UMass Student Channels Music Industry Experience into Youtube
What started out as “something [he] did in the midst of a mental breakdown,” turned out to be life changing for UMass Amherst Senior Brendan Jeannetti. He originally started his college career at Fitchburg State, but after realizing it wasn’t the place for him, he decided to transfer to the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. What followed was a heartbreaking comedy of errors that landed him in the thick of the music and entertainment industries and led him to the possibility of a career he had never imagined for himself.
“I literally went to a different school each semester for the first 4 semesters of college ….” — Brendan Jeannetti
“I literally went to a different school each semester for the first 4 semesters of college, and it wasn’t by choice” Jeannetti said. After attending UMass Boston to fulfill the Isenberg prerequisites and then being forced to transfer to Westfield State after a series of academic snafus, his transcripts were mislaid during his application to Isenberg, which made him ineligible to transfer.
In the midst of the mental and emotional chaos that ensued, he began applying for internships at big companies in the hopes of making up for lost time. What he didn’t expect was that he would be offered a position at iHeartRadio and that his entire life would change as a result.
“My very first gig for iHeart was when I realized the music industry was for me,” Jeannetti said. So after finally getting into UMass, he decided to drop his business major — the very reason he had to go to 4 different schools in 4 semesters — to pursue a degree in Communications Media. “I was at iHeart for 4 months when I got to work closely with Demi Lovato,” Jeannetti said. “iHeartRadio has always provided me with opportunity and real world music industry experience.” While at iHeartRadio, he started the podcast “Slightly Serious” and began interviewing people with over 1 million social media followers.
It didn’t stop there however. After a year at iHeartRadio, he was hired by Sony Music and became a college marketing representative. He works on physical and digital marketing campaigns for popular recording artists.
While it appears that the sky’s the limit, Jeannetti isn’t fully confident his work experience will lead directly to a full-time job after graduation, so he’s taking matters into his own hands and creating a personal brand.
“I knew if I kept marketing my playlist, I’d eventually have a very influential voice in music which would further my credibility as on on-air host or record label employee.”
— Brendan Jeannetti
“I don’t like to assume anything and always like to enhance my resume which is why I started ‘Song’s Brendan’s Bumping’ on Spotify,” Jeannetti said. His Spotify playlist currently has over 650 followers and people are constantly sliding into [his] dms to get featured on the playlist.
“I knew if I kept marketing my playlist, I’d eventually have a very influential voice in music which would further my credibility as on on-air host or record label employee,” Jeannetti said. He hopes to parlay that credibility into a career in radio or at a record label.
And to help push things further, he’s decided to adapt his popular playlist into a Youtube Channel of artist interviews and music reviews.
“I feel like this is the perfect place for me to live out my dream as an on-air host, but also provide exposure for brilliant artists who deserve it,” he says. He interviews artists of varying genres at Amherst Media, Amherst’s public access television station, with the help of Director of Interns Jody Jenkins and Technical Director Jeff Mastroianni.
“The people at Amherst Media are the sole reason I am able to do this, so I am super thankful and humbled they let me use their time and equipment,” he said.
Jeannetti’s just officially launched his Youtube Channel, which features interviews with artists Paige Davis and Rachael King.
When asked what he thinks about all the twists and turns of his college experience and current trajectory in the entertainment industry, Jeannetti said he “looks back on it and realizes how strong [he] was during such a hectic time.” He said that it taught him that setbacks can become opportunities if you don’t let them get the best of you and sometimes the best of times might be waiting just around the next bend.
To have a closer look at Brendan Jeannetti’s life and work visit:
