Resonate Magazine | Australian Music Centre

Image: Jessica Wearne  

I began my internship at AMC at the beginning of August as part of a unit I am currently taking within my Bachelor of Music degree at Macquarie University. The unit I'm taking is an Arts Management Internship where the focus is to allow students to partake in an internship that is focused on their likes or potential career paths that gives them the opportunity for growth. My aim for this unit and my internship was to primarily discover what it is I want to do with my career, whilst also lending a hand wherever necessary.

Within my degree, I studied units that had a business background as well as many opportunities to create my own music. Whilst it would be a dream to be able to write music as a career, the ideal outcome is within the communications and marketing area.

As it's my final semester, I went into my unit with an idea of wanting to partake in an office-like job that would give me a greater idea into what the workforce is like with the communications and marketing background. I also wanted an experience that focused less on the creativity of music and more on the business and organisational side of the music industry.

I had the expectation that I would be working independently on resources for artists and educators, however, the outcome revealed I would be continually working around all aspects of AMC and what they provide. I didn't have much knowledge of AMC and the work they do, however, I wish I had known throughout my degree as well as throughout high school as they provide so much knowledge and resources about many aspects of the music industry. AMC has so many services and opportunities for everyone within the Australian music industry which deserves to be known more widely.

The Australian Music Centre provided me with the perfect opportunity by allowing a focus on a variety of aspects within organisation. I had the privilege of gaining more knowledge than I expected with this internship, both in terms of the enhancement of practical and professional skills as well as gaining a greater insight into the industry through the tasks I was assigned each week. During this time, I had the opportunity to craft interview questions and draft artist profiles for the Associate and Represented Artists of AMC. I expanded my proficiency in using excel with data analysis and graphing, as well as having creative input on a variety of tasks. I offered a different perspective as a student in which allowed AMC to look at possible different approaches to their brand and what they could offer.

AMC has inspired my love for music and allowed me to learn much more about the industry and education from the experience provided by an organisation who are very present in the Australian music industry.

This opportunity with AMC has given me a chance to organise and discover what it is I want in my career - something that had me stuck on prior to this opportunity. It has cemented my view of the Australian music industry with AMC's involvement being very prominent for artists, musicians, teachers and students within Australia. AMC has been very beneficial in developing transferrable skills as well as allowing my creativity and innovation to be noted. I developed my critical thinking, resilience, communication, organisation, self-awareness and adaptive mindset which is always necessary in any work environment. I quite enjoyed reading and learning about the many artists involved with AMC and lending a hand with different aspects of events that AMC held. In completing these tasks, I realised my potential career interests by wanting to focus on events within the music industry.

I have learnt many things and new skills that I did not necessarily prepare for during my degree and I was able to apply and expand on the creativity and communication skills I acquired throughout my degree.

I am very grateful for this opportunity as it has proved to be very beneficial in understanding many aspects of the music industry, music education and myself. I have valued each task and opportunity AMC has provided and I would highly recommend for any student looking for a chance to learn and engage with the Australian music industry in a creative and professional setting.

Editor's note: We currently have limited capacity to host student internships. If you are a tertiary student interested in undertaking an internship with the AMC, please contact us through your education institution.