Producing music has become increasingly popular among college students. With the developments in technology and ease of access, it has become a widely talked about career path, even for non-music majors.
ASU's mission focuses on providing for a variety of disciplines. Resources for music production should be provided for all students across campus, not just music majors.
As the most innovative university, ASU should allocate its resources to anyone trying to have a role in this innovative industry, which is quickly gaining more exposure and becoming more lucrative.
There is a wide variety of genres in the music industry. Naturally, the industry draws a great deal of interest.
Even though people typically think of EDM when they think of music production, we have seen a rise in popular rap artists producing their own beats. Furthermore, these resources would give women producers a chance to rise up.
It is important for ASU to recognize this necessity so it can continue to aid the diverse interests and career paths that it prides itself on supporting.
“In general, I think the type of music technology that’s available has become very reasonably priced. It’s easily accessible to a wide population and it has also become much easier to use,” Kotoka Suzuki, assistant professor of music composition and theory at ASU, said.
Students are not pursuing music production in a university setting just for the experience — it can often be difficult and expensive to create a big studio at home. These resources may not always be easy to attain without the help of a large university like ASU.
However, you should not have to be a music major to gain access to the resources that are provided.
The music building offers four electronic music studios where mostly students enrolled in the music program can utilize the space and devices.
“Unfortunately, it is not widely available to everyone," Suzuki said. "We offer classes to be able to use the studios, so we always have to limit and allow the students who are registered for the class to be able to use them. A lot of students have been reaching out to me and inquiring about the use of (the music studios)."
ASU could potentially provide these resources for the tens of thousands of students that attend the University. They should consider creating more student-friendly music studios where anyone can sign up to use them, much like study rooms.
Although ASU has multiple programs that accommodates for these increasing demands for music production for music majors, there is more to be done.
Producing music is an art form that anyone can learn, but not everyone can have access to. As the No. 1 school in innovation, ASU can take this passion and help students move up in the industry, even if they aren't music majors.
Reach the columnist at tkallye@asu.edu or follow on Twitter @trwscuit.
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Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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