Packed into the mixing room of a studio at Sony Music Group’s New York headquarters on a Tuesday in mid-July, about a dozen college students listened as five-time Grammy award-winning recording engineer and producer Ann Mincieli described the life and career lessons she’s learned working nearly every job there is in a studio.
“There’s a whole world, basically, behind the artist,” said Mincieli, who has worked with artists including Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Drake and DMX, and now designs and runs studios for Sony Music.
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Over the next 45 minutes, Mincieli took the students, who are part of Sony Music’s Global Scholars Program, through three versions of Keys’ “Empire State of Mind” and her contributions on each to illustrate how her career path has taken her from “producer to painting the sonic palette with the artist.”
“It’s incredible to see the growth in career paths available in the studio,” Mincieli, who also owns New York’s Jungle City studios, told the students. “The lines get blurred sometimes, so it’s important to learn the roles to put yourself in the best position and so you can advocate for [yourself].”
The students are part of a group of 55 mostly college sophomores from 18 countries who received Sony Music scholarships to pursue degrees and careers in the recording industry — both on the creative and business side. The program sponsors aspiring music professionals with scholarships of $3,000 to $20,000 per academic year, renewable for up to three additional years, before they start college. A novelty in the music industry, the program is modeled off a scholarship program run by the Magic Johnson Foundation and resembles recruitment programs popular in the financial and legal industries.
“It’s important for us to invest in the next generation of music professionals, and we want that investment to start early in their college career,” said Towalame Austin, executive vp in charge of Sony Music’s global philanthropy, environment and social impact, who oversees the program. “We’re committed to them for an average of four years.”
Funding is provided by Sony Music’s social justice fund, and part of the program involved covering flights and hotels for 41 of the 55 students to come to New York for a week this summer to meet staff from 26 different Sony divisions, including CEO Rob Stringer, studio legends like Mincieli, recording artists Miles Caton and Rapsody, label presidents, Orchard executives and business and legal affairs staff.
Anthony Marshall, a sophomore at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina, said the program introduced him to the breadth of the music careers available. Majoring in general music studies and minoring in psychology, Marshall was originally pursuing a career in music therapy before school and a job at his hometown orchestra introduced him to backstage and production jobs.
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“I’m just hoping to look for what I fit best,” Marshall said. “What Sony has taught me is connections are very valuable, and that has made me realize that I only got my jobs back home because of connections, which has made me appreciate this more.”
Recent U.S. college graduates face a challenging job market, with 5.6% of grads aged 22 to 27 reporting being unemployed compared to a 3.1% unemployment rate among all college grads, according to the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
A post on a music industry Reddit forum by someone who said they graduated in May 2024, titled “Job Hunting Is Hell,” recently attracted dozens of comments, including some suggesting the best way to find a job in the music biz is to create one.
Royal Holloway University of London student Bradley Bolton said the Sony program helped him land an internship at the London-based Caribbean and Black music publisher Rekodi Music, which has given him the confidence to pursue a career in artist discovery and management.
“Hearing from the CEO of Sony Music and an artist today, it’s all about being yourself and trying to find your own path rather than following the next person,” said Bolton.
Students like Bolton and Marshall are part of the second class of Sony Music’s Global Scholars program. The first group of scholars, who had a similar week-long program in New York two years ago, graduated this spring, and Austin said they are exploring ways to create an alumni group for the 110 students in total.
The week-long program helped Selena Lemmon, a legal studies and entertainment business studies major at Belmont University, make connections and find camaraderie, which has energized her for the hard work required to succeed in music, she said.
“When I was little, my mom told me that other people’s success never takes away from your own,” Lemmon said. “So until it’s your turn, learn to clap for others, which is something I really took to heart, especially in the music industry.”
Lemmon said she took the inspiration and lessons from a week in New York back to Nashville where she will “keep trucking through down there.”
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