Music Industry Arts

Music Industry Arts
Established	1970
Type	Public
Location	London, Ontario, Canada
Affiliations	Fanshawe College.
Website	http://www.fanshawec.ca/EN/mia2/default.asp

The Music Industry Arts Program [1] at Fanshawe College was the first school of its kind in Canada, (and one of the first 3 in the world), to train young people for careers in the contemporary music industry.^[1] It was started in 1970 as Creative Electronics by former Radio Caroline DJ Tom Lodge, but when the college demanded that Creative Electronics become a career program, he had the students build a recording studio, gathered music industry executives for an advisory group and changed the name of the program to Music Industry Arts. The program has been the starting point for hundreds of the world's top recording engineers, record producers and entertainment industry executives. The program is highly competitive with only about 115 students being accepted out of 800 applications every year.^[2] Students in the MIA program are also eligible for membership in a Student Section of the Audio Engineering Society.^[3]

Faculty of note include but are not limited to; Steve Malison (Coordinator), Terry McManus, Joe Vaughan, Dan Brodbeck, Mike Roth, Moe Berg, Rob Nation, Jason Chapman, Duncan Grant, David Martin, Greg Hatchette.

History

A part of the School of Contemporary Media, Fanshawe's Music Industry Arts (MIA) program was founded as Creative Electronics in 1973 by British disc jockey Tom Lodge formerly of Radio Caroline. With six professors and 35 students in its inaugural year, courses in the three-year program centered on electronics and music synthesizers. When the college demanded that Creative Electronics become a career program, he had the students build a recording studio, gathered music industry executives for an advisory group and in 1976 re-named the program Music Industry Arts (MIA). Along with the change in name, course offerings were expanded to include music recording and engineering, music production, music writing, audio post-production, entertainment law, and artist management. In the mid-1980s, graduates continued to earn College of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT) diplomas, but the length of the program was reduced to two years. In 2010 there were 11 MIA professors, three technologists, and two lab assistants. Audio post-production professor Steve Malison, who joined MIA in 1995, became the program coordinator in 2007.^[1] From 1984 until his retirement in 2007, legendary Canadian music Producer Jack Richardson was also a professor of the MIA program.

Facilities

The Music Industry Arts program currently houses a total of six recording studios. Its two main rooms, Studio 1 (designated for first year students) and Studio 2 (for second year students) feature SSL Duality SE consoles which were installed in the summer months of 2010. Two smaller rooms, Studios 3 and 4, house Digidesign D-Command and D-Control consoles respectively. Recording is primarily done on Mac Pro systems utilizing Pro Tools and Logic software.^[2] Facilities operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during the school year, allowing students a unique learning experience in preparation for real life careers in the music industry.

Curriculum

First year courses include Recording Engineering, Music Theory, Music Production, Music Preproduction, Music Business and Artist Management. Second year students take courses such as Recording Engineering, Audio Post Production, Entertainment Law, Music Business, Music Production, and The Music Industry.

Guest Lecturers

Guest lectures are an integral part of the learning experience in the Music Industry Arts program. Some recent guest lecturers of note include:

• Bob Ezrin
• Phil Ramone
• Ken Scott
• Garth Richardson
• Greg Nori
• Fred Penner
• Bernie Finkelstein
• The Birthday Massacre
• Alan Cross
• Ralph Murphy

Notable alumni

• Les Stroud, Survivorman tv show
• Mike Roth
• Emm Gryner
• Mike McCarty, President of Ole Music Publishing
• Gary Furniss, Sony ATV Music Publishing
• Greg Below, Distort Entertainment
• Dave Wilson
• Deric Ruttan
• Greg Hanna
• Stuart Brawley

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Crespo, Mandy. "Fanshawe College - The Canadian Encyclopedia"
2. ^ ^{a b} "FANSHAWE COLLEGE UPGRADES TWO MAIN STUDIOS WITH SOLID STATE LOGIC DUALITY SE CONSOLES"
3. ^ AES London Ontario Student Section

External links

• Official site
• Fanshawe College
• MIA Student Compilation Album 1990 at London Music Archive
• MIA Student Compilation Album 1993 at London Music Archive
• MIA Student Compilation Album 1995 at London Music Archive