Philanthropy powers hands-on learning for future music business pros – Auburn University

Cookie Acknowledgement
This website uses cookies to collect information to improve your browsing experience. Please review our Privacy Statement for more information.
Learn about our history, traditions, community and leadership.
Begin your Auburn journey here.
Find programs, tools and resources for academic success.
Explore the real-world solutions we help discover.
Discover practical knowledge and research-driven solutions.
The winners of the Clayton Recording Arts Honors included (from left to right) grand prize winner Jack Sears and finalists Anna Colson, Syler Stone and Walter Lloyd.
The Don and Alexandra Clayton Recording Arts Honors, a juried competition for contemporary student musicians at Auburn’s Lucky Man Studio, is serving as a real-world launchpad for aspiring recording industry talent — for both students onstage and behind the scenes.
Thanks to the generous support of alumnus Don Clayton, a successful entrepreneur and life-long musician, the competition has provided endless experiential learning opportunities for winner Jack Sears, the three finalists and the music business minors working for Blue Wire Music, the in-house label team that focused on artist development and marketing support for the artists and their music.
From the announcement of the winners in January until the label’s release party in April, the Blue Wire Music students worked across public relations, marketing and creative strategy to craft promotional plans to support the commercial releases for all four vocalists.
“The Clayton Awards created an exciting opportunity to engage our music business minors, who formed Blue Wire Music to support the four artists with marketing, PR, branding, analytics and video content,” said Jennifer Bohler, an adjunct instructor in the College of Liberal Arts. “They worked alongside the artists from photo shoots through music release.”
The Blue Wire Music team included (from left to right) students Emma Claflin, Kathryn Danley, Callan Elkins, Ariel Wright, Sam Key and Turner Wood.
As the top winner, Sears recorded a three-song commercial release through the Lucky Man Studio label, fully produced, marketed and distributed, while runners-up Anna Colson, Walter Lloyd and Syler Stone each earned a professionally released single. The result? All four student artists now have polished portfolio pieces ready for streaming platforms and audiences beyond campus.
The Blue Wire Music team members also gained professional experience while working with photo, video, design and analytics to develop each artist’s visual concepts and cover art, all of which was designed by graphic design students in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction.
The team included students from across campus: management major Emma Clafin, business analytics major Sam Key and marketing major Kathryn Danley from the Harbert College of Business, public relations major Ariel Wright and film and media studies major Turner Wood from the College of Liberal Arts and hospitality management student Callan Elkins from the College of Human Sciences.
Through their day-to-day work, they learned about the broad legal, financial and ethical challenges shaping today’s music industry. At the end of the semester, they staged an album release party with photo ops, remarks from faculty and live performances from the four artists.
Want to learn more about how generous gifts are supporting students and fueling impactful initiatives across campus?
The four winners are grateful for the professional support they received from Blue Wire Music and the Department of Music that transformed a singing competition win into an exceptional student experience.
“It can really be expensive to do these types of things — like big projects and EPs — by yourself and get all the marketing, and the promotion, and the producing and hiring a band,” Colson said. “Getting to just have the university completely back you up on that is so special.”
Doug Rosener, professor and department chair, credits Clayton’s support and vision in both launching the recording studio and bringing student opportunities to life.
“Don’s generosity has created an extraordinary hands-on learning opportunity for our students. The studio provides exposure to professional recording artists and a firsthand look at the business side of the industry.”
“Don’s generosity has created an extraordinary hands-on learning opportunity for our students,” he said. “The studio provides exposure to professional recording artists and a firsthand look at the business side of the industry.” 
Clayton is thrilled to have helped put Auburn on the music industry map — but he’s not finished dreaming. To keep the studio’s momentum building, he’s urging others to give to the program, because opportunities like these aren’t powered by a solo act. They take an ensemble.
“It took many years for me to realize it, but Auburn was so developmentally important to me,” he said. “Once I started getting pulled back into the fold a few years back, I thought about how important those formative years were to the man I am today. I know Auburn has had that same kind of impact on so many others.
“I’m hoping they will join me in supporting something extraordinarily special at Auburn.”
Auburn, Alabama
334-844-4000
Website feedback

source