The Last Day (Dec. 8th 2009)

Everything is done. The assignment is finished. My time here is complete. It started from a dream and ended even bigger. I have completed everything that was on my checklist to do. I learned and networked my way to another internship in Marketing for MTV Networks in the Summer of 2010.

This expierence has led me to belive that dreams really do come true.

My Trade Talk Issue

So Every intern has an optional task of creating a website about a current issue in the music/media industry.

http://tradetalkissuenumber5.webs.com/

Here is mine!

Week 13 (December 1st to 4th)

At this point, Everything is narrowing down. I have attended to seminars that MTV College Relations is offering. One is "How to Connect Your School With Us (Power of Being A Role Model)" and the other was a Resume and life after MTVN Interning Seminar. I have learned alot about how to really clean up my act for when I jump start out in the real world. THE POWER OF LINKED IN has came upon my knowledge. I have already signed up and seen how this site could be my new best friend.

As I think back on how I got this internship, I was thinking how much easier it would have been to find this internship from a source on campus. I would love to make these internship possiblities available for ALL ARTS MANAGEMENT and NEW MEDIA majors. this could really benefit them in their journey.



It did for me.

Week 12- November 23rd to 27th

An easy day at the office....

I am starting to realize the benefits of getting your work done early.

When you have adapted the information in your brain for son long, its amazing how fast and clean the work can be. I performed clearances for two episodes of iCarly (a show on Nickelodeon) in the matter of 2 hours.

And I did them right.

(I wish I was getting paid. haha)

Week 11 (November 17th through 20th)

I have decided to start shadowing my supervisors more. I have had the chance to go to my first MEETING! It was a development meeting for an upcoming live show on Teen Nick. There was so much intimidation in the room. There was a head of every department at this meeting. It was interesting to see the conflict in the room. It is amazing to me how shows are pulled together. Everyone works so professional and fast at the same time. You can tell it takes years of experience to have that much control of so many ideas thrown at you at once. These people are astonishing.

The HALO Awards are now locked in and all set. I have finished the most challenging assignment of the semester.

MTV Networks (Nov. 9 - Nov. 12) Week #10

The Halo Awards Show is getting close. I found out today that I will be credited in the show. My entire life I was waiting to be credited in a show and my dream has come true. this internship has completely taken me by storm. I am so happy here. I feel like I have made it.

Week 9 (November 2nd to 5th) MID SEMESTER REVIEW

Although a little late, My main supervisor, Khanh Le, and I had our mid semester review. She gave me astounding reviews. She said that I have gone beyond her and the other in my department's expectations. She is very proud of me and wants me to consider a career in this field when I graduate. I DID IT!

I could be the happiest man in the world.

When I asked her on things to work on, she said that I should keep utilizing the rest of my time here well. And so I am....

Week 8 (Oct. 27 to 30th)

I am starting to look at the dynamic of the office. i am asking myself questions about how this company succeeds at what they do. I am starting to shadow some other interns in other departments. Networking with the other interns is a great thing to do. I am building relations with others that are going through the same thing as I am; being an intern. I am noticing that other interns are not as privileged as I am. They do not have their own desk and computer like I do. They also don't have the benefit of being the only intern in my channel department (Nickelodeon). I feel I am benefiting from this because I get to be more personal with my supervisors and fellow neighbors.

I am one lucky intern.

Week 7 (Oct. 19 to Oct. 22)

I can now place a system to my work ethic. Here is how you officially clear a song from beginning to end:

1. Song research
2. Construct a Tracing Report of all your songs using excel or word
3. Contact Publishers and Masters
4. Send out Synch and Master requests
5. Get rates for song/media use
6. Construct Agreement
7. Discuss rates with producer
8. Finalize Agreements (signatures, etc.)
9. Give finalized agreements to Producer or VP in charge of Programming

Those are my 9 steps that I conquer everyday.

MTV Networks Week 6 (Oct. 12 to 15)

As the Halo Awards is now less than two months away, I am making sure I am on top of my game. I am bringing home some of my work so I can impress my supervisors as well as myself. I have learned that conquering this, sometimes grueling, work has made me feel more prepared for the real world. In life, we may get tasks that aren't always the most exciting. It is our job to find ourselves through the work. Research is the most essential thing to my work. I have to find the publishers contact information as well as the label's info. I have learned to also look for information from about 5 to 6 different sources. my main sources of information are ascap.com, allmusic.com, bmi.com, MVA and DM5. I have access to great sources as I work here. I am extremely lucky to have these sources as some places do not. It is essential to find a level of professionalism. No one will take you seriously if you are not assertive about what you are doing. It takes power from your physical and mental senses.

Week 5 (Oct. 5 to Oct. 8)

Things are starting to get hectic! TeenNick has a huge project coming up and we need to place almost all of the energy on this Project. The Project is called THE HALO AWARDS. Anyone in any department will tell you that an AWARD SHOW is about a 4 to 5 months project. It takes about 2 months to do music and media clearances. This Project has consumed my time here so far. I am performing song research, check requests, synch and master requests, license agreements, etc. It is alot of work but I am learning so much from all of this work. I am learning the importance of deadlines. When it has to get in, it has to get in.

MTV Week 4 (The first month recap)

I have learned all of these essential skills so far that benefit me to be one of the office's favorite intern. The VP of Nickelodeon knows me by name. I am calling the record labels and representatives of Justin Timberlake, Ciara, Beyonce, and Rihanna. With all of this great stuff that I am performing, I remember one of the most important things to do at any internship; NETWORK. Networking is essentially what will get me a job after I graduate. Besides the people I work under, I have networked myself to meeting people in the Development Department, Marketing, Advertising, and Programming. I have Had a meeting with Spencer Cotter. He is head of Marketing for VH1 and BET. I have a potential chance at getting a freelance job this summer in his marketing department. He has been an advisor to me. He told me what to focus on as far as Marketing Television. These relations I am making are so great. I am only eager to see how the rest of this short experience will play out.

Week 3 (Sept. 29 to Oct. 2)

This week I am filing together information for the shows iCarly, Drake and Josh, and Zoey 101. I am organizing and navigating all sorts of synch and master agreements. A synch deals with the publishing side of a song. A master primarily deals with the label. There is always two sides to a song. Song songs include 5 or 6 different publishers and some songs only have one. I have learned that songs including sampled tracks are more challenging to clear that songs that have only one composed melody. This is due to the amount of publishers. I have also learned the importance of "THE BIG 4". The big 4 are record labels that control all of the "non-indie" labels. "THE BIG 4" are Sony, EMI, Warner, and Universal. It is essential to have great contact with these companies as they do essentially own all the music from another label falling under them. It is interesting to see how record labels work. You can construct deals within those labels if you have a good relationship with them. It is all about the relations one has with one another. That is essentially what creates a business.

MTV Networks Week 2 (Sept 22 to 25)

So I have finally adjusted to my settings. Now the real work begins. I begin learning how to compose check requests. Check requests are essential when dealing with license agreements. They simplify the important information in the agreement. This makes it easier for others who don't understand and fully comprehend how to read a complete license. By performing this task, I am learning not only how to read an agreement but how to proof read it as well. Finding grammatical errors in agreements is common and to navigate them in the beginning gave me a good in with performing other challenging tasks. I feel more and more like a lawyer everyday I am in here. The essential skills I am learning will be beneficial to any department; not just Music and Media Licensing. Its only up from here.

MTV Networks Week 1 (September 15-September 18)

The highly anticipated first day. I was nervous yet eager to begin at such a prestigious and lucrative company such as MTV Networks. It was such an intense application process that I knew whatever I was about to do was going to be beneficial to my future career goals. I step into my building on 1540 Broadway right in the heart of Times Square NYC. I take the elevator to the 29th floor and I somehow find my way to my desk. I have my own computer and phone. I feel official. Within the next two hours, I am getting my computer and phone set up and adjusting into my space. I soon get my first assignment which is simply organizing files. Although the assignment is not that substantial, I still feel more apart of the MTV team that I ever had in my life. I soon get to network myself around the office meeting Music and Media Licensing Teams from VH1, MTV, Logo, CMT, etc. I am noticing how beneficial it is to be young and new in a space of really important people. I know that my next few weeks will probably be some of the most important weeks of my life.