Music business students kick off semester at California industry conference
Music business students attend the National Association of Music Merchants' Showcase in California.
January is always an exciting month for students. The start of spring semester means new classes and new experiences. However, a group of nine music business students had a particularly interesting start to the term when they traveled to Anaheim, California for the National Association of Music Merchants’ Showcase. NAMM is one of the largest music conferences in the United States, and the experience presented an opportunity for Radford students to preview new products, attend educational sessions, and network with industry insiders.
Through a competitive application process, Radford seniors Jamee Jordan, Mae LeRoy, and Brandon Robertson, were awarded the NAMM Foundation’s President’s Innovation Award, which provides recipients with a travel stipend to fund their attendance at the convention. Additionally, sophomore Jordan Dalton gave a conference presentation where she discussed her field experience working with the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and the Well Dunn Foundation.
Sophomore Jordan Dalton discusses her field experience working with the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and the Well Dunn Foundation during a NAMM conference presentation.
Dr. Timothy Channell, Director for Radford’s Music Business program, traveled with the students to the event. “NAMM is a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn and network with professionals in the industry. Our students came away with job offers as well as internship opportunities that they would not have had access to without this trip,” said Channell, “Additionally, we were extremely excited that three of our students were selected as NAMM Foundation President’s innovation Award winners!”
Radford is one of only three universities from Virginia represented at the conference, making the experience unique for students in our region looking to begin careers within the music industry. “NAMM was one of the best experiences of my college career,” said Mae Le Roy, a senior who attended the event. Jamee Jordan, another student attendee, called it “a life-changing experience.” Dr. Channell plans to continue to offer students the opportunity to travel to the annual conference in future years.