This program was started three years ago by an Entertainment Lawyer named Dr. William Ashbourne who came to the University to teach about the recording industry. The program has since developed into a campus wide mixtape to feature local artists and talent from Alabama State University and surrounding Montgomery, AL areas.
The organization hosts campus events that feature the local talent that they recruit and recently, they have grown in size and with the number of events that they host although the overall size of the program still remains fairly small.
“The ideal behind the program is to allow students to get some hands-on experience in becoming artists, managing artists and setting up events,” said Alabama State student and My ASU Sound artist, Joshua Veasley.
To join My ASU Sound, students are required to be in attendance at the meetings in addition to paying the $25 required dues that go towards funding events and other monetary projects for the organization.
One of the most recent events hosted by My ASU Sound was a female empowerment panel called Divas & Dollars which featured attornies, managers, music supervisors and public relations and marketing personnel. These professionals talked to students about internships, offered advice on how to survive in the music industry and how to move forward in their career.
Some other events hosted by the organization include the Black & Gold Awards which was an Alabama State style merge of the Grammys and the BET award shows where students voted on their favorite artist. This event focused primarily on project promotion and marketing while the Mixtape Release Mixer, a campus project in which student musicians came together to produce a ten song mixtape, focused on getting My ASU Sound artists acknowledgement for their music as well as the hard-work that goes into making it.
“All of the songs were written and produced by the students on the campus. Additionally, the promotion was also handled by the students on the campus. Everything from campus DJs, to parties and even the showcase which was culminated last March,” said Veasley.
To learn more about this organization, upcoming events or for collaboration opportunities, visit their Facebook page entitled MyASUSound or e-mail them at myasusound1@gmail.com.
