Nashville Study Away Program Hosts “How Nashville Became Music City” as Part of its 10th Anniversary Celebration

Mark Montgomery, an adjunct professor in the University of New Haven’s Nashville Study Away Program, teamed up with the Nashville Entrepreneurship Center to host “How Nashville Became Music City” with historian and writer Robert K. Oermann. The night, organized as part of a semester-long celebration of the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Nashville Study Away Program, gave current students a chance to connect with alumni and industry professionals and hear about Nashville’s history.

The day was an exciting one. I had my internship at Lightning 100 Radio Station in the morning. Then at 4 o’clock, the VIP reception of the event began, so I had to make sure to get there early (if you’re early, you’re on time; if you’re on time, you’re late).

To say I was nervous was an understatement. I would be meeting alumni, as well as furthering my career opportunities by networking with industry professionals. To combat this anxiety, I decided to dive right in as more people began to arrive around 5 o’clock.

During this time, my advisor and Nashville Study Away Program Coordinator Professor Mark Tavern pulled me aside and pointed me in the direction of someone he wanted me to meet. The man had a Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) pin on his suit jacket, and I had just applied for a Student Ambassador job with the MLC. So, naturally, that was my way in.

As we entered the room for the talk with Oermann, I swallowed my anxiety and approached the man with the pin:

“Hi, sir. I noticed your pin says, ‘The MLC’. Do you work for them?”

“I do, yeah.”

“Oh, that’s great! I love The MLC, what do you do for them?”

“I’m the CEO.”

The individual I spoke with is Kris Ahrend, the CEO of The MLC. The MLC is a nonprofit collective rights management organization created in 2018 after the passage of the Music Modernization Act. Their job is to collect royalties from streaming DSPs (Digital Service Providers) such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc.) and pay them out to composers, lyricists, music publishers, and self-publisher/self-administered songwriters. The company has distributed over $3 billion worth of royalties and processed over $4 billion in less than 10 years.

Walking into the main room at the Entrepreneurship Center, Kris and I got caught in the crowd moving in but ended up sitting next to each other. We continued our conversation and got to know each other. (Kris is a Yankees fan—as am I—so, of course, we got along great.)

Kris and I talked a lot about each other, comparing notes on where we grew up and how we got to where we are now. We also discussed how networking events and meetings are key to moving forward in the music industry, specifically for University of New Haven students.

“I always enjoy attending events like these, because they give me a chance to catch up with leaders in our industry, like Professor Mark Tavern, and meet an impressive young person like you, who is clearly going to play a part in leading our industry in the future,” said Ahrend. “I commend the University of New Haven for doing such a wonderful job of creating meaningful educational and networking opportunities for their students in Nashville.”

We then listened to Oermann’s history of music in Nashville walk (if you ever get the opportunity to see him, go), and we watched as Mark Montgomery interviewed him afterward. Kris and I continued to discuss our lives and music interests before connecting on LinkedIn at the end of the night.

The Nashville Study Away Program has given me a great experience and allowed me to grow outside of my comfort zone. I have done things, interacted with people, met professionals, and been introduced to ideas I never thought I would be able to. The past semester has been a gift; I continued to learn more and push myself forward in my career.

The networking and alumni event hosted by the Nashville Entrepreneurship Center, Professor Mark Montgomery, and the entire Nashville Study Away team was a great experience. Being able to connect with University of New Haven alumni, as well as industry professionals, was an amazing opportunity that I am proud to say I grabbed by the horns.