“I’m always going to make music, but my goal is not to be famous… I just want to make music for those who enjoy listening to good music. Being a musician, you’re going to be around musicians, but if I also explore the tech space, I can bridge the gap between the music and the tech industry.”
Tobi Akanbi is an MSLCE student with a music and tech focus. He graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the summer of 2021. Tobi developed interests in singing and song writing in high school, but he only started considering music as a potential career when he was in college. At Penn State, Tobi founded his own music company, Youth of Amsterdam; he now writes songs, produces albums, and does audio engineering for various customers from diverse backgrounds. In another five years, Tobi sees his company grows into a pipeline for creative and independent artists, helping them get a foot into the music industry: “I want to own essentially an entertainment company where I help artists achieve their goals…they’re not signing away their masters; it’s more like signing on to a team. They bring their ideas to me, and we help them bring their brilliant ideas to life.”
Hoping to bring his business to another level, Tobi was drawn to the MSLCE program because of its diverse curriculum that covers all aspects of running a creative business: “You’ll learn how to run a company in the entertainment industry, how Hollywood works, and how you get a movie from idea to release.” Besides the curriculum, Tobi chose MSLCE because of its welcoming environment: “As I was doing the interview…I felt like I already got in; I’m glad I got in so I can tell the story now. I felt that this was a program that would not only allow me to get a degree, but also to get an amazing experience with people who genuinely care about your success.”
As the first MSLCEr who went on the IDEA FUND trip, Tobi visited the SXSW Conference & Festivals in March at Austin, where he had the opportunity to meet with hundreds of industry leaders and establish invaluable music networks. Getting bombarded with panels that discussed the application of Web 3.0 tech on the music business, Tobi was deeply inspired to explore the tech world and the web developing space: “I could really see how fast people are catching on to the next big thing…It’s Web 3.0 everywhere. It’s not enough for people to bridge the gap between music and technologies now…you need to pick up the NFTs. Artists are minting their music now, and that’s the space I want to tap into.”
For those who are considering entering the music industry, the best piece of advice from Tobi is to collaborate with other artists: “Collaboration is crucial. It’s like the number one thing I wish I knew earlier. Collaboration gives you a better product and expands your music outreach. For people I worked with before, I was also attracting their listeners, and those artists have opened doors for me to work with even more people.”
by Olive Mingxuan Ju
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