Students in the University of Arkansas’ music department rehearse for a performance.

Photo: Courtesy, University of Arkansas

Some University of Arkansas students will get hands-on experience in the music business beginning this fall.

UA officials last week announced plans to launch a brand new student-run record label called Hill Records in the upcoming semester.

The new label will provide students an opportunity to work on a host of music business-related activities, including recording projects, artist management, booking, music placement, merchandising, media campaigns, networking and others.

Local musician and UA professor Jake Hertzog will help facilitate the new program.

“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to explore innovative ideas in collegiate music education,” Hertzog said “As a research institution we can model that multidisciplinary collaboration that is so essential in the music business.

“It will be a fantastic way for our students to get hands-on experience and learn this industry inside out, preparing them for successful careers and future ventures in music,” he said.

Faculty and staff from the UA’s Department of Music, School of Art, Technology Ventures, Computer Science, and Computer Engineering Department will also be involved in the label project.

The project, originally called “The 21st Century Music Industry: Imagining a New Role for Higher Education,” was one of nine inaugural initiatives selected to receive seed funding from the Chancellor’s Fund for Humanities and Performing Arts.

U of A Chancellor Joe Steinmetz formed the $1 million seed fund to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and spark creative activity in the humanities and performing arts, officials said.

The label will launch this fall with an open call for music submissions, and plans for a compilation album, Hertzog. After that, the label plans to begin begin sharing digital content.

The plan is to focus on artists from the state of Arkansas, including UA students, faculty, and alumni from “every genre.”

Students from the School of Art’s graphic design program and from the music business-focused student group, MP3, developed the name for the label, along with logo designs. The group decided on a logo created by student Kenzie Klinkhamer and the Hill Records name.

Logo by UA student Kenzie Klinkhamer

Courtesy

UA officials said that only about 20 colleges around the country offer student-run labels as part of their curriculum.

John Lee, a UA senior and president of the MP3 student group, said being part of Hill Records has been helping bring the new label to life.

“I’m so excited about this giant step forward,” Lee said. “By creating Hill Records, University of Arkansas is joining an elite group of colleges that provide their students with real-world experience and insight into this essential sector of the music and entertainment industries.”