine, Dr. Dre (Andre Young), Berry Gordie 6. Jun - Major recording companies eg. Sony, Universal. Online Music Companies: Amazon, Apple, Spotify, Idagio et al. Companies involved with Sound Conditioning/Sound reinforcement eg. Clair Global. Progressive Musical Instrument/Sound Equipment/Music Creation companies such as Yamaha 7. Ben - Respondent skipped this question 8. Chris - the whole SoundJack team is really doing amazing things right now 9. Joe - Respondent skipped this question 10. Mike - Donald Passman, Jeff Brabec, John Kellogg 11. Bob - Herb Trawick, Ron Fair, Angela Beeching. 12. Brandon - Josh Klein at Monarch Management (Chainsmokers, Big Sean, Gashi, etc.)
6. Is there any specialized equipment (hardware, software, etc.) that would be helpful for marketing and promoting concerts and/or music recordings? 1. Trevor - Both Mac and Windows, ticketing (e.g. Vendini), pay-to-play (e.g. My Afton) 2. Rick - unknown 3. Jeff - Unaware of any. 4. George - Wear the same jacket every day. 5. John - Social media. Venue and performer websites. Pollstar.com 6. Jun - This is kind of moving target, especially now. Social Media platforms would be the primary hub of music promotion and marketing activities. 7. Ben - Respondent skipped this question 8. Chris - OBS 9. Joe - The students need more studio time. A project only class (like the old 205A/B) would be great. 10. Mike - Equipment that would enable live-streaming concerts directly from the recording studio or a venue. 11. Bob - Marketing database software such as Improvado. Networked Media Storage such as Avid Nexis Pro. 12. Brandon - check out Unitedmasters.com
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SD City College Music Advisory Board AMENDED September 2020 7. What new equipment (hardware, software, etc.) would be helpful to improve and modernize our campus Recording Studio and MIDI Computer Lab? 1. Trevor - Eurorack, Ableton Live 10 Suite, Logic Pro X, USB Microphones (e.g. Yeti, AT20200, instrument remakes (e.g. Roland Boutique, Behringer TD-03, Poly D, etc.) 2. Rick - unknown 3. Jeff - Again, I don't have any info to share 4. George - A webcasting rig 5. John - Vintage microphones from different eras. Tube amps. Real percussions. 6. Jun - Cubase (Music Production), Nuendo (Post Production/Game Audio/VR), Dorico (Notation). Check out stuff that will support MIDI 2.0. Dolby Atmos related tech. Ambisonics recording microphones. Rivage Consoles. Dante connections. MIDI and Acoustic instruments.Reproducing Acoustic Piano for MIDI editing. 7. Ben - MPE controllers. Max MSP. Eurorack modular synthesizers. 8. Chris - Listento 9. Joe - Getting ahead of the curve on paying AVID so we can keep the studio up-to-date. Sound Isolation GOBOs that are taller. Carpet sections. 10. Mike - Apple TV in MIDI lab to allow easy screen sharing of student projects, additional signal processing gear for recording studio, tie lines connecting Student Mix Station to recording studio 11. Bob - Superior Drummer 3. Live streaming equipment including isolation, monitoring, cameras, video switcher such as Blackmagic ATEM Television Studio Pro, video switcher software such as Wirecast or Open Broadcaster Software. video capture cards. 12. Brandon - iZotope Spire Studio, iZotope software, WARM Audio hardware recreations of classic outboard gear and microphones.
8. Based on your knowledge of the industry, what types of skills and experience are employers looking for here in San Diego County? 1. Trevor - Computer skills, organization skills (calendars, todo lists, etc.), facilities skills (including health), network audio and teleconferencing (Zoom, Cleanfeed, Source Connect, etc.) 2. Rick - video production and live streaming opportunities. 3. Jeff - Looking for people who are willing to tackle a wide variety of tasks and flexible enough to try new experiences and locations. 4. George - Respondent skipped this question 5. John - The ability to work under and tight and ever-changing schedule. The ability to adjust to unforeseen situations and to make good decisions as needed. A strong mental "spread sheet" to keep current on many individual elements of an overall project. Honesty. 6. Jun - Problem solving, adaptability, discipline communication skills, speaking Spanish. If the student wants to get into system design, etc then CTS certification through AVIXA. Understanding of digital marketing (SEO/SEM, Social, Email, media buying). A high level understanding of ERP and CRM systems. Business Development specifically related to developing partnerships. 7. Ben - Respondent skipped this question 8. Chris - every performing arts org is hiring a streaming expert right now. 9. Joe - As much technical skill as can be taught in a classroom setting. The students need twice as much class time/ Lab time as they are getting to really understand the equipment. 10. Mike - live sound mixing for conferences, theaters, and music venues; video game audio editors 11. Bob - Music and audio production for commercials, theatre, and video games with proficiency in major DAWs such as Pro Tools, Logic, and Qlab. Software developing such as with Reason Rack Extension SDK and Gorilla Engine. SD Symphony is looking for promotion and outreach with the local community. 12. Brandon - A strong network, knowledge of licensing, quick turnaround time, and ability to compose in various genres.
9. What skills and experiences are potential entry-level employees most often lacking? Page 4 of 8
SD City College Music Advisory Board AMENDED September 2020 1. Trevor - Time management and computer/networking skills. 2. Rick - Basic troubleshooting and repair skills. Soldering. analyzing noise & ground loops. 3. Jeff - A thick skin. 4. George - Show up on time, do what you say you are going to do 5. John - An interest in learning. Adherence to schedule. Patience with dealing with the paying customer (with we all lack at some points, to be fair). 6. Jun - Understanding of business systems. Adapting to new technologies. Problem Solving. Diffusing Conflict in the workplace. Corporate Communications. Project Planning. Importance of Public Relations. 7. Ben - Respondent skipped this question 8. Chris - inter-application audio routing 9. Joe - Basic technical skills - cable wrapping, understanding how to connect DI, etc., grounding problem solving. 10. Mike - solid background in DAW operation (ex. Pro Tools), people skills 11. Bob - Troubleshooting skills. 12. Brandon - Understanding what types of media work best for various target audiences. How to leverage networks to build strategic partnerships.
10. Any other topics of relevance not mentioned previously? 1. Trevor - The industry has changed dramatically due to Covid-19. The ability to work remotely, without close-supervision, on a schedule and be responsive is a huge plus. The new producer needs to handle more e- mails, more chat sessions, more virtual meetings and maintain their patience with those who don't have those skills. 2. Rick - Hands-on skills with cables, microphones, amplifiers and rooms, not just in-the-box software manipulation. 3. Jeff - Just make sure the students are getting a reality-based education. Not everyone is going to make it. It's a tough business. They need to have a back up plan and have the resourcefulness to make sure they can support themselves regardless of circumstances. 4. George - Respect peoples' time. Keep emails short. Kindness is the secret to audio. Live your days well, be happy, and success will be instantaneous. 5. John - Probably. 6. Jun - Respondent skipped this question 7. Ben - Respondent skipped this question 8. Chris - Respondent skipped this question 9. Joe - We should really look at driving project based classes as much as possible. I feel like we get to the end of the semester and the students are just getting started. The final project is really just a 1st draft and they need about 10 more drafts to get it to acceptable. 10. Mike - not that I can think of. :-) 11. Bob - Not at this time. 12. Brandon - That's all for now, well covered!
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SD City College Music Advisory Board September 2020
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SD City College Music Advisory Board September 2020
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SD City College Music Advisory Board September 2020 AMENDED: Revision to existing curriculum and adding new courses and programs to improve the rigor and relevancy of our program. Program Revision – Music Production Technology, Associate of Science. A 31-unit program award revised to change program title and to include MUSC 104, MUSC 118, MUSC 160, MUSC 162, MUSC 170A, MUSC 170B, MUSC 170C, MUSC 220A, MUSC 220B, MUSC 252, MUSC 260, and MUSC 262 as courses required for the major. Program Revision – Audio Production Technology, Certificate of Achievement. An 18-unit program award revised to change program title and to include MUSC 104, MUSC 160, MUSC 162, MUSC 252, MUSC 260, and MUSC 262 as courses required for the major. New Program – Music Business, Certificate of Achievement. A new 17-unit program award to include MUSC 118, MUSC 162, MUSC 220A, MUSC 220B, MUSC 220C, MUSC 220D, and MUSI 108 as courses required for the major. New Program – Electro-Acoustic Music Performance, Certificate of Achievement. A new 16-unit program award to include MUSC 104, MUSC 160, MUSC 162, MUSC 170A, MUSC 170B, MUSC 170C, MUSC 170D, and MUSC 260 as courses required for the major.
Motioned, Dr. Chris Warren. Second, John B. Von Passenheim.
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