Michael & Anne Greenwood School of Music to host Warner Music Executive for Q&A

Nov. 17—This Friday, OSU music industry students and the public will have the opportunity to meet another legend in the music world.

The Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music at Oklahoma State University will host Scott Hendricks for a "behind-the-scenes" look at the music production industry at 9 a.m. in the GSM Media Lab. Music students will have the chance to share their music with Hendricks during a mock song pitch workshop.

Following that, GSM will host "A Conversation with Scott Hendricks" at 10:30 a.m. in the McKnight Center for the Performing Arts Recital Hall.

Both events are free and open to the public.

Hendricks, an OSU alumnus, earned a degree in architectural acoustics in 1978. He has produced records for over 30 country music artists including Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins, Alan Jackson, Faith Hill, Brooks & Dunn and John Michael Montgomery. Hendricks has been the CEO and president of the Nashville divisions of both Capital Records and Virgin Records. He now serves as Warner Music Nashville's Executive Vice President of A&R. As of October, Hendricks has produced 121 Top 10 singles, with 78 hitting No. 1.

But what brings Hendricks to the OSU campus is more than just a workshop or a Q&A. It's a highlight on a specific degree offered at OSU that involves much more.

State-of-the-art studioTucked away on the third floor of the Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music at Oklahoma State University lies a hidden gem.

It's the Dick and Malinda Berry Fischer Recording Studio, home of the student-led record label Poke U Records. It's also the home of OSU's resident artist, Jesse Tabish and his band, Other Lives.

According to Associate Professor and Director of the Music Industry Program Mark Perry, this studio is one of only 10 in the world with a console like this.

Most likely you've never heard of this special spot on the campus at OSU.

But when GSM was in the planning stages of the music industry program, the school asked Perry to design the studio and plan the gear they needed. The school wanted a full studio. Perry knew they would need high-class integration to make sure the studio was everything it needed to be.

Vintage King, Pro Audio Outfitter, is based in Nashville and is one of the world's premier audio and video engineering specialists.

"We put (the project) out for bid, and Vintage King won the bid," Perry said.

Hendricks will be seeing firsthand the Greenwood School of Music and the new studio.

Making Billboard's list of top business schoolsRecently the Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music at Oklahoma State University was featured in Billboard, America's foremost music industry magazine.

Billboard's charts include the Billboard Global 200 chart and the Artist 100 chart. In their article, they highlighted other schools like Abbey Road Institute in London, Belmont University — Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business and Berklee College of Music in Boston.

And there among the list of prime colleges and institutions where the music industry is influencing the shape of America, the Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music is listed.

Perry has been the galvanizing force behind the music industry program and the state-of-the-art recording studio. Its new facilities opened to the public in 2021.

"Most people don't even know we have this recording studio or this degree," Perry said.

The Music Industry degree officially started in 2017, but Perry helped from the ground up, developing the curriculum and making sure it met the requirements, both at the regents level at OSU and then at the state level. The program is fully accredited through the National Association of Schools of Music.

"Whenever you have a change in your program offerings, you have to go through a process to meet the standards of the National Association of Schools of Music," Perry said.

Perry was hired to develop the music program at Oklahoma State University, and he thought he'd mostly do country music. But when he first started there wasn't much emphasis on that genre. Now, there is.

"I consider myself the 'mother of the program,'" he said.

Perry said he has been careful to keep Billboard informed of what's been happening in the program, and he was pleased that they featured GSM as a top business school for music.

GSM making a name for itselfGSM is now the second-largest and fastest-growing music program at Oklahoma State University.

Part of the reason for that is the school's access to amazing talent like Scott Hendricks. In 2000, Hendricks was inducted into the Oklahoma State University Hall of Fame and in 2015, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. He was also inducted by Blake Shelton into Oklahoma's highest honor, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2021.

But others have joined the faculty at OSU. Zac Maloy, an adjunct professor, is a Stillwater native but lives in Nashville and visits the campus once or twice a year. Grammy-winning sound engineer Trent Bell lives and operates a recording studio in Norman. His band Chainsaw Kittens was a part of the American alternative rock scene in the 90s.

The Michael & Anne Greenwood School of Music lists the Bachelor of Science in Music Industry degree as one that "serves students interested in careers in music production, songwriting, live entertainment, and music entrepreneurship."

Not only does it offer a record label, GSM provides a music publisher, concert promotion and musical products divisions. Students interested in careers in music production, music publishing, live entertainment and merchandising can take courses in musicianship, music technology and music entrepreneurship. In addition, music industry students have the opportunity to start an MBA program their senior year through the Spears School of Business.

"Music executives tell me that students need to have business classes as well, so that they don't get taken advantage of later," Perry said. "Not everyone has the ability to perform or play music, but there is a support structure of music industry. There's an opportunity for them to still work in the music industry."

The chance to meet Hendricks and learn more about the music industry up close is one that Perry hopes his students and the public will take advantage of.

"As a native of Clinton, Oklahoma, and an OSU alumnus, Scott Hendricks will serve as an inspiration to my music industry majors, proving that it is possible to earn success in the music industry," Perry said in a press release. "He will share his story, but will also address the current state of the music industry, which he knows so well."

For more information about the event or the music industry program at the Greenwood School of Music, visit music.okstate.edu or call 405-744-6133.