On Wednesday, Feb. 7, Belmont University's Bruin Vets Center was the stage for “MBU Alumni Sean Neff & Friends: Music Industry, Entrepreneurship & Careers.” The session provided veteran and military-affiliated students with a unique opportunity to delve into the intricacies of the music industry, entrepreneurship and career development.
Panel on Music Industry and Entrepreneurship Visits Vets Center
The morning event featured a panel discussion, Q&A session and networking opportunities. Belmont alumni Sean Neff, Andie Rankins and Taylor Nyquist shared their vast experiences and insights into various facets of the music business.
"Opportunities like this provide a comfortable space in which our student veterans can build on what they have already learned through their time in the service and military career, alongside their fellow veterans who share similar experiences and foundations of knowledge. And the fact that these panelists are Belmont alumni offered a unique opportunity for our students to learn from their journey from being students at Belmont to building successful careers in the music industry.”
Neff (music business, 1999), a Grammy-winning mixer, producer, engineer and musician, discussed his journey from Belmont to the pinnacle of the music industry. Neff, whose work with SPiN Productions, LLC, has garnered numerous awards, including Grammys and CMAs, shared, "I started my production company my senior year at Belmont, and it's still going.” His website, Nefftones.com, showcases his extensive contributions to over 30 No. 1 hits on Country Radio. “I’m not a fan of country music,” he said. “Here I am 26 years later. God has a sense of humor, I’ve spent a lot of time in country music.” His advice: “Do internships. Get out there into the real world. That’s where you meet people and make those connections and relationships that fuel your career.”
Sean Neff: Grammy-winning mixer, producer, engineer, and musician, founder of Nefftones.com and SPiN Productions, LLC.
Rankins (commercial music, 2003), the Director of Publishing Administration at Essential Music Publishing, a division of Provident/Sony Music Entertainment, highlighted the evolving landscape of music publishing and the importance of staying ahead of trends. She spoke of the music modernization act as an “important, pivotal moment to ensure writers and publishers are paid well,” noting that it came “five years too late.” “We’re always too late, too far behind,” she said, giving advice to students to ask themselves, “How can I not be late to the game even though the industry is?”
“AI is here and it’s not going away,” she added as an example. “We all need to know about it and be open to what it is. How can we work with it? Being open to new things is really important and not being fearful.”
Andie Rankins: Director of Publishing Administration at Essential Music Publishing, managing award-winning copyrights.
Nyquist (music business, 2006), who has served as an audio crew chief, which is like a stage manager just for the audio department, for artists like Thomas Rhett, Mariah Carey, SZA and Jack White, spoke about leveraging education, experiences and opportunities. Nyquist said he “spent every waking moment in the studio they would let me,” about his time at Belmont. “My first semester was when Curb Event Center opened.” His foray into live sound eventually led to more work in that space later in his career. “The tech for live sound had started to get better,” Nyquist said, and he “fell in love with it as it “merged both my worlds.” He’s traveled across the world supporting major recording artists.
When it comes to advice for students, he echoed the refrain of the importance of internships: “Make yourself indispensable. I wanted to make sure if I left my internship, they would feel it.”
Taylor Nyquist: Former touring production manager and systems tech, now a web developer with a strong background in audio engineering.
The event, which fostered a sense of community and inspiration among participants, was a testament to Belmont University's commitment to preparing students for diverse careers in the music industry. “I am so excited that we were able to have these distinguished music industry professionals visit our Bruin Vets Center to share their industry knowledge and experience with our student veterans, who have unique experiences from their time in service that the traditional college student has not experienced," Sara Gibson, advisor for Bruin Vets, said. "They have already had one career in service and are back in school ready to learn and build a whole new career and start a new chapter to their story."
Read more about why military students, veterans and family members choose Belmont.