Going Digital
Music by Syracuse University artists is now just as easy to download as songs by Beyoncé, the Rolling Stones and John Mayer.
SU’s two student-run record labels have released their artists’ music for online download in an effort to keep up with the quickening pace of the industry.
Marshall Street Records (MSR) and Syracuse University Recordings (SUR) are the two labels operated by students in SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. The labels have gone digital, meaning the artists’ music has been released for download on major distribution sites including iTunes, Ruckus, Verizon V-Cast and Yahoo! Music. The music is also available for online purchase of CDs and ringtones.
The decision to go digital was necessary in order to keep up with the changing music industry, said Jackie Cutrone, a senior advertising and music industry major who handles institutional sales and public relations for both labels.
‘This step is really positive, and the artists are really excited about it,’ Cutrone said. ‘They’re thrilled that their music is available so widely that anyone can have it now. It’s a huge step in terms of getting the whole artist experience. This is what it would actually be like in the industry.’
The students of MUI 320, the course in charge of the labels’ operations, are responsible for compiling press kits, overseeing the recording process, managing publicity, booking shows and handling finances. Though the labels are completely student-run, they are overseen by VPA professor David Rezak, who initiated the process of MSR and SUR going digital.
SU is technically the third university to take its labels online, following in the footsteps of New York University and the University of Miami.
MSR, which signs contemporary artists, and SUR, which produces classically oriented music, made changes to the labels’ production process, including adding new components to their artists’ contracts.
‘It deals with the way we promote them,’ Cutrone said. ‘We don’t need to hinge on physical product as much. It’s easier to get people online; it’s where people are getting their music from these days anyway.’
When asked about the labels’ concerns regarding the risk of consumers illegally downloading artists’ music from major distribution sites, Cutrone said the issue has not been brought up as a major concern among the artists.
Music recently released by SUR includes songs by the Black Celestial Choral Ensemble and a CD featuring the famous organ in Crouse Auditorium. Artists signed by MSR include Eli, a bluesy folk music performer on Marshall Street, country artist Jon Stark and alternative rock band White After Labor Day.
Anthony Cacace, a sophomore piano performance major and the lead singer of White After Labor Day, said he is pleased the label has gone digital because it will give artists a chance to compete with musicians who are signed with larger labels.
‘Right now, as a band, what we’re really trying to do is promote our music as much as possible,’ Cacace said. ‘I don’t know if our music would really reach that many people if the label hadn’t gone digital.’
The band signed with MSR after winning a talent search competition last semester and started recording songs this week that will be available by the end of the semester.
‘It’s just a really good way for people who can’t come get a physical copy of the CD to get our songs,’ Cacace said. ‘This is a way for anyone over the whole world to hear our music.’
Published on February 4, 2008 at 12:00 pm
