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For the record

Mon Hills Group is where industry dreams meet practical experience

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A unique and creative force is shaping the future of the music industry from what some might consider an unsuspecting place — West Virginia University. Mon Hills Music Group, the professional component of the School of Music’s Music Business and Industry Program, is a living, breathing classroom where students are getting the real-world experience necessary to land the careers that dreams are made of.

In any given semester, nearly 50 undergraduate and graduate students in the WVU College of Creative Arts and Media are involved in every facet of the music business through Mon Hills Music Group and its two labels — Mon Hills Records and Go 1st Records. The program is under the guidance of Director Darko Velichkovski and Assistant Director Joshua Swiger, both professors in the School of Music.

At Mon Hills Records, the student-run record label at West Virginia University, students can showcase their talent while also learning all aspects of the music business.

Participating students do it all. They scout and sign artists, plan events, record music, promote the artists, events and music, publish things and create content, and countless other tasks that go into creating commercially viable music in a modern, streaming world. 

“It's about providing a space where students can learn by doing,” Swiger said. “This is the practical learning application, putting the skills to the knowledge we've learned in the classroom, and it’s very much a throw-them-in-the-pool type of thing. We’re always there as a safety net, but we let the students run every facet of the labels.”

Making the music makers

“Their time with us is the time for our students to really learn,” Swiger said. “We build in a little bit of a safety net, but we really encourage experimentation, which lends to even more learning. Our graduates have resumes that show that they've actually done stuff. The music industry loves that."

And the program has had tremendous success, with several graduates working for major record labels after graduation. 

“We had one student who applied at Warner Records. He was one of 700 applicants for the job. The people at Warner didn’t even believe his resume. They actually called me to verify that this guy did all that he claimed to have done,” Swiger said. “That’s how good our program is. Music is a $20 billion industry, globally. We teach the business of music, and we teach it well so that these students can follow their dreams.”

Ultimately, Swiger said he hopes the program can have an even greater impact — hopes that are rooted in his connection to West Virginia.

“I'm a native West Virginian and I'm tired of exporting our talent,” he said. “We have massive cultural talent here in all styles of music. We can build this in the state of West Virginia. That turns into visitors and tourism and a higher quality of life for everyone."

If we can continue to build this thing, the sky's the limit. The arts have real value.

— Joshua Swiger

The Mon Hills Music Group is a place where dreams are nurtured, and the future of music is being written, one student, one song, one record at a time.

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