On the weekend of January 17th, 2025, over twenty MMBC members traveled down south to Music City to experience the music industry firsthand. During our time in Nashville, we visited six companies during our first two days. At each office, we sat down with staff and engaged in panels with people in various departments. All of our memberes we so eager to experience why they called it the music city

We started out at Big Machine Label Group, a record label representing superstars like Dolly Parton and Florida Georgia Line, where we spoke about the current state of the recording industry and how new innovations supported certain trends. Afterward, we visited the new office of The Neal Agency, where we learned more about the live music industry from a sales perspective and explored why artists might be drawn to niche agencies over larger, more prominent ones. We finished our day at Make Wake, a management company representing artists like Luke Combs and Brent Cobb. We were briefed on what it means to be a manager and the 24/7 lifestyle it entails. In Live Nation’s office, we heard from panelists working in everything from festivals to brand partnerships. Then, we headed directly to AEG where we ate lunch with the staff and discussed what it takes to successfully organize events, both large and small. We concluded our extensive trip at WME, a premier agency representing some of the biggest names in entertainment. While enjoying the amazing views, we also discussed how college students can position themselves to work in their desired roles within the industry. After a long day of exploring Nashville, we headed to the Blind Barber to network with students at Vanderbilt and Belmont University who share our passion for the music industry.

The journey to Nashville was a unique experience for our members, whose knowledge of the industry grew exponentially. We are deeply grateful to everyone involved and hope to return in the future!