Students Views On The Changing Music Industry By Ben LoPiccolo

It's no secret that the music business has been changing at a much more rapid pace than ever. Record sales have waned away from their all-time high in the early aughts, and companies and artists have expressed difficulty accommodating to new customs. However, while GRAMMY Campers understand the challenge of a constant shift, they've learned to be versatile enough to start off in the trying industry. I sat down with students from different tracks throughout the week to get their takes on how they were feeling. "Realistically, [the record business] is at a down point," Vocalist Austin Zudeck acknowledged. "I think we would all agree the live aspect in music is what's making the money. But I don't think any of us are really about the money, we're about the music." Zudeck's philosophy was shared with the other Vocalists in his track, who all stressed the importance of networking for a stable career, especially when instituting a name for themselves. Their positive attitudes have paid off during the week; each Camper has gotten involved in multiple projects in collaboration with others. Danny Wirick, also an incoming USC Thornton freshman, urged his peers to stay true to their values after they become established. "A lot of the industry right now is corrupted and they're trying to make you have a certain sound," he began. "As long as you have fans and you know that they love what you're doing, stick with that and in the end it will really pay off." Songwriter Elise Go, who I met with later, was mutual with Wirick's thought. She questioned the sincerity of some mainstream artists, and pointed out the importance of staying unique in order to succeed with fans not spending as much on records. Go's track mate, Victoria Pritchard, says that she plans to release her music on a major label, but will work to make sure the business does not hinder her creative voice in the writing process. To get a perspective from an instrumentalist, I asked Keyboardist Evan Rees his opinion on the industry. "I think it's exciting because it's changing," he started. Rees went on to elaborate on his "new school" views, citing social networking as an essential tool along with performing live -- his forte from a strong jazz background -- to get other musicians to know his name. Perhaps the most eye-opening experience on the subject came with the Camp-wide entrepreneurial panel. "We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't exist using technology that hasn't been invented," speculated GRAMMY Foundation Senior VP Kristen Madsen. The night offered thoughts from individuals both relatively new to the industry and experienced veterans, including Virgin Records co-founder and former EMI Marketing President Phil Quartararo who presented a very simple, yet provocative comment. "The record industry is heading towards the coffin," he admitted. "But the music business is about to be bigger than it's ever been."

GRAMMY Campers Get A Taste Of Journalism Life By Ryley Mueller

GRAMMY Camp® L.A. was excited to host a master panel consisting of multi-platinum producer Mike Elizondo, artist Greyson Chance, and singer/songwriter/producer Nick Jonas. The room was full of GRAMMYCamp staff, faculty and Campers awaiting the words of these guest professionals. Campers got a taste of the media with outlets covering the event such as Fox, Buzznet, Cambio, Us Weekly, and Rolling Stone.

The panel was open to the audience for questions, which many GRAMMY Camp students participated in. Campers asked Elizondo, Chance, and Jonas questions ranging from the start of their music careers to their biggest fear within the industry.

Chance was very well spoken and humorous, commenting on, among other things, his new album, Hold On 'Til The Night, being released on August 2nd on Interscope Records. He reflected on the start of his career, his goals for his future, and his unusual discovery on You Tube.

"I think you have a passion for something when you're young, especially in your teen years and I think it's always there. Whether you choose to take that path or you don't, I still think [the passion] is always there," Chance said.

During the panel, Jonas discussed his recent projects within the music industry, his band Nick Jonas & The Administration, starring on Broadway, and producing for other musicians.

"Now that I've started writing and producing for other people, my main focus is taking a concept, whatever that concept is and making it into a full song and basically having another writer or producer come in and attack it. I take the experiences I have writing for myself and put that into writing for other people," Jonas said.

Elizondo expressed his appreciation for GRAMMY Camp and talked about how he made his way into the music industry. He gave advice for students who want to pursue music, anyone interested in producing for artists, and how social media has influenced the business today.

"I think as far as the interaction with the fans, being able to shoot a message about what they're doing in the studio, it generates that excitement for the audience and makes them feel like it’s part of the process and hopefully generates excitement for the record," Elizondo said.

After the panel concluded, Music Journalism students got the opportunity to stay and interview the guests. With media lined up waiting to get their chance, GRAMMY Campers practiced their interviewing skills and get a taste of journalist life. For some Campers, this was their biggest experience dealing with pop culture, the media, and the people involved in the music industry. Students were left with an education from experienced professionals and an amazing experience.

Mike Elizondo: Inside the Mind of One of Music's Most Versatile Figures By Ben LoPiccolo

50 Cent, Fiona Apple and Avenged Sevenfold -- certainly not artists that would normally be grouped together, but for producer and songwriter Mike Elizondo, working with any of the three is always a possibility. He stopped by GRAMMY Camp® for today's guest professional panel to share some useful advice gathered throughout his career, telling stories and answering questions from Campers.

While plenty of guests had spoken during the week about their work with many different artists, Elizondo was the first who had worked with such an eclectic mix in the creative perspective.

"I have a pretty short attention span, so if I only did one style of music I would get bored," he explained. "You've got to be versatile enough to try different things."

Continuing throughout the panel, Elizondo mentioned that for each Camper, being flexible is the most important trait to have in order to excel in the industry. After speaking about the broad range of genres he had worked in, he described that his philosophy while working is to be someone that takes an artist to places they haven't been before, and to evolve along with them. For someone that started as a session bassist, production was not something that he expected to be skillful with, but after a lucky break with Dr. Dre and Bono he was able to explore his unknown talent. "Keep an open mind," Elizondo began. "There may be some other areas in music you may not even know exist, but that you may actually excel at."

Seeing Music Day And Night By Mia Lepp

After five days of waiting for the GRAMMY Camp firld trip, with students wondering such things as, "Does anyone know where we're going?" and "I wonder if we'll see anyone famous?" the day finally arrived. The exodus off the USC campus into L.A. began with the Campers being split into three different groups; one going to the GRAMMY Museum, one to the Village Recording studio, and one to the headquarters of IMAX.



As my group arrived to the GRAMMY Museum we were greeted by a huge vibrant and modern mural on the right wall that showed different popular places in L.A. We split up and started looking around on the fourth floor, where the first thing I saw were actual GRAMMY Awards. Further back on the fourth floor I saw the paper where the lyrics to some of the Beatles songs were originally written. Also on display were clothes worn by members of the Beatles and their guitars. Electronic Music Production's Mia Lalanne, who is a Beatles fan, said, "I'm a fan of the Beatles even more now that I see really what John Lennon behind and I think it is great to have a place like this to honor his work over the years."



Throughout the GRAMMY Museum there were areas where we could "play" the drums or the keyboard, remix original songs like Roy Orbison's "Beautiful Girls," or use "The Amazing Talking Machine," where you could talk into it and it would play back what you said.

The third floor, where they had outfits from stars like Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and Rihanna, was a favorite of many Campers. The Trombone track's Jonathan Huggins said, "My favorite part of the GRAMMY Museum has been seeing all of Michael Jackson's clothes." Vocal Performance's Maija Pinkins agreed. "My favorite part of the GRAMMY Museum has been seeing all the clothes." Before leaving the third floor we saw an area of the Museum dedicated to the Latin GRAMMY Awards, where they had a video playing from past years as well as one of Celia Cruz's outfits.



After the GRAMMY Museum we went to Club Nokia, where we got to the dressing rooms as well as go on the stage. There were already GRAMMY Campers who were singing and dancing on stage. Pinkins stated with excitement, "Club Nokia is so bomb and big and I hope one day I will make a show here and sell it out." She was not the only Camper who expressed these hopes.




During this time another group of Campers were at the Santa Monica, California headquarters of IMAX, where they saw trailers for movies about Michael Jackson's life and the Rolling Stones and also a six-minute clip put together from the Dark Knight movie. Songwriter student Vikki Pritchard mentioned, "It was so cool and my favorite was the one about Michael Jackson."




Another group of Campers went to the Village Recording studio, where they walked around and saw all records on the wall from the likes of Lady Gaga, Steely Dan, Bob Dylan, and more.




The three groups reunited at the Recording Academy and then went to the Grove shopping center together for dinner and free time. We got the chance to compare notes and through this field trip we discovered different parts of the music careers, like how legacies live on as well, as what to do to start your music career, and then end the day by seeing just how beautiful L.A. is at night time.

Social Networking At GRAMMY Camp® By Alexandrea Kern

Social media has played a huge role in the music industry with social networks such as Facebook and Twitter having helped with the discovery and promotion of many unsigned artists and "gem" bands, as well as the advertisement of current signed artists.

During the Tuesday night panel, "Above The Noise," Campers got a first-hand lesson in the importance of social media and networking. The guest panelists included You Tube sensation VanJess, videographer Levi Maestro, Tatiana Simonian, Community Manager for the Disney Music Group, the Recording Academy's own Jaime Sarachit, and many more. All the panelists were living examples of how social media helped them make it to where they are today. For example, VanJess used You Tube to show their singing and songwriting skills, which have made them an internet sensation and closer to their dreams of a record label.

Campers were broken up into nine groups to work with the panelists on how to improve the media outlets musicians use. The group of campers that worked with Levi Maestro thought of ways to improve the outdated Myspace. The recent investment of $35 Million dollars into Myspace by a group including Justin Timberlake has sparked an interest in the forgotten about website. The group discussed ideas such as "improving the functionality" as well as having "free downloads" for users.

Other groups were given a prompt about a situation that could happen in the social media world and how it could be solved. One group discussed Steve Jobs shutting down iTunes because he was "tired of making money" (which is highly unlikely) and how they could create a new music downloader. They came up with the idea iTunes Indie. A music downloader where artists could put there music on for free even if you're unsigned. "We would promote on social platforms like Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Myspace, and blogs" said one of the group speakers, Tanner Grandstaff, of the Electronic Music Production track. "We would make partnerships with Pandora too." Though some of the events are a little unreal, it was a good exercise for the Campers to think of ways to help the music industry and maybe even their own career.

The Vocalists Sing Out By Alexandrea Kern And Ben LoPiccolo

With all of the resources and social networking available for young musicians, it's becoming increasingly easier for talent to get listeners to know their name. But what separates somebody from a pack that's now larger than ever? Five members of GRAMMY® Camp 2011's Vocalist track came to spend some time with myself and my journalist peer Alexandria Kern, delivering feedback on their experience so far along with their thoughts on breaking into the business. Alexandrea Kern: How have you guys grown as a group together? Danny Wirick: We've connected and have been really close… Austin Zudeck: Because we're all very like-minded people we all are striving for the same goals: getting signed, making records… Kashish Shamsi: But we all have our own uniqueness in our voices, and we all kind of feed off of each other. AK: Do you guys write your own music or collaborate with any of the combos here? AZ: I'm sure a majority of us write music. DW: I actually started writing music after GRAMMY Camp® last year. I've done a few collaborations, and this year I want to collaborate with some singer/songwriters and also some combos. AK: What inspired all of you to be vocalists? Brandon Martinez: It's always been the number one thing in my life, something that I've been good at. So it's what I picked. KS: One day I watched Michael Jackson perform, and I said, "That's it. That's what I want to do." I want to make people smile and be happy. DW: For me, music is something I've always been able to relate with, and feeling the connection between the audience and myself is spectacular. AZ: After my first concert, I looked up at the crowd and thought: "The way they made those people smile is the way I want to make people smile." So, I felt like, if I can change one person's day and do it with something that I love, then why not? Maija Pinkins: Singing has gotten me through a lot in my life. My mom's a singer, so after watching all of the stuff that she's done and been in, she's just inspired me to do a lot, and gotten me through it all. Ben LoPiccolo: Do you guys all plan to make being a singer your career? Unanimous: Absolutely. AZ: 195 percent yes! BL: How do you feel about the record industry at the moment? Do you think you'll have difficulty selling records? AZ: Realistically, it's at a down point. Records are at an all-time low; it's digital media that's taken over. So right now, I think we would all agree the live aspect in music is what's making the money. But I don't think any of us are really about the money, we're about the music. BL: Do you have any special plans to get your name out there? Maybe something besides traditional media? Unanimous: Networking! KS: In college, I really want to get a education and network throughout. AZ: (singing) Education is important!!! DW: Next year, I'm fortunate enough to be studying music at Thornton (at USC). There are so many opportunities that come with living in L.A.; meeting people, networking, and sharing your music around with others. AK: What's your favorite part about being in this track? AZ: Mine is the connection with the audience, because we're the vocalists. We get to have an experience with the audience. My favorite part is being able to go up and sing with people, and have them respond back to me physically. DW: My favorite part with being in the front is that I have very distinct musical ideas in my head that I want conveyed through a band. It's easy for me as a vocalist to direct the band and get the sound that I'm looking for. MP: When I got here, I met my vocalists, my crew! We just got along so quickly, it's like we just had a vibe and we all clicked. Also, I just love USC and I love GRAMMY Camp because everyone here is so bomb and no one is rude or disrespectful. AZ: And you can feel it's a wonderful world. KS: I like the Vocal track because we all jive together. I love performing in front of people; I love having the spotlight shining in my eyes, even if I can't see the audience. I love going crazy; I love waving my hands in the air, and I just love performing. BL: What's the most important thing to remember as a performer? AZ: Engage the audience. Make sure the audience is happy. KS: Love what you're doing. If you don't love what you're doing, get out! DW: Stay true to what your values are and what your music is. A lot of the industry right now is corrupted and they're trying to make you have a certain sound. As long as you have fans and you know that they love what you're doing, stick with that and in the end it will really pay off. KS: It's all about loving what you do, and having people watch, and that's basically it! AZ: Rock on, people!!

Bria Kelly Is A One-Woman Band By Alexandrea Kern

When you first look at 15-year-old Bria Kelly, you see a petite blue-eyed girl. But after hearing this Virginia native sing, you would've considered the quote "Don't judge a book by it's cover" to be relevant. Bria, came to GRAMMY Camp® on the Songwriter track, writing what she calls, "Country love songs."

Though she is classically trained, soul is her strong point and she enjoys singing country. "In third grade at a chorus concert, my chorus teacher forced me to sing a song," she says after being asked about when her singing career began. "I didn't really want to, but I ended up doing it and from then on I was like, 'Oh I can sing!" Throughout the course of the week, Bria has surprised everyone with her multi-talents. From guitar and bass to drums and keys, she's a one woman band. "I learned guitar four years ago, drums about a year ago, I recently picked bass up about maybe six months ago, and I got a ukulele last month."

Check out Bria's versatile skills in the video below.