The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts will collaborate with Atlantic Records for a semester-long series of career development workshops and sessions with the label’s executives, including Atlantic’s A&R President Pete Ganbarg.
Eight events at CDI’s Brooklyn location and Atlantic’s Manhattan offices will offer CDI students access to Atlantic Records executives to learn about opportunities on both the business and artistic sides of the company. The program concludes with a weeklong songwriting camp led by Atlantic Records’ staffer and CDI alum Stephan Accardo. The camp will match select CDI students and alumni with Atlantic Records artists.
The collaboration represents a shift in the institute’s approach to career development by formalizing and expanding its relationship with industry leaders and providing direct access for students to learn about the variety of careers in the recording industry, explains Clive Davis Institute Chairman Nick Sansano. The collaboration comes as the Clive Davis Institute celebrates its 20th anniversary.
“What sets the Clive Davis Institute apart is our willingness and capability to connect to the professional music industry, both through our alumni who are becoming the new guard of executives and creatives , and our deep relationships with entrepreneurs, executives at record companies, media tech companies like Spotify and Apple Music, publishing companies, journalists, authors, record producers, artists, and others,” Sansano says. “We are offering a world class music and liberal arts education and access to acclaimed companies and individuals who understand the importance of our pragmatic approach to higher education, and appreciate the values we are trying to instill in this new generation of music industry leaders. We are very willing to openly address and work commercial viability into our curriculum—discussing entrepreneurship, employment, and career planning in a structured and ethical way.”
The collaboration begins Feb. 13 with the first of two field trips to Atlantic Records offices, where students will visit various departments and meet with leaders (the second visit is March 5). A&R President Pete Ganbarg, Senior Vice President Gina Tucci, and other A&R executives will lead Songwriting Feedback Sessions Feb. 23 and March 29, with Tucci hosting a listening session on Feb 29.
Ganbarg will give a lecture March 8, and Tucci will discuss dance and electronic music on April 19. That discussion will be followed by a student performance in The Garage, a NYU performance space at 370 Jay St.
“This collaboration formalizes our ongoing relationship with Clive Davis and creates a pipeline that helps us to hopefully establish long-standing synergy between our Atlantic team and CDI's students. We're very excited to work with the current class," Ganbarg says.
More than 100 students will participate in the various events through June, Sansano explains. Some of the opportunities, such as the internships, will require applications.
About the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music
The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University is the premier educational training ground for future leaders in the music industry. The Clive Davis Institute—founded by chief patron and music impresario Clive Davis himself—has developed a reputation for recruiting and developing the most compelling new talent in the business. Graduates include dynamic young producer-songwriter Nija; musical phenoms FLETCHER, Raveena and Capitol Records' recording artist Maggie Rogers; visionary producer and performer Arca; chart-topping songwriters/producers Take a Daytrip, Emily Warren and Madison Love. The Institute, which officially launched in 2003, has been the home of instructors like Questlove, Q-Tip, Bob Power, Angela Winbush, and Robert Glasper, and also boasts a steady stream of talented graduates barnstorming other industry areas like business, journalism, tech, and production. Recent artists-in-residence at the Institute have included Devonté Hynes/Blood Orange.
