PR Students Get Music Industry Experience at ACL

By Lauren Kahn, senior, public relations

Conditions for this year's Austin City Limits Festival were just about perfect: sunny skies, mild temperatures, high-octane performances and large crowds.

Now in its ninth year, ACL 2010 was one of the best ever.

The success of the festival is one reason The University of Texas at Austin is a great place for public relations students interested in working in the music industry, or for those who simply want to see how public relations works at a big music festival.

Every year, public relations students work the event through their jobs, as interns, as volunteers, or through avenues like GrammyU, the university program for the Grammy Foundation. The organization has workshops and meet-and-greets in which college students interested in the music industry get to learn from industry professionals.

Through GrammyU, senior public relations student Phillip Couchman got to interview some of the bands at the festival. All he had to do to apply was submit a writing sample and a video of himself in a simulated interview with a band.

"As a PR student, the coolest part was watching the publicists work in the media area," says Couchman. "For big bands like Switchfoot, the publicist would check in before the band arrived, talk to us a little bit, make sure we had everything prepared for their artist, then bring the artist over."

Couchman was only scheduled to interview five bands, but he ended up doing more than that. Some of the publicists for the smaller bands spotted him and his cameraman and requested that he interview their bands, too.

"They were very polite, but they weren't bashful about asking," says Couchman. "If you are planning to be a publicist you've got to take opportunities when you see them."

Stephanie Mejia, a junior majoring in public relations and psychology, had a slightly less high-energy experience.

Mejia was selected to be a greeter, which involved holding signs that read "ACL Info, Ask Us" and answering any questions posed by patrons. Her shifts ran about three hours and she got a T-shirt, water and snacks. She also got a staff wristband each day, which permitted her into the park before and after her shifts.

"I liked the idea of volunteering and getting the 'behind scenes' feel of ACL," says Mejia, "plus paying only $10 for the application fee and getting to enjoy the festival beats $185 any day."

Volunteers are given many options in their application which they rank according to preference. As for the work, Mejia says she felt a responsibility to represent the festival positively.

"The volunteers made up most of the ACL staff and I think this is what made the experience so valuable," she said. "I feel like this generates great PR for ACL, how many people want to be a part of such a great experience shows through."

To read Couchman's blog for the Grammy365 site, click here.