[261] MTSU Students Off to France for Global Music Conference

MTSU STUDENTS OFF TO FRANCE FOR GLOBAL MUSIC CONFERENCE
Attending MIDEM Will ‘Get Attention,’ Jobs for University Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 20, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina E. Fann, 615-898-5385

(MURFREESBORO)—With technology changing faster than this week’s top-10 downloads, MTSU recording-industry students are heading to France this week to expand their knowledge and their networking opportunities at MIDEM 2010, the world’s largest music-industry trade fair.

Accompanied by professor Ramona DeSalvo, the 10 travelers—nine undergrads and one graduate student—will leave Thursday to arrive in Cannes for the five-day international event, which begins Jan. 23 and is expected to draw more than 8,000 music-industry attendees from more than 80 countries.

“Everybody who’s anybody in music will be there to discuss trends in music, political and legal issues,” explains DeSalvo, an entertainment law and copyright litigation attorney who teaches courses in copyright law and contracts and legal issues, along with a seminar class, “How To Get A Job In the Entertainment Industry,” in MTSU’s College of Mass Communication.

“We’re taking these students because we want the university to be in the forefront of those trends. We don’t want to be teaching old business models. Plus, letting MTSU have a presence at MIDEM will … get attention for the department and give our students exposure to the global music business.”

This is the first time MTSU will be represented at the 43rd annual event (MIDEM is the acronym for Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale), and it’s one of only a handful of universities worldwide to attend.

“Our students received grants for research projects from the International Education and Exchange Committee, which are helping them to attend, and they’ll present their research during Scholars Week (March 22-26),” DeSalvo said. The students also will present a panel discussion to share information from MIDEM when they return to campus.

In addition to lectures, seminars and plenty of opportunities to network with industry bigwigs, the students will be rushing to huge nightly concerts and intimate music showcases, talking tours and merchandising, and even watching a classmate’s opportunity to gain international attention for her music.

Scheduled to attend are master of fine arts candidate Eboni Green, junior production and technology major John Carroll, junior music business major Kyle McCormick and senior music business majors Tiffany Adams, Brinn Black, Ashley Brunes, Gabriel Dodd, Dustin Poole, Dera Shelton and Claudia Whitehorn.

Black, whose focus is commercial songwriting and who is also a recording artist with Foothill Entertainment, also is scheduled for a showcase performance as the only country artist invited to MIDEM this year.

The MIDEM event also includes MidemNet, a conference encompassed within the broader event that will present panels and conferences on monetizing the digital music marketplace. It also will provide an opportunity to market and brand MTSU as the preeminent recording industry program in the world and could lead to international recruiting opportunities, officials said.

“We want to make connections now to prepare for next year, when we want to have a booth for the MTSU recording industry program,” said DeSalvo. “It’s all part of preparing for the university’s internationalization initiative.”

For more information about MIDEM, visit the event’s Web site at www.midem.com. For more information about MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry, one of the largest and best equipped in the country, visit http://recordingindustry.mtsu.edu.


With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, MTSU confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
-------


IN BRIEF: MTSU recording-industry students are heading to France this week to expand their knowledge and their networking opportunities at MIDEM 2010, the world’s largest music-industry trade fair. Accompanied by professor Ramona DeSalvo, the 10 travelers—nine undergrads and one graduate student—will leave Thursday to arrive in Cannes for the four-day international event, which begins Jan. 23 and is expected to draw more than 8,000 music-industry attendees from more than 80 countries.

For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.


—30—