Tag Archives: Music and Media Management

2011 16/01
Kello 17:43 | By Mona Pitkänen | Posted in Music and Media Management | Tagged , , , |

The distant future, the distant future.

© I. Stroom

© I. Stroom

(Hopefully some of you recognize the title from Flight of the Conchords, which is the most awesome show ever.)

It’s funny to think that I’m almost done with my studies, and more or less soon I’ll become a Bachelor of Culture and Arts. I mean, I just started at JAMK? But it’s true, after this spring I’m going for exchange for a year (I don’t really consider that as part of my studies, however I will be studying there, I promise) and then the only things that are left are my thesis and the practical training. Scary! I know from experience that time flies when you’re having a good time, so before I know I should be a media industry professional. What an intimidating thought. Well, as MMM is the most intensive training after the military (as we were told in the first days of Mömmö life) I guess I’ll be as ready as I can.

I’m not that sure where I’ll end up. Hopefully I get to do my practical training somewhere I could possibly continue working afterwards, so that means that I have approximately 1.5 years to decide what I want to do. The possibilities are endless: record labels, artist management, event production, film industry, radio, TV, marketing…. Basically anything in the music and media industry.

I’m personally more interested in the media side, and at the moment the things that especially fascinate me are event management and the fashion business. Maybe I’ll be the main organizer of NY Fashion Week in a few years, who knows? Also organizing concerts could be my thing. I’m somewhat amused that after the first year I was emotionally and physically finished (thanks to my baby Sencity), but still it got me excited about event production. The reward you get after you see what you have accomplished makes up all the hard and painful work.

© H. Kynsijärvi

© H. Kynsijärvi

We don’t become musicians. However if you are a musician, studying MMM teaches you about the management side that all the artists should to some extent be aware of. It’s good to remember that studying MMM is studying business, not singing love songs and playing triangle. We make money and become damn good at it. However we all share the passion for the industry.

This week has been a great experience. It’s been fun to get to tell about us MMMs and what we do, as sometimes it feels like not even the other students at JAMK know what Music and Media Management is all about. As you can now see, it about a lot of things.

If you feel that music or/and media industry could be your future destination and you’re not afraid to take the ropes, go now to Admissions.fi and apply! If you have questions concerning the application process / requirements, contact the Admissions Office. Any questions about MMM (also the stupid ones) can be still sent to me (monapitkanen@gmail.com) for the entire spring.

Music and Media Management says thank you and goodbye, and see you around!

Cheers,

Mona + the other Mömmös

© H. Kynsijärvi

© H. Kynsijärvi

2011 15/01
Kello 15:59 | By Mona Pitkänen | Posted in Music and Media Management | Tagged , , , , , , , |

Conquering the Middle Earth.

© H. Kynsijärvi

© H. Kynsijärvi

Becoming a Mömmö requires moving to Jyväskylä (the city of grains), Finland, as MMM is a unique program. For some it might feel like an unbearable obstacle, as especially people living in the capital city area usually think that there is no life outside the Ring road III. I guess I have the right to say that, because I’ve been one of them. For almost all of my life I’ve been certain that I’d never move away from Helsinki (at least anywhere more north), but when it turned out that to be able to study Music and Media Management I would have to move to the Central Finland, there was really no choice. I also started thinking that it could be healthy to see something else for a change, and in the end, it’s only for a few years.

Jyväskylä is a great city to study in! Everything is near, but it’s still big enough not to cause anxiety for people who are used to a bigger territory. The lakes and nature are beautiful, and the city was actually built around the water system. JAMK University of Applied Sciences has three campuses in the city centre of Jyväskylä and one in Saarijärvi (65km north from Jyväskylä), where the agrologist students study. Jyväskylä has also its own university, so the city is filled with vibrant student life. There are a lot of cultural events, sporting possibilities and nightlife, so it’s for certain that you won’t get bored.

Also JAMK offers a bunch of things to do. You can become an international tutor, who helps the exchange students to settle in Jyväskylä and get them started with their studies. Another choice is to apply for degree tutoring, which means that you’ll tutor the new Mömmös. I’ve been both, and I can tell it’s a lot of fun, let alone you get credits for it! Check out what additional possibilities our student union JAMKO has.

@ H. Kynsijärvi

@ H. Kynsijärvi

If you’re interested in organizational activities, you take part in Sauma Ry. Sauma is the study field association for MMM, media design and fashion & clothing students, and its purpose is not only to organize cool events such as an annual cruise and a spring excursion, but also to make sure that the students get quality education and that their rights are not violated. Last year I was the publicist for Sauma, and now I’m a deputy member in the board. Again: beneficial and educational future-wise, but also having a superb time with awesome people. It also looks good in your CV, by the way ;) .

I can say that I have enjoyed my time in Jyväskylä, JAMK and Mömmö family. It feels sad that this is my last spring here, but I’m trying not to think about it. I’ve made great friends who I hopefully get to work with in the future. Being a Mömmö is a privilege, I could say. It’s studying a interesting and developing industry, growing into expertise and actually loving it, meeting wonderful people and having a time of your life.

Wow, I think I got sidetracked as it’s not my last post (and the paragraph above sounds like it). However, let’s see what I come up with tomorrow!

Cheers,

Mona

2011 14/01
Kello 21:22 | By Mona Pitkänen | Posted in Music and Media Management | Tagged , , , , , |

Spreading the MMM love around the world.

ce_bigboom2

© H. Kynsijärvi

This spring is dedicated to my upcoming exchange. First it is the “waiting and recklessly stressing” phase, when I’m  searching for the best exchange places, trying to find out where I can apply and where I could actually be accepted to. At the moment I’ve almost passed that stage, so my stress level is slowly coming down as I have kind of decided where I want to go. Next up is the applying stage, when I have to fill in the application and then again anxiously wait whether JAMK approves. After that it’s waiting once again, this time for a reply from the exchange school: am I good enough for them? Then FINALLY when (hopefully) a “Yes” is received, I’ll start to arrange all the practicalities and hysterically celebrate the fact that I made it. Therefore I’am already apologizing the teachers and basically anyone I’ll bump into this spring: I’m sorry, I might just be thinking of something else.

As MMM is an international degree program, going for exchange is strongly recommended. It’s a great way to make new contacts, open new doors (a lot of “new”) and just to get a wider perspective of both the industry and world in general. At the moment I personally think that MMM could have more direct exchange places, but as new contracts are made every year and because you are allowed to apply to every exchange school JAMK has, there’s something for everyone. We have exchange places in e.g. The Netherlands, France, China, Japan, Canada, UK and the US (NY). The time of the exchange period differs usually from 4 months (1 semester) to 10 months (1 academic year) depending on the receiving institution.

ce_sencity

© H. Kynsijärvi

Often the students are going abroad in the third year either for half a year, or then for the entire term. Some leave already in the second spring, so it’s pretty much up to you and your study phase. I’m now leaving for the third year, and I’ve scheduled my studies so that I have enough credits in my pocket when I come back to return to Helsinki for my thesis and practical training (yaiks!).

It is also possible to do your practical training abroad, so internationality is well presented. For example, you could be in exchange for 6 months in the Netherlands, then go to Australia for 6 months, and after that do your practical training in, let’s say, Singapore.

We have a great opportunity here at MMM, as it is possible for us to complete a double degree. It means that if you go to study to the Netherlands (Amsterdam) to our cooperate school for the third year, and then write a thesis that both schools accept, you can graduate from both schools. That might give you additional and beneficial competence in the future.

You can see the internationality here at JAMK, because we have also non-Finnish students in our class. In first and second year students there are e.g. Mexicans, Germans, Austrians, Vietnamese, Bulgarians, Ethiopians and Russians (just to mention a few). So from where ever you are, you’re welcome to join our big family!

Cheers,

Mona

2011 13/01
Kello 19:57 | By Mona Pitkänen | Posted in Music and Media Management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , |

Let us entertain.

© H. Kynsijärvi

© H. Kynsijärvi

As I have reached the halfway of the journey to the mysteries of MMM, I think it’s only fair to reveal what it’s really about. Campus Entertainment! Well, now that I have survived the first year of Mömmö life, I have a healthier perspective towards CE. Last year it took 110% of my time and resources, and it has been interesting to discover this term that it’s actually possible and much more rewarding to do CE without slaving myself.

Campus Entertainment is a student-led company / learning environment of MMM students, which makes it possible to learn our future profession in practice. We implement different kinds of projects in CE that range from online services to events. The organization consists completely of MMM students, as the course is compulsory to attend twice. Two of our lecturers act as Course Tutors, and every year we have one or more external consultants, who are music and/or media industry professionals. The CEO, Management Team and Team Leaders are chosen among the advanced students, and the first year MMMs compile the project teams. CE starts right in the beginning of school year, so the new students are welcomed to the bedlam immediately!

Last year I was the Team Leader of Sencity even though I was a first year student. I can say that I have never learned so much in my entire life! The year was full of tears, stress and pain (just to list some), but in the end when Signmark was performing Smells Like Victory, it really did smell like victory. After all, pulling off a major event successfully with a bunch of unexperienced people is pretty amazing.

This year I got the challenge to start leading a brand new project, which is a fashion-related media service. In addition to that, we have an another novel concept under development. Together we have 9 projects: Avalanche (online music marketing service), Big Boom (band / singer-songwriter competition), CE News (reports and documents the CE projects and explores the industry), ExSpo (street culture event), Levels (gaming event), M3 (online-game marketing tool for MMM) and Sencity (music and club event for deaf and hearing people) + the 2 new ones.

By the way, the application period for Big Boom starts soon, so if you have a band or you have piles of lyrics in your nightstand drawer, take part! The instructions can be found on the website.

Go and visit the Campus Entertainment website for more information on CE and its projects. The project introductions should be updated any time soon!

Meanwhile, you can check out the video from last year’s Sencity shot and edited by Ville Viinikainen. Enjoy!

Hopefully you will be around to attend this spring CE events, because I promise you, they are going to be AWESOME!

Cheers,

Mona

ce_konsti

© H. Kynsijärvi

PS. All the photos in this blog (in MMM related posts) excluding the photo of JAMK are from CE.

2011 11/01
Kello 20:32 | By Mona Pitkänen | Posted in Music and Media Management | Tagged , , , |

How do I get there (and are we there yet)?

ce_bbteam

© H. Kynsijärvi

It’s really weird, we had again only one lecture today. Though, after actually taking a look at my spring courses it turned out that two of them are intensive teaching, which means that they last only for three days. I might survive alive after all! Seriously speaking, the recommended amount is approximately 30 credits (ECTS) per semester, which is perfectly possible to achieve without losing your mind. I’m just working on my personal “get as many credits as possible before next summer” project, which came out of nowhere. But hey, multitasking! However, 30/semester adds to 60/year, and that means that the needed credits would be achieved in 4 years. Depending on your study pace you can graduate also in 3.5 years.

Today when I was walking my dog in the snowstorm and almost sinking into a pond (I thought it was a soccer field at first…), it hit me. It’s SPRING! Well, it didn’t really feel like spring as my face was wet with whirling slush and from time to time I had to carry the dog, because she refused to walk on with snowballs stuck to her paws. However, in theory it is spring school-wise, and spring means entrance exams. The mysterious event which at least I was scared to death of. I attended the Studia Fair 2010 in December as a tutor, and the undeniable winner of the Top 3 questions I faced was “What are the entrance exams like?”. Also its BFF “Is it easy to get in?” was very popular.

You never know what the cunning teachers of MMM will come up with this year as it is typical to be innovative and groundbreaking in our program (by the way, never use those words), but the entrance exams have been fairly similar for two years now. It could be assumed (also, never assume) that they are somewhat alike this time as well. To make your life easier and prevent you from getting a panic attack I can briefly describe the process. However, all rights reserved!

First of all, we were asked to bring in a portfolio. Personally I like detailed instructions, because then it’s more difficult to go wrong. That’s why I suffered from numerous hyperventilations and nervous breakdowns when trying to figure out what I would do. In the end after being frustrated for months I decided to compile the portfolio in a website format, as web design had been my hobby for several years. My first advise for you: don’t make it so agonizing. The portfolio is supposed to depict you, so just choose the style that feels right. If you’re a Power Point master, make an awesome slideshow. Write a song. Sell yourself (not literally). The second day consisted of the written part and short interviews.

ce_cafe

© H. Kynsijärvi

The second question is more difficult, as there is no concrete right answer. I could say that if you are the right person for this program, it is easy to get in. Defining “the right person” is impossible. However you should be motivated, enthusiastic, genuinely interested in the field and ready to work your butt off. If you have a voice in your head (even if it’s a small one) telling you to apply, do it! Can’t wait to see you in the entrance exams :) .

Now I have to get going, there is a kick-off party for the Jyväskylä University and JAMK’s student union JAMKO’s International Club and we have to go and check out the new exchange students.

Cheers,

Mona

2011 10/01
Kello 19:51 | By Mona Pitkänen | Posted in Music and Media Management | Tagged , , |

Hello dear readers! And welcome back to school.

This is the pilot post for both my blogging era as well as the Student’s Diary campaign, which I guess means that the pressure is on.

© Mona Pitkänen

© M. Pitkänen

Gladly handling stress is something that you have to (for your own sake) master as an MMM student – if you don’t know how to do it yet, you’ll learn it fast.

I think that the first thing to do is to introduce myself: my name is Mona, and I’m a second year student of the Degree Programme in Music and Media Management (MMM). Usually when I tell someone what I’m studying, they immediately ask me if I sing or play an instrument. Well, even though a bunch of us “Mömmös” (a weird Finnish nickname for MMM students meaning goo) are somewhat related to the world of music as either band members or groupies, we don’t study music itself. Moreover, being a Bachelor of Culture and Arts after graduation doesn’t really describe our profession. So what do we actually do? Here it comes: we study managing and leading in the field of music and media. In other words, in a few years we’ll hopefully find ourselves in managing positions in the above-mentioned industry.

Today was the first school day of the spring semester 2011, and I can honestly say that I’ve never been more happy to go back to school after a holiday. It’s not because my 3 weeks off would’ve been disastrous after which anything would have been an improvement, but because I’m actually excited to study more MMM stuff! Though we had just a journalism lecture today by one of my favorite teachers, I vaguely remember choosing quite many courses before Christmas for the spring…. Wait a second, I’ll go and check.

Yep, a ridiculous amount. But what can you do, too many interesting subjects to study!

I bumped into Music and Media Management by accident at the Studia Fair 2008, and oh boy I’m glad I did. For a few years I had thought of applying to study either graphical design or media production, but they just didn’t feel like “my thing”. The JAMK students at Studia didn’t really know much about MMM as it was a brand new program, but after they told me that the MMM students were organizing a “club event for deaf, which had a vibrating dance floor”, I was certain that this would be the place for me. I mean, how cool is that? Funnily enough I ended up organizing the same event last year.

Even though becoming a “Mömmö” meant that I had to leave Helsinki and move all the way to central Finland, I haven’t regretted one bit. And why should I, I’ve been more than happy with the school and the program. I hope that during this week I get to open up the curtain and let you have a peek in the MMM lounge (yes, we have our own lounge at school). Welcome to our world!

Any questions, comments or weather forecasts can either be left here under the post or sent to me via e-mail to monapitkanen@gmail.com. The smartest ones can also track me down on Facebook, but the most important thing is that you ask. The style is free.

Let’s catch up tomorrow!

Cheers,

Mona

PS. More pictures coming up.