METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY OFFICE OF THE MAYOR METROPOLITAN COURTHOUSE NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37201
Karl F. Dean Mayor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 8, 2012
Contact: Bonna Johnson (615) 862-6461 direct (615) 389-3405 cell bonna.johnson@nashville.gov
Mayor, Metro Schools, Warner Music Nashville Announce Student-Run Record Label will be Key Component of Music Makes Us Pearl-Cohn Student to Serve as Label Head NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Mayor Karl Dean, Metro Schools Director Jesse Register and John Esposito, president and CEO of Warner Music Nashville, today announced the creation of a student-run record label to be a key component of Music Makes Us starting in the 2012-13 school year. The record label, to be operated by students at Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High School, will be managed through a strategic alliance with Warner Music Nashville. It will operate identically to a real music label by signing, recording and promoting student artists from across the school district. A Pearl-Cohn student will be named to head the record label each year. “Nashville is committed to having the best music education program in the nation, and a student record label is an important piece of teaching students about the different aspects of the music business,” Dean said. “I have said all along that our music community is a tremendous, untapped resource for our public schools. With this record label, along with classes about songwriting, audio engineering and other facets of the music industry, we will for the first time take full advantage of the many talented individuals on both the creative and business side of the industry who live and work in Music City.” Music Makes Us is a comprehensive makeover of the Metro Schools music education program. New classes in composition, rock band and hip-hop performance will be added, while traditional music curriculum in band, orchestra and choir will be enhanced. As part of broadening Metro Schools’ music education offerings through Music Makes Us and the Academies of Nashville Program, Pearl-Cohn will establish a music publishing pathway and a music business record label pathway. Students and teachers will have opportunities to learn about the record business from executives at Warner Music Nashville. - more -
Page 2, Mayor, Metro Schools, Warner Music Nashville Announce Student-Run Record Label will be Key Component of Music Makes Us Metro Schools students will be required to audition to get on the record label, which will include different music genres. While enrolled in school, any revenue generated by the record label through the sale of songs will go to Music Makes Us to further invest in music education. Warner Music Nashville will have the first chance to sign a student artist upon graduation. “Giving back to our communities and mentoring the music business leaders of tomorrow are high priorities for Warner Music and our employees.” Esposito said. “We’re thrilled to be working with Mayor Dean and Pearl-Cohn High School in launching this groundbreaking program that will bring real-world music industry experience to the classroom. Music is an essential part of every child’s development, and with this program, we’re combining music education with lessons in business and entrepreneurship.” Other components of Music Makes Us at Pearl-Cohn will include the following: • Classes in songwriting, which will be taught by adjunct instructors from the music industry. • A multi-media pathway for students to learn about promoting artists, songs and labels, as well as using Facebook and other social media tools in music promotions. • An audio recording pathway for students to learn about recording music. • A styling and imaging pathway for students to learn about shaping an artist’s image. • The school’s audio engineering lab will be expanded. “Pearl-Cohn’s relationship with Warner Music Nashville is a great example of how business engagement is making a difference in Metro Nashville Public Schools,” Register said. “Warner Music Nashville is one of nearly 170 business, nonprofit and higher education partners in the Academies of Nashville program in our 12 zoned high schools. They are providing students and teachers with opportunities and experiences they just can’t get anywhere else.” Rising seventh, eighth and ninth graders who want to get a taste of what Pearl-Cohn has to offer can apply for admission to the “Lights, Camera, Action!” entertainment production camp at the school July 16-20. Applications will be online at www.mnps.org in late March. Scholarships will be available. Pearl-Cohn students in the Academy of Entertainment Communication and the Academy of Entertainment Management attended today’s announcement. Pearl-Cohn senior Leona Turner performed “The Greatest Love of All,” and she was accompanied on the keyboard by Llewellyn Peter, the Visual and Performing Arts Content Chair at Pearl-Cohn. Turner, who writes music and sings, recently visited the White House as part of a GRAMMY-supported educational session focusing on blues music in America.
-more-
Page 3, Mayor, Metro Schools, Warner Music Nashville Announce Student-Run Record Label will be Key Component of Music Makes Us About Music Makes Us Music Makes Us is a new approach to music education in Metro Nashville Public Schools that focuses on enhancing the traditional music curriculum and adding a contemporary curriculum track that uses new technologies and reflects a diverse musical landscape. Reaching 79,000 students in Metro Public Schools, Music Makes Us pledges to make Nashville the worldwide leader in music education. The initiative was announced in 2011 as a partnership among Metro Nashville Public Schools, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and the Music City Music Council. About Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools serves nearly 79,000 students with the goal of being the first choice for families in Nashville and Davidson County. The governing body for MNPS is the Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County Board of Public Education, a nine-member group elected by residents of Metropolitan Nashville. For more information, please visit ww.mnps.org. About Warner Music Nashville Warner Music Nashville was created in 2009 to expand the presence of WMG and its family of labels in Nashville. The division is home to Atlantic Records, Warner Bros. Records, Elektra Nashville and Word Entertainment.
###