This week, Alpha Kappa Psi and the Undergraduate Media and Entertainment Club have one message for students: “Love your job.”
Penn Media and Entertainment Week, spearheaded by the two groups, began this Sunday with a keynote speech by Bruce Resnikoff, president and CEO of Universal Music Enterprises. Co-Director Yong Lin Lee, a College senior, said that “the objective of the [week’s] events is to celebrate the [music] industry … and raise awareness and provide a networking opportunity to students.”
Resnikoff, a 1979 Wharton graduate, spoke on the future of the music industry as it adapts to online streaming and downloading. The talk marks the first in a series of events on the media this week, covering music, social media, games, film and television.
Describing the shift in music this decade from “a form of entertainment to a global form of social media,” Resnikoff gave his views on how music promotion websites such as Spotify and Pandora are changing the nature of popular music. He related these recent changes to the emergence of the vinyl record and MTV in importance and expects online music to fundamentally reshape music attitudes.
Record companies, he feels, will treat advertising and subscription streaming rather than album sales as principal revenue sources. Customers may even lose their “culture of music ownership,” as they grow accustomed to constantly, ubiquitously available streaming.
Resnikoff also offered advice on how to break into the music sector. Citing his own conversion from law to the record industry, he encouraged students to follow their passion, affirming that “smart people with initiative cannot fail” once they have their “foot in the door.”
The Media and Entertainment Week events are free, Lee explained. Wharton junior Whitney Sun, co-director of the week’s events, added that “we expect the week to build up in popularity.”
College senior Lauren Haas, after attending Resnikoff’s speech, felt that students have much to gain from attending the week’s events. “The talk was interesting, and the rest of the week looks promising. I’d definitely recommend people go.”
Upcoming events include a Just Dance 3 competition on Thursday, with prizes including free copies of games, and a networking event with Penn alumni in the film industry on Friday. All events are open apart from a lunch-discussion on social media and marketing on Wednesday with the founder of eMetrics, which requires prior reservation.
