Ever considered a career in the music industry?
You’re reading this right now, so there’s a strong chance you have. Perhaps you already work within music… DJ, producer, promoter, independent label owner: That line between hobby and career is finer than you think. Sometimes all it takes is a little guidance, theory and practical know-how from those who’ve experienced the industry first hand. And they don’t come more experienced than the team at Community Music (CM), the UK’s longest running community music organisation.
Previous students at the London-based school have gone on to produce number one hits, establish hugely influential record labels, perform to crowds of thousands, manage and develop huge artists, work on high profile radio shows… There’s no limit to what you can build on the firm grounding provided by their Creative Music Production & Business foundation degree. To prove it, we’ve got 13 places on a day’s studio session up for grabs!
Meet the students
This blog post could go on and on; many influential faces have passed through the college doors in their 25 years of business. We’ve picked three past students who’ve all gone on to do great things in different areas of the industry.
Tom Petais
Or SKisM as he’s more popularly known; one of the most exciting, energetic dubstep DJs on the scene. But there’s plenty more to Tom than a sizzled sub-singed set. He’s also the man behind Never Say Die Records, a label with a clear vision and a recent big up from Skrillex at the Grammys. And before that he formed CTRL-Z, an uncompromising breakbeat duo who formed on the first week of their course at CM!
“They gave me a great platform. I met Inch there, we partnered up on our first assignment and that became our first single,” he explains. “You get the full spectrum; theory, technical and performance. There was a great cross section of abilities there; from people who know how to produce to people who are just getting into it. One of the biggest benefits of going to learn a creative skill is learning off your peers; stylistic and creative ideas come from those who are alongside you in the class. You’ll get more out of it than just the curriculum.”
19 year old beatboxing badman, T, or Tom as he’s known to friends and fam, already had a skill before he arrived at CM. But his degree course allowed to him to immerse himself into his art deeper than ever before… And get some serious business skills in the process.
“It was a massive insight into how the business actually works,” he says. “The performing side was already taking off, but the contracts and PRS and all the legal side of things were completely new to me and very insightful. I’ve just signed a big management deal and when they’re talking about things I know exactly what’s happing and what’s going on. The course is very practical. You learn stuff you need to learn. You don’t need to write essays on theory that doesn’t quite matter to you. They cater for each talent. For me they worked on the audio editing a lot because I record samples of my voice. For drum & bass people they helped them create the drum & bass production techniques…”
Leo Belchetz
From founding Chibuku resident DJ to a working at one of the most respected club brands in the world, Leo is a key man behind the awesome Fabric and Fabriclive mixes the brand release each month. From Goldie to Kasra to Digital Soundboy, he’s worked hard behind each of them, making sure they’re the best possible mixes money can buy. And that’s the bass-related mixes; Leo’s knowledge of the entire electronic music scene is commendably broad… And that’s before he took a taster course at Community Music.
“I’ve always been into music and worked within the industry. Music production has always interested me. I’d dabbled before, going into studios with other producers but when I went to try and do things on my own I found it pretty daunting because the software isn’t that intuitive. I thought the taste course would be a good way of introducing myself to it all. I’m not sure if I’ll follow it up in a professional capacity. To be a great producer you have to commit your time to it and I already commit a lot of time and hard work to the job I’m involved in. But it’s been very helpful to know how people have arranged or processed or produced things. It’s been a great insight in that way. When discussing certain terms with people in my job I used to be a lot more vague in the past but now I can understand where they’re coming from and what they’re talking about. I can contribute a lot more now…”
WIN A DAY’S STUDIO TIME AT COMMUNITY MUSIC!
Yup, we’ve got 13 places up for grabs at CM. The course will take place mid August and this is what you and 12 other lucky winners will have access to…
– Recording live drums with a professional drummer
– Sampling and re-sampling
– Using drums through EQ and effects
The course will be taught by one of CM’s professional tutors. Each of you will have your own work station to apply the principles and experiment… And take the material away to work on it back at your own HQ
How to enter:
Don’t sleep on this! The closing date for entries is 9am Monday July 30. All you need to do is email comps@breakbeat.co.uk with a reason why YOU should one of Drum&BassArena’s Class of 2012. Make sure the heading is title CM Competition. The best entries will be picked and contacted before August 1. You must be free to take part on the day’s course in mid August and be able to travel to London at your own expense.
CM is now accepting applications for the Creative Music Production & Business Foundation Degree.
For More Information visit: http://www.cmsounds.com/courses/entry/creative-music-production-andbusiness
Email: everyone@cmsounds.com
Call: 020 7377 0621
Text: CM and your email address to 63333
Standard network charges apply
