Learning Music and the Music Business

Come fall, the College will launch Spring Garden Records, providing students with real-world experience in the music business and a boost for local artists. 

“A lot of our students are interested in music. They are passionate about music, but they don’t understand all the revenue streams,” said Paul Geissinger, who heads the Music department and is shepherding the student-run project. They will actually generate music credits on their résumés before they graduate from college.”

The recording studio is housed on the College’s Main Campus. Artists include students, faculty members and outside musicians, all with a Philadelphia focus.

Spring Garden Records’ first project will be producing an extended play digital recording of music written and performed by student Shanice Manley, who uses Amari as her stage name. Shanice sang at the College’s 2017 commencement and performed at the Black & Gold Gala, which raised scholarship money for the College. 

Geissinger said Spring Garden Records “was birthed in the Music department,” which will handle the technical aspects of producing recordings for digital distribution via online streaming and music services. Spring Garden Records will also draw on the talents of student designers, photographers and videographers, who will be involved in doing what it takes to promote the recordings.

Geissinger is himself a distinguished musician and producer. His résumé includes credits for collaborating on productions with British pop artist Charli XCX and remixing works by Italian classical pianist Ludovico Einaudi. His remix of one of Einaudi’s pieces was used in the last scene of the last show of the Netflix sci-fi television series Sense8, and was also part of a British Airways advertisement during qualifying rounds for the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament.

“You have to be diverse in this industry if you want to pay the bills and be successful,” said Geissinger, known as Starkey in the production world. “As a music producer, you have to be an entrepreneur. You have to be diversified.”