Students took a break from taking notes to look sharp for the Entertainment Industry Panel Nov. 7 in the Student Center Ballroom.
For the second consecutive year, the event served as a career fair for students interested in music-related professions.
Hosted by the Smith Career Center and Musicians in Business, marketing managers, talent buyers and production managers from across the industry came to share their insights with students.
Junior music business major Scott Dean is an event coordinator for Musicians in Business and said the executive board took a different approach to finding who they wanted to be on the panel.
“The purpose was to help connect students interested in the business with industry professionals,” Dean said. “This year, our panelists were local. Last year, we were happy to bring on guests from Los Angeles and Nashville.”
The event consisted of an interactive question-and-answer session with the panelists followed by networking and refreshments.
While the event saw a decline in student attendance, dropping from last year’s 70 to this year’s 48, Dean said the important thing was being able to provide resources like this to interested students.
“Of course we would have liked to see more [students] there, but the students that attended benefitted a lot from not only having a chance to network but also learning about local aspects of the music business,” he said.
The panel consisted of Kidder Music Stores General Manager Carl Anderson, Limelight Eventplex Co-Owner and Manager Danny Cash and Peoria Civic Center Marketing Manager Dan Aspell. Also speaking on the panel were Jay Goldberg Events and Entertainment Product Manager and Talent Buyer Jack Manis and Co-Owner and Talent Buyer Jay Goldberg.
Students could discover more about the industry and confirm their choice to focus on music.
“I’m not personally in the music area, but I brought my brother who is a junior in high school and thinking about music business,” junior social work major Maddie Conley said. “He loved every second of the panel, and I really think it gave him that push he really needed to go into that field.”
Dean said the goal was to connect students with those professionals already in the field, and he feels the event did just that.
“This [event] helps create the possibility of internships [or] jobs,” Dean said. “Another reason we are making this an annual event is to bring a different panel each time and discuss recent industry events that have become relevant over the last year.”
Dean said the event will happen again next year, and he is looking forward to further networking.
“The goal is to bring national professional again next year,” Dean said.
