Chuck D of Public Enemy to keynote second annual Ohio University Music Industry Summit

Legendary rap icon Chuck D from Public Enemy will headline the second annual Ohio University Music Industry Summit, which features more than six hours of panels and discussions by music industry leaders, along with live performances, at Baker University Center in Athens, Thursday, March 28.

Highlights scheduled for the day include a discussion with Nora Felder, the award-winning music supervisor for the popular network series Stranger Things, who will discuss her work on cultivating the music for the series, including the upcoming third season. Sameer Gadhia, frontman for rock group Young the Giant, will be interviewed by tour manager April Kulcsar about his band’s recently released album and summer tour. The day’s keynote event will be a discussion with Chuck D, a hip-hop icon and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member known for founding the ground-breaking rap group Public Enemy.

Chuck D will be interviewed by Josh Antonuccio, a lecturer in the OHIO School of Media Arts and Studies and the director of the Music Industry Summit. He chose and invited panelists that represent the range of opportunities available to students who are interested in pursuing jobs in the music industry.

“There are all kinds of tangential occupations, careers and pathways in the music industry,” Antonuccio said. “Attendees will hear directly from entrepreneurs and leaders who have had major influence throughout the industry, on both a national and regional level.”

The Music Industry Summit provides attendees with a working knowledge of music as a business. The event is presented by Ohio University’s Center for Entrepreneurship - a program of the College of Business and the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, the Ohio University Performing Arts and Concert Series, and Scripps College of Communication.

"A big part of the Center's mission is to provide innovative and entrepreneurial-minded students this type of immersive educational experience, a chance to learn from and be inspired by the stories of industry professionals," said Paul Mass, Center for Entrepreneurship Director. "By understanding the panelists' career paths, hopefully the Music Industry Summit attendees will realize that they too can make a life - or business - doing work they love."

Additional panels will focus on the economy and development of live music festivals in Ohio, as well as a panel of artists discussing their strategies in the current music market. The Summit will also include a networking mixer in the CoLab at Alden Library with Athens’ own DJ Bobby Booshay.

“I hope students come away inspired, and they feel like there are stories they can connect to,
 Antonuccio said. “OU is bringing a certain level of speaker and engagement for them that’s really to their benefit to hear first hand how the industry works.”

In addition to speaking on the artist panel earlier in the day, hip-hop artist Blueprint, Columbus rock band Doc Robinson, and avant-pop trio WYD will perform from 8:30 p.m. – midnight in a limited-entry live music showcase in the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium Backstage the evening of the summit.

Registration for the OHIO Music Industry Summit is free and guarantees access to all panel discussions, the networking hour and the live artist showcase. However, seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

To register for the OHIO Music Industry Summit starting March 4 at 12 p.m., and for the complete full-day schedule, visit www.ohio.edu/entrepreneurship/music.