Meet Ciara McKay, a third-year music student at Northeastern University.

How did you find your passion for music and why did you choose to pursue this in college?

I was a huge fan of a lot of artists like Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift growing up, so I wanted to know more about the behind-the-scenes of their careers/lives as artists. I chose to pursue the music industry in college and as my future career because I have always wanted to learn about it and it is my biggest passion. A great piece of advice I received when I was in high school is that you should pursue your greatest distraction, and for me, that was always the music industry.

Tell us about your position with your Artist Manager.

My artist management co-op was at SunPop Music, and I worked side by side with my artist manager on all of their daily activities and all of the artists they managed. I am very grateful for all the responsibilities I was given and opportunities to take the lead on projects because I learned so much this way. My input and visions were highly valued at SunPop and I appreciated being trusted as a part of the team since it was my first time working in the music industry.

What were some of your responsibilities with Artist Managers?

Aside from smaller daily tasks, some of my responsibilities included maintaining the artist manager’s calendar and emails, as well as the Spotify for Artists accounts for our artists. I also created split sheets for various songs and registered our artist’s works with BMI and SoundExchange. Other projects I got to do while at SunPop are artist brand partnerships, and writing press articles. All of these tasks helped me to better understand the world of artist management and what it takes to build an artist’s career.

What was the most rewarding experience about working with your Artist Manager?

The most rewarding experience I had during this artist management co-op was getting the opportunity to take the lead on multiple different projects. Seeing my ideas be incorporated into the artist’s work, and my projects positively impact their careers was incredible to see and helped build my confidence in the workspace.

How will this co-op experience influence your future work as a student and artist?

This co-op gave me a well-rounded view of the music industry and taught me about all of the different positions that contribute to an artist’s career. This experience will definitely influence my future because I now know that I want to learn more about the live performance aspect of the music industry. Also, as a student, I’m now adding a marketing minor because I realized I want to learn more about digital marketing – a huge part of the music industry.  I am super grateful to SunPop Music and Northeastern for this incredible experience!!