Category: Other Successful Berklee Alumni

Ben Maitland-Lewis

Listen to the interview (Approx. 1 hr, 21 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2006 with a degree in Music Business.  Principal Instrument:  Drums.

 

Position:  Co-Founder & CEO of Pretty Instant Photography, a one-stop shop where, with very minimal effort on the customer’s part, a  well-vetted professional photographer will come to an event and photos delivered the next day.  Sometimes–somewhat inaccurately–called “Uber for photographers,” the company handles all the logistics and payments, while the photographers and editors are independent contractors.”  Ben focuses on the “business” end of things–sales and marketing, but also managing employees, budgets, and raising investment money.

 

Overview:  Ben had a decent career drumming and touring for a couple of years before arriving at Berklee.  During his first year at Berklee, he reached out to CEOs and other senior people at various labels, hoping to secure a job.  One woman called him to say, “Thanks but no thanks,” and they hit it off, which led to an interview (when he’d “just happen” to be in LA next week) and a summer internship working for the president!  Immediately afterward he was hired by Sony BMG’s New York office to be their College Marketing Rep (500/week + perks), working his way up to New England Marketing Director, then (after graduation) East Coast Marketing Director after graduation!  He also did some side work, including his own (music) artist management company.

In 2008 the music industry was scaling back, and he was offered either a promotion (requiring a move to NYC) or a severance package. He opted for the latter in order to focus on his own business.  His music business transformed itself several times as he’d pursue new opportunities, becoming more of a video/media company, but years of hard work later it was still a struggle and not doing great.  Then one day they had to arrange photography for an event after the planned photography fell through, and it was so successful that they smelled opportunity.  Pretty Instant Photography came into being in early 2015.  In 2016 they did over a million dollars of business, and are expecting that to more-than-double in 2017.

 

You can see Ben’s LinkedIn Profile here.  Ben encourages folks interesting in his business, or entrepreneurship in general, to reach out to him.

 

Choice Quotes:  “You look at any other photography-hiring marketplace.  Every other platform makes the user search through portfolios, vet the person, deal with the legal stuff, figure out the price.  With us, the client just says time location, a bit about the event.  Done!  The photographer just does the shoot and uploads it immediately afterward–we handle the editing.”

“I’ve dedicated my life to helping artists build sustainable careers which they’re passionate about.  I’m doing the same thing for photographers and in my mind they’re the same people as musicians, just working with a different instrument.”

“Music education as a whole really gives you a solid foundation on how to improvise.  You’ll be constantly faced with situations where you need to think on your feet.”

“I didn’t raise a boatload of money at the start. We waited a bit to figure out the right strategy, find that, and then raised money.  A lot of entrepreneurs get all excited by all the people who have raised money and want to raise money, but companies can do that and close if they don’t know what they’re doing and have too many non-revenue-generating employees.”

“You have to love what you do if you’re starting a company.  It’s a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and personal sacrifice. I work at least 100 hours per week.”

“Follow your gut regarding what you want, but it’s OK to work outside music if you find you like something else….  At the end of the day, if you focus on something that’s fulfilling and adds value to people you’ll be happy.”

 

 

 

See the full index of Successful Berklee Grads.

Glenn Romero

Listen to the interview (approx. 1 hr, 20 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2006 with a major in Music Business.  Principal Instrument:  Voice.

 

Position:  Freelance Video Marketing Entrepreneur.  In early 2016 Glenn launched his company, Snowcap Video Productions.  Glenn works with companies on crafting one or more good (live action) videos to market themselves.  The full process often takes weeks, as they plan out every detail of the shoot.  He then shoots the videos (with hired help if needed), and handles the post-production.  Snowcap has done other sorts of work as well, from assisting for others to wedding and even a time-lapse video of a bridge being constructed!

 

Overview:  Shortly after graduating Berklee, Glenn wanted to make more money.  His now-wife, who worked in radio, referred him to a job selling advertising for a radio station.  “It was a rude awakening:  I was cold-calling companies.  It had nothing to do with music or audio, and it was brutal.”  Working for a year with minimal success and sensing that he’d be let go soon, he confided in a friend, who recommended him for a job selling motorcycles at Boston Harley Davidson.  Glenn was happy to work in a sales job with “warmer leads,” — people entering the place intending to make a purchase.  He worked there for almost 4 years, promoted halfway through to financial manager, helping customers finance their purchases.  But by 2011 the weak economy put sales at a record low, and he looked for better opportunities.

A friend at a company that sold river cruises gave him a referral, and he worked there selling cruises, with “even warmer leads–people calling us intending to go on vacation, and I’d help them figure out what was the best thing for them.”  He again was promoted–to selling group tours–but after a few years it was clear that the industry wasn’t doing well and he was making less money each year.  Moreover, his wife was pregnant, and child care was going to be over $40,000/year!  It made sense for him to work mostly from home, where he could watch his child when possible.  For over half a year, Glenn spoke with large numbers of CEOs and marketing officers about what was and was not a good marketing video, so that when he made the leap to being independent he had great knowledge as well as a large network.

 

You can see Glenn’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice Quotes:  “I’ve always had an artistic mind; seeing a project go from beginning to end is really satisfying.  Delivering a video that a client is in love with feeds my soul, and is the same feeling as having just played for a crowd of thousands of cheering people.”

“I prefer not to post my prices online.  Business is 90% relationship-driven.  People want to do business with people they like.  If I can talk to someone, show interest, understand what they’re looking for and explain how we can bring it to life we can make something good happen.  I don’t want them just to look at price.  Especially since I can take their budget into account in terms of how lavish a production we do.”

“Push yourself to do things you feel uncomfortable with doing.  If you’re complacent and comfortable you’ll never grow. ”

 

Read More

Eric Hutchinson

Listen to the interview (approx.. 55 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated on 2006 with a major in Professional Music.  Principal Instrument:  drums.

 

Position:  Regional Executive Director of the Greater Hartford YMCA, which has over 1000 employees, 13 facilities, and an annual budget of over $30,000,000.  Eric’s responsibilities are split between fundraising, being part of the community, budget management, marketing programs, and supporting day-to-day operations of the regional YMCA.

Overview:  After graduation, Eric moved back to Connecticut.  For the first couple of years after Berklee, Eric (barely) made a living playing lots of gigs, teaching drums part-time at a high school, and teaching music to pre-schoolers.  Hoping to make more money, Eric applied to join the U.S. Navy band, and was tentatively accepted, but ultimately that job fell through after a year of living in Virginia and subbing in with it.  In late 2009 he moved back to Connecticut resumed what he was doing, and looked for a day job.  A local YMCA (New Britain-Berlin YMCA)was looking to hire their first “Arts and Humanities director.”  Eric found the job listing on Craigslist, applied, and got it in early 2010.

Eric quickly realized that he needed to raise money to make these new programs he was starting happen, so he completed an online program in non-profit fundraising.  His fundraising efforts were so successful that he was promoted to grants administrator, then overseeing all financial development (The #2 position) on top of the artistic job.  However, this was a local YMCA, and Eric realized that in order to progress in his career he’d have to be part of a larger organization, so in early 2015 he applied for an got a job with the Hartford YMCA as Director of Membership, Sales, and Service.  Working in an extremely poor community was gratifying, but extremely tough.  A year later Eric was ready to move on.  He applied for and got his current job in early 2016.

 

You can see Eric’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice Quotes:

“I wake up every day excited to get to work!  I get to see firsthand how being kind and giving our talents, time, and treasures really impacts everyday people  People coming into our programs are happy and excited to be there.  We don’t turn anybody away because of financial need, because we think everyone deserves that experience.  As an individual person that’s something I couldn’t provide, but as part of this organization I can do exactly that!”

“We just build a brand new facility in Glastonbury.  My focus was to make not a typical YMCA but the strongest arts YMCA in the state.  There’s still a gym, but our large space is a 100-seat music theater.”

“Berklee taught me that nothing is just handed to us.  To be succesful in music, you have to network, go out there and aggressively market yourself.  That’s really what I do every day.  I make sure there’s nobody who doesn’t know who I am and what the YMCA does so that people think of the Y when they plan to make something happen.”

“If there’s something you’re passionate about, give it your whole self and do whatever it takes to make it happen.  You’re not always going to be doing exactly what you want to do but as long as you can see a good path, take it and do everything you can to get to that next level.”

 

 

 

See the full index of Successful Berklee Grads.

Will Cady

Listen to the interview (approx. 51 minutes) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2009 with a degree in Professional Music.  Principal instrument:  bass guitar.

UPDATE October, 2018:  Will was recently promoted to Head of Brand Strategy!

UPDATE February, 2019:  A newer interview of Will (done by someone else) has been featured by Berklee.

Position: Account Executive (Sales) at Reddit.  Will works in their small L.A. office, seeking business for Reddit among the entertainment industry.   “It’s advertising, but it’s also about partnerships with show runners/directors about  collaboratively develop intellectual property by using Reddit to find good people and promote events.”

Overview:  Shortly after graduation, when it was clear that his band wasn’t going to make it big, Will looked on BerkleeMusic’s job board for a position.  He applied and found at job as “product line manager” at Source Audio which makes effects pedals.  He helped with product development, marketing, and demonstrating the products, but after a couple of years he felt that opportunity was limited in this niche market.  Friends convinced him to move to LA and recommended him for a job at Spin Media, where for several more years he worked for Spin Media, receiving multiple promotions from Account Coordinator (filling in spreadsheets) to  Acct Manager (designing spreadsheets) –> Integrated Marketing Manager (getting brands to participate in their space/events) –> Acct executive (sales), but the company was doing poorly “I felt like a farmer in a drought,” and he left, planning to start his own creative business.

Before the business got underway, however, a former colleague from Spin recomended him for the job at Reddit.  Will put his own plans to the side and took the job, “I was able to take all the thinking I was going to apply for my startup and apply it to this already-huge business.”

 

You can see Will’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice Quotes:  “The bulk of the work comes in establishing a relationship, which can take up to six months.  Once that relationship is in place, you work on both the deals already closed and opening up new opportunities.  It’s both inbound and outbound, and the whole machine is just humming and rolling.”

I’m very much in a flow state where my creativity is being challenged.  It’s thrilling every day to come up with the best, most articulate, creative, presentable version of myself.  I didn’t anticipate doing this at all, but it feels like a flowering of the work I did at Berklee training myself as a musician.”

“Music is just a fundamental version of pattern recognition and manipulation, and that applies to all other ideas and identities.  Few folks have training in creating new ideas and that training has made a world of difference in my career…I went from being a musician to being a creative–not just thinking about what stages  I want to be on, I’m building those stages!”

“I have about a dozen work-streams in any given moment.  How often am I working?  I’m always on!  Even when I’m socializing it’s in a grey area between play and work.”

“The most successful folks I’ve seen are the ones who care the most about cultivating good relationships with the people around them.  Friendship is a combination of passion and purpose, and when you have both folks will want to be around you and you’ll be successful.”

Read More

Jonathan Schwarz

Listen to the interview (approx. 33 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2011 with a major in Contemporary Writing & Production (CWP).  Principal instrument:  trombone.

 

Position:  Front End Web Developer at Priceline.com, an online retailer of discount travel and travel-related packages (airfare, hotels, etc.).  Jonathan is on a team of developers, working with the Agile-based system of two week “sprints” to build and refine their websites.

 

Overview:   During his last year, Jonathan figured a cool profession would be build a company that would enable distance-learning of music lessons.  To get the technical skills necessary, Jonathan went immediately from Berklee to getting a Masters in Music Technology from NYU.  Graduating in 2013, Jonathan worked full time at his dream startup, Jukubox, which he and some Berklee friends co-founded, living at home and making very little money in the hope it would grow rapidly.  Six months later, the hoped-for growth wasn’t happening, but his alma mater (NYU’s music school), knowing he had a good camera and experience with videos, hired him as a video person.  He did that while doing freelance film composition and DJ jobs on the side, making OK money and working extremely-long hours–essentially two full-time jobs!

After a year, Jonathan started to grow weary of that lifestyle.  He learned about coding “boot camps” where in only three months you could get the skills to get a well-paying job.  He went to one offered by Fullstack Academy,   Finishing in mid-2016 and looking for a job, Jonathan reached out to a Fullstack Academy grad who was working at Priceline.com.  That person was impressed, and put in the good word, which ultimately led to Jonathan getting his current job six weeks later.

 

You can see Jonathan’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice Quotes:  “I’ve always enjoyed being in creative projects, and puzzles.  Coding is like a puzzle that has a really creative solution.  I like building cool things and working with great epople who are supportive and help me learn more and be a better developer every day.”

You need to figure out creative strategies for getting your foot in the door wherever you want to be.  Be persistent.  Reach out to people–use your connections and make new connections.

Prior to Berklee I’d been kind of shy and was just passively following the academic path and getting good grades, but not thinking about more than that. Berklee gave me a strong entrepreneurial spirit, encouraging me to go out and get what I wanted.”

“I got to have these really cool experiences in music that I got to cherish and relive and tell my grandkids about one day. I love the shows I played, the parties I DJ’d, the film music I composed. I also love what I do now, but I’m glad I got to pursue my music passion for a while.  No regrets.”

 

 

See the full index of Successful Berklee Grads.

Tom Boates

 

Listen to the interview (approx 1 hr, 17 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2006 with a degree in Music Business.  Principal instrument:  trombone.

 

Position:  Product Design Consultant.  Thomas works independently designing “anything involving a screen” from websites, to apps to displays on sports equipment.  This includes limited coding, as well as working with others, and his own customer-research app Brilliant.

Overview:  While at Berklee, a person from Nimbit spoke at one of of Tom’s classes.  Tom enquired about opportunities, which led to a part-time graphic design internship after graduation, which in turn led to a full-time job offer.  A bit over a year later there were layoffs and Tom resigned, hoping to start his own company, but didn’t feel ready, so took an offer from a former boss to had moved on to another  company, first as a contractor, then a salaried employee, but the company closed when the economy tanked in late 2008.  1-2 months later, Tom was contacted by the CEO of Runkeeper, then a small start-up, as the CEO had heard good things about Tom’s work from several different people in a week.

Tom was with Runkeeper for almost six years, The Runkeeper job started part-time, and Tom worked elsewhere too, but as the company grew the job became full time as lead designer, then later as manager of the design department.   Eventually he felt as though he wasn’t doing what he wanted to do, so he resigned, and days later a contact offered him a contract position.  Tom figured he’d hate working as a independent consultant/contractor and that it was just a temporary way to make money, but discovered that he loved it, and has been happily and prosperously doing this for the past two years-and-counting.

 

You can see Tom’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice Quotes:  “Product design is a science, not an art.  It’s not a personal extension of your inner vision:  if the person you are working for doesn’t like it, you create something else.”

“Contracting isn’t for everybody.  You’re basically just there to do the work, and it’s always the other person’s call.  It’s hard to emotionally invest when you don’t have a say.  And of course the work comes in waves, there’s the occasional dry month (Plan on only spending half your income!), and nobody pays you to go on vacation. But if you’re OK with that then the money is great.”

I never really had to apply for a job.  The lesson for me was do good work, work your butt off, show integrity, be a good person, and the rest will follow.”

 

Read More

Debra Gail White

 

Listen to the interview (approx. 54 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2007 with a major in Music Business.  Principal instrument:  piano.

 

Position:  Technical Principal Consultant.  Self-employed, Debra works as the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) at high-tech start-ups.  Helping them build their team, clarify their product, and raise investment money.  She’s paid in a combination of money and equity (but more money than regular employees at start ups).

Overview:  Graduating Berklee already with some music industry experience under her belt (She’d spent a year working before finishing her last classes), and possessing both technical skills and business ambitions, Debra spent a couple of years working at advertising agencies, handling the music end of their websites and projects.  Getting more and more into tech, by late 2008 she was moving away from music into tech, being the “new media girl” at place that made online videos, then working as a technical contractor.  By 2010 she had moved to New York, then her positive experiences at Burning Man made her move to San Francisco “to where the people who put on that great party are.”

Quickly she found tech jobs.  When her job with Viggle, managing their back-end system, and worked there until it relocated to New York in 2013..  Tired of corporate culture and wanting more freedom, Debra elected to be an independent consultant in 2013, which she has been enjoying since.

 

You can see Debra’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice Quotes:  “I like the control of being a consultant and have transparency and say/do what I want and that being of value to the company. No politics or bureaucracy–if you don’t like my work you can get rid of me the next day  no problem.  So we focus on getting things done efficiently and it lets me be more myself.”

“As an independent consultant, I do get equity, but I get paid a lot more than a regular employee.”  “I learned that at Berklee:  money now or money later?  Money now!”

It’s a lot of work and nothing is harder than finals week!  “You can’t cram for a recital.”  Berklee was excellent training for self-discipline.

 

See the full index of Successful Berklee Grads.

 

Read More

Jordan Cusner

Listen to the Interview (approx. 1 hr, 19 min) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2006 with a degree in Music Business.  Principal instrument:  guitar.

Position:  Market Research Coordinator at McCormick, a large company that sells spices and flavorings.  Jordan makes sure the right market research (surveys, focus groups, observations) is done to support products in development, coordinating with different departments, and writing reports.

Overview:  Hoping to be an entertainment lawyer, Jordan went straight from Berklee to Suffolk University.  However, he quickly decided that entertainment law was neither interesting nor well-paying, and elected to get an MBA at the same time as his JD, finishing in 3 years.  “I took law classes during the days and business classes during the evenings.”  Rewriting a poorly-written contract for a company his father-in-law was consulting for, Jordan impressed the right people and was given a well-paying 1-year contract job at a market research firm in the middle of the severe 2009 recession.

As that job wound down, another connection led Jordan to C-Space, a market research consulting firm in Boston.  It was lower pay, but excellent experience to obtain the in-house job he wanted.  Several years later he interviewed at Hasbro and was turned down…then re-contacted 6 months later and hired into a  market research job that was a better fit.  Jordan was happy at Hasbro, but family circumstances led to he and his wife moving to Maryland, where he got his job with McCormick.

 

You can see Jordan’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice quotes:  “Fundamentally my job is about bringing the consumer perspective to our business, and to ensure that the consumer drives the decisions we make.  Just as with if you’re writing commercial music to sell and make a lot of money, you can’t think about what you like, but what a lot of people like.  It’s not always about you.”

“Coming out of school, I thought about working as a lawyer or consultant for Gibson (guitars), but working there doesn’t mean I’m a musician.  A guitar is just another widget.  I’ll be fighting the same legal battles, and writing up the same sort of contracts that I’d be doing for Chevrolet or whatever.”

“When you look for work, it’s not always about what you can do right now, but what you want to do down the road.  Position yourself for that.  I took a pay cut to work at C-space to build up my credibility in the research industry and then parlay that into an in-house job.”

 

 

See the full index of Successful Berklee Grads.

 

Read More

Jessica Prouty

Listen to the interview (approx. 45 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2015 with a major in Music Business.  Principal Instrument:  voice.

 

Position:  Public Relations Specialist at GasBuddy, a tech company that makes an app which provides details on gas stations and convenience stores.   Jessica tracks mentions of her company in the media and writes reports to inform the higher-ups.  She pitches stories to the media, looks for opportunities for her company’s people to be interviewed, and writes press releases.  She also helps the integrated marketing team with creative ideas for the company blog and newsletter.

Overview:  After graduating in the spring, Jessica spent the next 7 months gigging and working on a film-related project with her band 95 Hyde.  She also did a marketing internship with George Howard Strategic, where she realized how many of the music business skills applied to other industries.  But by the end of 2015 the internship was long over and the music project was winding down and it was time to get a day job.  A friend of her mother knew someone at a staffing agency looking to fill a PR position (titled “communications assistant”) and put in the good word; Jessica applied for and got the job, spending the next 6 months working at Pioneer Investments.

That job, however, was temporary, as it normally was filled by work-study students from NorthEastern University, so by mid-2016 as its end was imminent Jessica applied to over 25 companies in the Boston area, including GasBuddy, looking to do PR or marketing.  Several challenging interviews later, she got the job.  Initially hired as a “Public Relations Coordinator,” Jessica was recently promoted to “Public Relations Specialist,” which involves more writing and creativity.

 

You can see Jessica’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice quotes:  “I love people–talking to people, getting to know people, performing for people was a big part of my life as a musician.  PR is all about that–getting to know people, spreading the word about the company, talking about it in a positive way.  Making new contacts, new friends.”

“GasBuddy had only two people doing PR–me and my boss.  I’m handling many projects at the same time.  Time management is key. Also to be able to work independently, but to ask for help if I need it.”

“When looking for a job, if you find someone doing something interesting, reach out to them and ask if they can do coffee and if you can get advice.   You might not get a reply 100% of the time, but a lot of people want to help.”

 

See the full index of Successful Berklee Grads.

 

Read More

Cambria Russell-Herrera

(formerly Russell)

 

Listen to the interview (approx. 1 hr, 14 min.) or download it.

 

Graduated in 2015 with a major in Music Business.  Principal Instrument:  harp.

 

Position: Studio Manager of Cherry Lion Studios in Atlanta Georgia, which produces sculpture, both commissioned work and mass-produced pieces for the hospitality industry.  Cambria manages the business/financial end of the studio, which has a lead sculptor, an assistant sculptor, and another worker.
Overview:  After graduating in the spring of 2015, Cambria moved to New York City for a promised job in the music industry…which fell through after she moved in to an expensive neighborhood!  Wanting to stay in the city and work in entertainment law, she quickly found a job with the New York Film Academy working on music licensing for films, but it paid considerably less and she didn’t like the specific work.  After four months, she elected to move to Altanta to be with her now-husband.  Aware that she needed a job ASAP, Cambria broadened her job search to opportunities outside music, and was hired as a part-time manager for Cherry Line Studios at modest pay.

It became clear that the job was far more work than estimated and Cambria’s hours went to effectively full-time, though her pay remained modest.  8 months later, thanks to Cambria’s help, the studio was on a much more solid fiscal footing, and her boss was extremely impressed and grateful for all she had done.  At that point, she and her boss had a conversation which resulted in Cambria becoming a full-time employee and her pay was greatly increased to reflect all she was doing.

 

You can see Cambria’s LinkedIn profile here.

 

Choice Quotes:  “One thing I love about the job is that every day is different–there’s a brand new problem I have to solve.”

“To be honest, I’m underqualified–My boss really needs someone with an MBA and ten years experience, but he can’t afford that.  Thus I was OK with the initial low pay rate because I was gaining incredible, relevant work experience.”

“I’m using a lot of the knowledge & skills I learned at school for my job.” Berklee Music Business Professor Andrea Johnson gave us a (music) studio management Excel template which I’m using now at work!  It helps me get a much better picture of what our profit is with each commission.  Also, I negotiate with my boss, with the clients. with independent contractors we hire, and others–and Berklee’s contract negotiation aspect of Music Business has helped me SO MUCH!  It gave me a real skill of understanding art & music as property”

“After dedicating 4 years to something specific like music it’s not easy to let go of the specificity, but doing something unrelated for work might prove to be fun and good for you.”

“The art world doesn’t have the business intermediaries down like music does, and it’s much less standardized in terms of value than the music industry.  My Berklee edcuation gives me a much better idea on assessing what things should be worth in a way that nobody else (in the art world) really knows and helps me make others understand that too.”

 

See the full index of Successful Berklee Grads.