L.A. Conference Gives Students Chance to Meet With Music Industry Professionals

Six students in SUNY Plattsburgh’s music arts management program had the chance this January rub elbows with some of the biggest names in the music industry, from social media influencers to production professionals, at the National Association of Music Merchants conference in Los Angeles.

Funding for the trip came in the form of NAMM’s Lamond GenNext Award, a highly competitive scholarship that included a cash stipend and free admission to all NAMM had to offer.

Dr. Karen Becker, professor and chair of music, accompanied the six to the West Coast.

“The National Association of Music Merchants usually funds the ‘big schools’ — USC, UCLA, Berklee. When I proposed this trip, I told my students that if they got funding from the foundation, I would work to make it happen for them,” Becker said. “I was a faculty ‘fellow’ through the NAMM Foundation in 2024, so I guess this speaks to what they think of me and what I’m trying to build here.”

Becker’s music arts management brainchild came on line in 2019 as an interdisciplinary degree, bringing in elements of business, public relations, audio and video production, and music. Students gain a broad perspective in all elements of music and arts management. Graduates have gone on to work in radio, business, music studio production and public relations in addition to going to grad school.

The six to attend the NAMM conference “will now be ‘on the list’ for other internship possibilities and opportunities,” Becker said. “The experience was life-changing.”

Her students would agree.

“This experience was definitely not something I expected when I first heard about SUNY Plattsburgh. This shows how unexpected life can really be,” said sophomore accounting and music arts management major Gio Choi of Staten Island. “When I first heard that I was going to the show, it really showed me how important it is to be dependable, hard working, and diligent. Without having these qualities, I would've never been offered or ready for this sort of opportunity.”

‘Incredible Experience’

“(NAMM) was an incredible experience,” said Sebastian Kuhn, junior double major in music arts management and music from Rochester, N.Y. “I learned so much and gained valuable insight that will help me break into the music industry.”

Kuhn said he chose SUNY Plattsburgh because it offered him a mixture of the three areas he was interested in: Business, music and marketing, the third of which he chose as a minor.

“I enjoy how SUNY Plattsburgh made me more interested in marketing, PR and music administration and production that it truly made me work harder and be more driven to accomplish what I want to. I think NAMM helped solidify that my choice majoring in music arts management was best for me,” he said.

Isabella Lambert, a junior MAM major from Utica, N.Y., who is minoring in music performance, said her NAMM experience “was extremely needed for my future career.”

Felt ‘Worthy’

“It gave me a lot of insight on what the music industry looks like and gave me a hands-on experience to go off of for future networking opportunities,” Lambert said. “I’ve been releasing music, and I plan to keep writing, releasing and producing for my career after college. Being a Lamond GenNext Award recipient made me feel more worthy of being there and raised my confidence levels as a music major entirely.”

International student Ngozi Permaul, a junior music major from Trinidad and Tobago, found the conference “an exciting and creatively invigorating experience.”

“I was able to experiment with high-end gear and engage with industry professionals in all sectors of entertainment — social media, performance, marketing, business. The convention offered many opportunities for interacting with other students who were afforded the Lamond GenNext Award and enabled communication with people from around the world who were as passionate as I was about performance and producing,” he said.

Came for Music Arts Management Program

Alex Rudnick, a MAM major in his third year at SUNY Plattsburgh, has his hands full with a minor in audio production as well as a certificate program in theatrical production and technology. The Buffalo, N.Y., native said he came to the university for music arts management program, which is unique in SUNY.

‘Unlike some of the other music students, I had never heard of NAMM until meeting some of the music faculty who had been (there),” he said. “When Dr. Becker reached out to some of us last fall, I was very excited; my main goal at NAMM was to network. Today’s music industry can be very uncertain, and much of the gig work involved is based on knowing the right person, so any chance to network with music industry professionals is a valuable opportunity.”

On the last night of the event, the students, who also included Luke Gerhardt, attended a concert by Grammy- and Oscar-winning singer, songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist Jon Batiste, who was also known as being Stephen Colbert’s band director.

Gave them Confidence

“(The concert was) at the big Yamaha amphitheater outside,” Becker said. “We were all sitting outside on this grassy slope, and at some point I realized that they were all talking to strangers — they had reached out to whomever was sitting next to them and were chatting away. These students had, in four days, become completely comfortable to start a conversation with a total stranger with confidence and forethought.”

Choi didn’t limit his outreach to Jon Batiste concertgoers.

“My favorite thing about the conference were the people I briefly spoke to through interviews. I took it upon myself to speak to like-minded people, and everybody had such interesting ideas,” he said. “It was very fun to meet people from around the world, who all played their own role in the music industry. There were jobs I didn't think that even existed within the industry.”

Rudnick connected with a student from Northeastern University in Boston, who was not only a student there but also an artist manager for a band at the university.

“As the de facto manager of my own band, Oblivia, I’ve been able to learn a great deal from them and use their tips and tricks in managing,” he said. “I was very grateful to attend my first NAMM conference and bring what I learned and the connections I made back to the school where I hope to help teach other students and generally support the music and audio programs here at SUNY Plattsburgh.”

‘Eye Opening’ Experience

“This experience was really eye opening,” Choi said. “I grew up in New York City, so I thought had a good understanding of how big the world is. However, going to this event opened my eyes to the amount of people in the music industry alone. It's scary, honestly, but I took it as a lesson to find individuality within an industry full of talented people.”

Kuhn said how impressed he was to discover “that you can do everything in the industry; you don’t have to just do one thing.

“In fact, you can do it all,” Kuhn said. “This really made me realize I chose the right field to get into because not only did I want to do something with marketing and advertising and PR, I also wanted to get better being a musician, and that’s one thing I will continue to do. My favorite part of NAMM was meeting brilliant young professionals like me, listening to amazing music, networking, looking at all the pianos (and) just the friendliness and warm atmosphere.”

Professional Information Available

Permaul said he was able to take advantage of professional information that will help his branding and marketing skills.

“One of the most informative seminars spoke about the do’s and don’ts for musician marketing in 2025; this involved leveraging social media, using AI for data analysis, establishing partnerships, creating interactive content and using email marketing.

“All of this insider information assured me that I can achieve success in the music industry with persistence, conscious use of technology and collaboration,” he said. “I definitely walked away from the conference more hopeful that someday I will become a full-time musician and music producer.”

Lambert “left the conference so inspired to write and get better because of how amazing the bands were,” she said.

“I learned so much about networking, marketing yourself and overall new techniques to use throughout my production and music.”

— Story by Associate Director of Communications Gerianne Downs

— Photos Provided