Students in MUSB 425: Music Marketing and Promotion check out the stage at the Cave, a Buffalo, NY, music venue.
“We learned how to work with professional bands and artists, how to work with a real venue.”
That’s how Hailey LaMacchia, a senior from Long Island, NY, describes the key takeaway for Music Industry students who put together “HAIL! Fredonia Records Presents the Cave Show” at an intimate live-music venue, known simply as the Cave, in Buffalo, NY, on Dec. 7.
The performers that students in MUSB 425: Music Marketing and Promotion brought together for the show at the Cave were: Modyst Vibes, a rapper from Rochester, NY; Spiria, an indie-pop sibling duo from Buffalo, and Hitgrl, an indie rock band of five SUNY Fredonia students that’s already performed twice on campus this semester.
It was great; a real-life experience, how events work in the industry, how to put on a successful one. We learned so much!” - Hailey LaMacchia
Students in the class conducted extensive research of 12 Western New York artists before reaching a consensus on which performers to invite for the show. The students who researched the three performers that were selected then became that performer’s A&R [artist and repertoire] representatives, Ms. LaMacchia explained.
Serving as A&R representatives for their respective performers were:
• Diavonte Allen, a senior majoring in Music Industry and Communication: Audio Production, with minors in Music and Film Studies, from Rochester, NY, for Modyst Vibes;
• Michael Perry Jr., a senior majoring in Music Industry with a minor in Business Administration, from Central Square, NY, for Hitgrl;
• Jazmine Torres, a senior Music Industry major, from Bay Shore, NY, for Spiria.
“These students would work one-on-one with the artists and help them promote themselves along with the show. They would also update the artists with things that we discussed in class,” LaMacchia said.
Students in the class handled all show publicity, creating and putting up posters in Fredonia, NY, and Buffalo, and making TikTok videos and Instagram posts. Event information and promotional flyers were also delivered to the artists and their representatives as well as the venue to reach wider audiences.
“Students learned how to put on a show, to promote it, and make sure we actually get people to attend,” LaMacchia explained. “It was great; a real-life experience, how events work in the industry, how to put on a successful one,” she added. “We learned so much!”
LaMacchia, who’s majoring in Music Industry and has a minor in Business Administration, aspires to work as an events coordinator, the position she held for the Cave show. She is also vice president of the Music Industry Club, treasurer of the a cappella group Some Like it Hot and Fredonia’s Lyrical Visions and PR chair of Sound Services.
The experience taught her how to handle issues when they arise. “Of course, there were a few hiccups, but we worked through them, didn’t stop the show from going on,” she said.
And thanks to the connection Applied Professional Studies Senior Lecturer Armand Petri, who teaches the course, has with the Cave owner, a Saturday after Thanksgiving going forward has been reserved for a show put together by students in HAIL! Fredonia Records.
