Courtesy of Alexandra Lys
Fourth-year public relations student Moriah ‘Monay’ Johnson hosted the Artistry Meets Industry: Bridging the Gap between Students and the Music Industry seminar Tuesday in School of Journalism and Graphic Communication’s Lecture Hall at Florida A&M University.
Johnson realized early on, through extracurricular endeavors on campus, that she could not rely on anyone for her own success. This sparked the idea for Artistry Meets Industry.
Johnson wanted to give students a chance to have their questions directly answered by music industry professionals.
“I’m the type of person if you start something, you have to finish it, because if you quit one thing you quit everything and I just didn’t want to be a quitter,” Johnson said. “So, I really wanted to just bridge that gap between the students and the industry, so they can get their questions answered and see that these people are just like them.”
Johnson is currently both a College and Lifestyle representative for Def Jam and Blazin’ 102.3’s Steve Harvey Morning Show entertainment news host with aspirations of becoming a talent like radio and TV personality Lala Anthony.
Johnson was able to gather a panel that featured Blazin’ 102.3’s DJ Dap and DJ Ezone; Universal Music Group’s vice president of College and Lifestyle Marketing Todd Goodwin; UMG’s Def Jam College and Lifestyle Marketing Manager Danny Rojas; and Miami public relations specialist and owner of Midoristar Media Group Krystle Coleman.
Monisha Lanot, third-year FAMU public relations student from Pompano Beach, said she was able to gain knowledge about how to better brand herself, as an artist and public relations student from UMG’s Todd Goodwin.
“I ended up learning simple skills, like to try to take over your local area first in a three hour away radius to be more successful with reaching a target market,” Lanot said.
Students were able to receive advice on marketing and branding strategies to build a core audience.
“If you don’t have a record deal, I’d always say the best way to build your audience is to start with your local market and then expand into the first three markets that are within a three hour radius driving from that market try to get your music into those places, or focus online,” Goodwin said.
Goodwin emphasized focusing on being present.
“As far as being present in a market you can never undervalue that, so focus on the places where you can physically be first.
Johnson said she wants to continue to have better events like this so that people could see that anyone can succeed in the entertainment business, if they are not afraid to be themselves.
“You don’t need to be this grand person, just be yourself. The main thing is be a hard worker and be honest. Consistency is key. That’s all it really takes, because if you lie it will always show. So you just have to be honest, a good person and a hard worker. If you have those things you can do anything in this world,” Johnson said.