Three Weeks of Business Studies in Valencia

I’m writing this post in Munich, in between flights, Helsinki bound. I spent the last three weeks at the Berklee Valencia Campus during their Summer Study Abroad program. My name is Hannes Andersson, a recording engineer/songwriter/producer currently finishing my masters degree in Music Technology at the University of the Arts, Helsinki, Finland. During my studies I’ve made sure to cover every step of the way when bringing an idea out to the world as a Finnish’d record (sorry).

My studies at Valencia, which consisted of two courses in Music and Entertainment Business, focused on some later stops on this trail: the current technological landscape of the music business and entertainment law.

The first one gave us a broad overview on how technology has impacted the music industry and what we can expect come the following years. This was taught by professor Alexandre Perrin, who’s helped many Berklee students launch their careers. Technology has always been a disruptive force in music, and it looks like it might play in favor of musicians and artists this time around. Be it Blockchain, AI, Machine Learning or VR, big changes are coming, and it pays to be prepared.

The second course was an extremely practical course about the legal aspects of the music industry, taught by the Entertainment Attorney Martin Frascogna. It included a lot of case studies, and negotiating and red-lining record contracts, deal memos, publishing contracts, synchronization license agreements, performance agreements, etc. I no longer feel intimidated by the legal language these documents contain but I also understand the importance of legal counsel and the relationship structure between artists, managers, labels, agents and lawyers.

If there’s something I’ve gained from my three weeks at Berklee Valencia, it’s confidence. Confidence that I’m on the right track. Confidence that I should keep doing what I’m doing. I’ll never stop learning, but knowing what I know now, I’m confident to take my career to the next level.

I’m really grateful for the scholarship that I received from Berklee in order to participate in the Summer Study Abroad program. It raised my expectations of what a academic faculty can provide beyond expertise and resources. I’m also thankful for all the people I met from across the globe and hope we will meet again sometime. Berklee Valencia truly felt like an international school, focused on making every student find their path in music no matter where they’re from or where they’re headed.

Thank you!

Hannes Andersson
Instragram: @adriander
Twitter: @hanskyone2