In Pursuit of Your Music Biz Degree

Looking to learn how to gain exposure and an enthusiastic audience for your music? Go back to school and see what's happening on college campuses.

mtvU and Billboard magazine are looking for a few good college students to speak their mind on the state of music today. If I were an aspiring singer-songwriter attending college, I would consider using this as a vehicle to gain some invaluable exposure.

The NACA National Convention is rapidly approaching (Feburary 18-22 in Boston). Featuring more than 80 showcasing artists, performers and programs, as well as over 100 educational sessions, NACA is considered the largest campus activities marketplace in the country.

On the touring tip, the 3rd Virgin College Mega Tour is in the planning stages and scheduled to make 18-20 stops in April and May. A new feature this year will have Virgin enlisting local performers to play on the Emerging Artist stage.

Sonicbids is accepting EPKs through 3/31/06 for the second annual CMJ Rock Hall Fest, taking place June 14-18, 2006 in Cleveland, OH. As many as 100 artists are expected to perform for tens of thousands of music fans.

Do your fans give you high marks? The Jerry Lembo Entertainment Group wants to help you graduate to the next level in your musical career.

Millions of Reasons to be Cheerful

If you are a developing artist looking for a silver lining or the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, here it is: consumer interest in music continues to accelerate.

"Even given the declines the industry has seen, the real takeaway from 2005 is that consumers made more than 1 billion music purchasing decisions," states Rob Sisco, Nielsen Music President/Nielsen Entertainment East Coast Operations COO.

In more promising news, Billboard's Brian Garrity reports that, in the final week of 2005, millions of consumers set a record by downloading 20 million music tracks from iTunes and other retailers. Steve Jobs says Apple sold 14 million iPods in the holiday quarter and 32 million for all of 2005.

Interest in music is sure to increase as we come up on the Grammy Awards on February 8th. Consumers are bound to check out Best New Artist nominees Ciara (Goodies/Sho' Nuff-La Face, 2.5 million sold), Fall Out Boy (From Under the Cork Tree/Island, 1.7 million sold), Keane (Hopes and Fears/Polydor-Interscope, sales n/a), John Legend (Get Lifted/Columbia, 1.5 million sold), and Sugarland (Twice the Speed of Life/Mercury, 1.6 million sold).

Are you a future Best New Artist? Let the Jerry Lembo Entertainment Group help you achieve your goal of a rewarding career in music.