Paul McKay
  • Business of Music
  • Class of 2018
  • Buffalo, NY

SUNY Potsdam Student Paul McKay Interns with Music Industry at 2018 NAMM Show

2018 Feb 2

Twenty-three SUNY Potsdam music business students traveled to the 2018 National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Show in Anaheim, Calif., from Jan. 25 to Jan. 28. Joined by faculty from The Crane School of Music, the students worked directly with leading music industry firms, through a unique internship program organized by the Crane Institute for Music Business and Entrepreneurship -- the only ongoing program of its kind in the country.

The students included Paul McKay from Buffalo, NY, whose major is Business of Music, who interned with Alfred Music.

The NAMM Show is the world's leading trade event for the music products industry. The 2018 NAMM Show gathered 115,000 members of the music product industry from 120 countires around the world, to preview new products from 7,000 brands representing 2,000 companies across every category.

The new executive director of the Crane Institute for Music Business and Entrepreneurship, Assistant Professor Marc Ernesti, said: "The NAMM internships are a tremendous opportunity for our students and, at the same time, a testimony to their professionalism. They are a credit to the reputation the program has earned with the music business industry, under Professor Emerita Carol 'Kickie' Britt's distinguished leadership, and remind and challenge us daily that our training and education are relevant, of the highest quality, and deliver real value to students seeking a career in music."

Once at the show, the students had the opportunity to intern and network with established industry professionals in the areas of music and music products, pro audio and event technologies and services, while they participated in the NAMM Foundation's GenNext initiative. The GenNext initiative is a professional development program to help jump-start college students' careers.

To cap off the experience, students who attended for the first time were awarded the NAMM President's Innovation Award from the NAMM Foundation at the show. The cash grants are awarded to exemplary undergraduate and graduate students who have expressed commitment and aptitude for business leadership and innovation in the music products industry.

To learn more about NAMM, visit http://www.namm.org.

For more information about SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, please visit http://www.potsdam.edu/crane.