Guilford Technical Community College Entertainment Technology program receives Gladys S. Sears Award to fund student-led record label

“The primary goal of the student-led record label is to prepare students for employment in the entertainment industry,” said Mark Dillon, professor of music technology.

Guilford Technical Community College’s Entertainment Technology program has received the Gladys S. Sears Award for $4,500 to help fund a student-led record label, adding another facet to an already comprehensive program.

“The primary goal of the student-led record label is to prepare students for employment in the entertainment industry,” said Mark Dillon, professor of music technology. “Students who can show a history of successful industry experience are entering a crowded job market with an advantage that can be difficult to gain early in their careers.

“The big thing for us in building a record label is that students will know how everything is put together. They will know how to work with graphic artists, who will be doing the recording, and how to distribute the record. We are interested in having a product, but the process is the key. You have to consider the legal part of it. You have to consider budgets. You have to consider contracts. That’s the important part – that it’s not one step, record my music, and it’s out there.”

Most of the ingredients needed to produce a record are in place within the entertainment technology program.

“Our music entertainment program is impressive in scale. We have five studios,” said Dillon.

Much of the Gladys S. Sears Award will go into producing the physical CDs and CD covers, said Dillon. “The overhead (of the new program) is minimal,” he said.

Dillon said the goal is to produce one recording the first year the program is in place and then one recording a semester going forward.

The need for a student-produced record label grew out of the changing dynamics of the music industry, Dillon said.

“It’s totally different today than it was 30 years ago with major labels,” Dillon said of the recording industry.

Dillon said that major record labels play a much smaller role in the music industry today. Many artists, even very successful artists self-produce, record, and distribute their own music.

“One thing we push on our students is what differentiates an artist that is really good from one who makes a living at it, not trying to be a star,” said Dillon. “It’s how you balance all these things out, how you do these things yourself, how you build a community of people that support you.”