DECATUR -- The Millikin School of Music is celebrating the impending success of its first B.S. Music Business graduate following the creation of the major by music industry icon, Martin Atkins. Big Blue senior Landen Antonini ’23, will bring a distinctively new skill set (and attitude) to Jay Goldberg Events & Entertainment (JGEE) as a talent buyer following graduation.
JGEE is an event and entertainment company established in 1971 to promote major live music concerts and to produce and develop festivals and special events. With offices based in Urbana, Peoria & Chicago, Illinois, SW Florida and South America, Jay Goldberg Events and Entertainment has produced concerts and individual events throughout the Midwest and entire United States to Buenos Aires, Argentina.
As an undergraduate, Antonini received hands-on experience and practical instruction in all aspects of music business through engagement with traditional business, entrepreneurship, and do-it-yourself (DIY) strategies for music performance, marketing, distribution, contracts, revenue streams, merchandising, publishing and touring. The new B.S degree reimagines the pathway to a career in music by eliminating traditional barriers to music school acceptance (no audition required) while providing extraordinary opportunities for exploration and growth across a variety of careers. Curriculum includes: running a record label (First Step Records), creating and organizing a music business conference (Millikin's Midwest Music Expo (MMX)) and engaging in the Tour Smart Bus Experience — a 24/7 internship into the world of a Pigface tour!
Mid-studies, Antonini interned with JGEE in the summer of 2021, learning primarily about Artist Hospitality and Artist Relations. He also did runner work at the Summer Camp Music Festival and The Peoria Riverfront, interfacing with many national touring acts including Three 6 Mafia, Ween, Trippin’ Billies, and more.
This past year, he continued working with JGEE in the production of the Peoria Blues & Heritage Festival and the Pygmalion Festival (Champaign-Urbana), and in early 2023, he received an invitation to attend Pollstar Live! in Los Angeles, California. Pollstar Live! is the world’s largest gathering of live entertainment professionals and the flagship event for Pollstar magazine, the leading trade publication for the global live entertainment industry.
Antontini says that attending the conference “was the experience of a lifetime. I attended many industry-driven panels, as well as met with many established professionals in this industry. The networking opportunities were by far the most valuable takeaway from the experience.”
After working as an assistant talent buyer this year, Antonini will take on a full-time role with the company this spring, where he will continue talent buying and working at various festivals.
To learn more about Music Business and the Millikin School of Music, visit millikin.edu/school-music/area-of-study.
About the Millikin University School of Music
The mission of the School of Music is to develop the whole musician – artistically, intellectually, technically – through the integration of theory and practice in an environment where students become active learners through their relationships with faculty, who themselves continue to grow as artists, scholars, and teachers.
Millikin's nationally recognized School of Music brings relevant, performance-based opportunities to all facets of undergraduate music education. With five distinctive music degree programs and additional certificate options, our students find their path to professional success by blending creative, performative, scholarly, and entrepreneurial experiences designed to train the next generation of music professionals. The School of Music also offers multiple opportunities for Millikin students to get involved in over seven ensembles. Students do not need to be a music major or minor to be involved.
Visit millikin.edu/som to learn more.
For further information, please contact LJ Pemberton, Marketing and Patron Relations Manager at Kirkland Fine Arts Center at 217.424.3931 or lpemberton@millikin.edu.