How Students can Qualify for Sallie Mae Loans

We offer certificate programs in all aspects of filmmaking, radio broadcasting and audio engineering, but the really good news is that our Sallie Mae financial aid package more students have been able to get a start toward their career dreams with the Recording Connection, Radio Connection, and the Film Connection. Sallie Mae is the nation's leading provider of student loans. It is a free service, that comes with a Sallie Mae specialist who prepares student applications, which makes it ten times more likely for students to qualify for their loan.

What is covered by Sallie Mae student loans is the entire tuition costs and up to 60 percent in additional funds for living expenses and equipment purchases. Students who are 18 years of age or older with good credit may qualify for a zero down, low interest loan, starting at Prime Rate + 0%. Students can take up to 15 years to pay back the loan.

Entertainment Career Connection also provides other funding choices for those who don't qualify for Sallie Mae. Not only will Sallie Mae cover the entire tuition cost of $7450, but also loan up to 60% additional, or $4470, for living expenses and purchases.

CEO James Petulla said, “We started the new Sallie Mae student loan program in April of this year, and the program has financed about 84 students since then.”

More than 6,000 students have graduated from Entertainment Career Connection programs over the last 25 years, creating a vast alumni network. The company provides educational apprentice programs for the entertainment arts including the film, radio, television and music recording industries.

This is a fully accredited academic institution, and the Entertainment Career Connection programs are certified by the National Private Schools Accreditation Alliance with mentor programs in more than 100 U.S. cities in all fifty states. With corporate headquarters in Los Angeles, California and New York City, the Entertainment Career Connection schools are unlike any others, as students learn from successful mentors in real world situations in real studio and film sets.

Recently, nearly two dozen student loan lenders nationally have announced they are restricting, suspending or terminating new loans to students through the Federal Family Education Loan Program, or FFEL, the federally-guaranteed, low-cost initiative that provided college financing last year to 7 million students around the country.

Copyright Laws for Recording Promotional CDs

On June 11, a federal district court ruled that sales of promotional CDs did not constitute a copyright violation. Record labels have typically always tagged promotional copies of recordings "promotional use—not for resale." Often times promo copies have bonus tracks that are not on retail recordings, and they might use different art, etc. Interestingly enough, these promo CDs are considered hot collectibles by some people. This is something that anyone looking for a job in the music recording industry might want to understand.

One collector, named Troy Augusto, looked for these precious promo copies in flea markets and offbeat retail stores, then started to offer them for sale on eBay. But the Universal Music Group (UMG) copyright cops found out, then tried to have his auctions de-listed by using what is known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and when that didn't work, they sued him in federal court.

The music industry believes that the "not for resale" stickers means that UMG owns the CDs, which makes it unlawful for them to be sold. At first they argued that the doctrine of first sale could not be voided by adding a label to the merchandise. The court rejected UMG's argument that the label constituted a "license." Licensing means the owner can regain possession, which does not exist in the mass distribution of promotional copies.

The court ruled that promotional CDs were gifts, and since they were distributed without requiring any recurring action—they were sent in hopes of coverage, with no guarantees.

Meanwhile, a law called the Postal Reorganization Act prohibits mailing unordered merchandise without the prior concent of the recipient, and once received, merchandise "may be treated as a gift by the recipient, who shall have the right to retain, use, discard, or dispose of it in any manner he sees fit without obligation whatsoever to the sender."

So in the end, the court rejected Augusto's contention that UMG had "abandoned" the promo CDs, but it also upheld his first sale doctrine rights to possess and resell the CDs. The bottom line is that the California court rejected the music industry's promo CD copyright claim.

The bottom line is that if you have always wanted a job as a music producer or a recording studio engineer, now you know that if you get a promotional CD, it's yours to do with as you wish. This could also mean that if you have a band and want to make a demo CD and give it away... you can.

By the way, our Recording Connection school prepares you like no other music or recording school. You will learn more - like the above laws being decided in the music industry - while you apprentice under the direct supervision of a music industry professional in a real recording studio.

Recording Studio Quality Sound in Digital Power Station Car

Along with a career in the music recording business, there are some fun perks. For example, at this last year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, one company unveiled some pretty amazing stuff.

Listen to the Revolutionary Bongiovi Acoustics Digital Power Station Technology is a patented and unique digital signal processing method that substantially enhances sound quality in playback devices by compensating for deficiencies in usable frequencies, audio components, environments and room acoustics.

This Digital Power Station, embedded in a computer chip, is the
first of a new generation of digital audio signal processors that can be programmed to reproduce studio-quality sound in virtually any audio device. Using a combination of filters, EQ and gain amplification, it achieves total linear control over the entire audio spectrum. What this means is that it allows frequency-specific amplification for the desired results in a playback environment, and it does a great job maximizing the potential of speakers that are factory made.

Using a chip called the Digital Power Station, the KD-S100 scans and extends the frequency response and audio spectrum of various kinds of audio recordings.

This is the kind of cool stuff you learn about when you work with a mentor at the Entertainment Career Connection's New York Music Recording School. When you are learning from someone who is actually in a professional environment, you get to go to all kinds of trade shows, because professionals get invited - and they usually bring you, their student, along.

"While I was looking for the right environment to study the music recording business, I found turn and burn schools that didn't seem real," said Tommy in his Recording Connection video. "They want $40k and promised a magical career, but it wasn't real. The Recording Connection is real because it is reasonably priced and it offers one-on-one quality programs to teach you everything you need to know from studio sets ups to the most advanced technology that is out there."

SAG Negotiations for People with Film Careers

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is deep into negotiations with the entertainment industry's film and television producers over a new contract, making it's membership's middle-income actors the focus for better contract terms - especially given today's economy. The Guild is seeking increases for items such as reimbursement rates for car mileage to residual payments, and more.

SAG has about 122,000 actor members, and the contract expires at midnight on Monday 6/30. Much like the recent writer's strike the Hollywood community has been on edge about a SAG strike, which in reality cannot take place until around Aug. 1st. The Guild leaders haven't called for a strike authorization vote yet. This is when 75 percent of the entire membership must vote for the strike in order for it to happen.

Most film schools, including the Entertainment Career Connection's courses on how to become a director cover the guilds like SAG. The Film/Television/Video production course curriculum qualifies graduates for positions in the film, television and video production fields. This experience is invaluable when it comes to learning about strikes, and the rights of guild members

In this June 25, 2008 photo, SAG President Alan Rosenberg says the union remains committed to negotiating a new deal with Hollywood producers as the contract expiration looms. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas, File)

At the Film Connection, industry experts who are already producers or directors pass their knowledge and experience on to the students that they mentor. The Film Connection, a fully accredited academic institution certified by the National Private Schools Accreditation Alliance, provides educational apprentice programs for the film, radio, television and the music recording industries in more than 100 U.S. cities in all 50 states. The program provides training the practical way under real life working conditions - so if a strike is going to happen, then the students learn how it will affect them so they too can make decisions once they are out in the real world.

Myths About Mentoring and Careers in Entertainment

The Entertainment Career Connection has about 25 years of experience in the topic of “mentoring.” And we get a lot of questions about how our mentors do their jobs. There are many thoughts on the topic. Webster’s dictionary defines a mentor as:

Main Entry:
1men·tor
Pronunciation:
\ˈmen-ˌtȯr, -tər\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Latin, from Greek Mentōr
Date:
1616
1capitalized : a friend of Odysseus entrusted with the education of Odysseus' son Telemachus2 a: a trusted counselor or guide b: tutor, coach — men·tor·ship \-ˌship\ noun

Here are ten myths and some of our observations about today’s contemporary trends in mentoring. Wether you want to learn to be a film producer, or need to learn how to be a recording artist, or arte interested in a career in radio, learning from an entertainment Connection mentor is the way to really learn.

1) You do not need to be a Yogi to be a mentor. It is possibly the most frequent method of sharing knowledge in our global society, and anyone with the experience to be a powerful learning influence can be a mentor today.

2) Effective mentoring means that both parties perceive benefits. The best mentors are not necessarily people who set out to be mentors. One-on-one, face-to-face mentoring is now easier today thanks to modern technology - it can can even be via telephone, fax or email.
3) Mentoring requires commitment of time that few professionals can afford. NOT TRUE> Mentoring is simply helping someone learn while you are on the job. The reality is that it can increase on-the-job performance for the mentor along with learning, and gives career opportunities for the person being trained.
4) If someone is mentoring a student, there is no loss of productivity because mentoring actually improves productivity -- through better communication, clarity of goals, commitment, and planning, not to mention attention to the student.
5) Age is not a factor for mentors, because technology, innovation, and other learned skills (such as the Internet marketing) happen so fast today that sometimes mentors end up being the young mentoring older folks.
6) Young people who have bad attitudes can't learn by a mentor. NOT TRUE. Most young people often view an older mentor guide with respect, so they listen to them and learn.
7) Today’s changing economy and globalization means that learning increases job stability during crisis and change management.
8) When provided with a vision and purpose combined with skill training and support, adults were more likely to volunteer as a mentor.

9) Students do not learn as much in a classroom - they learn more while experiencing the job.

10) Mentoring is becomming the most economical, productive and successful form of teaching today.

At the Entertainment Career Connection mentors share their experiences. The Film Connection's Film School takes you out of the classroom and onto real film sets where you'll learn by doing stuff while you learn, one-on-one with your mentor, who is a working professional in the area of film you want to study. No other film school comes close to succeeding like this.

Listen to how to break into the entertainment business.

Is an Entertainment Career Right for You?

It may seem overwhelming if you are trying to figure out the best career in the music industry, especially if you don't really know what you want to do. But the reality is that there are so many options and ways to help you make the decision.

You will first have to make a commitment to the time and energy this is going to take to make your decision. Before you can make a career choice you have to analyze yourself -- interests, skills, values, your personality, etc. There are some pretty cool free career tests that you can take to help evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Then once you have gone though the list of possible occupations you'll need to narrow that down to a short list. You are gonna narrow it down to the one career you want to pursue

Let's say you want to learn how to be a music producer. Well, the reality is that there are many more jobs in the music industry, and the reality is that it maybe a better choice to become an audio engineer or a mixer. Learning how to explore careers like this is much easier today thanks to all the information available on the Internet. Sites like http://www.therecordingconnection.com/, for example, have live interviews from both students and teachers who are mentors in the business, and a wealth of inside information.

At this point you should only have a few occupations left and now you need to get in-depth information. Your best source of this information are people who have first hand knowledge of the your chosen occupation. Identify who they are and try to get meetings or telephone time with them to ask questions - or sometimes even email will do. Next, hone the list of possible occupations down to what seems realistic.

Now you need a plan and some goals. This career action plan may or may not require getting some extra schooling in your preferred field, or to train for your new career. There are several ways to accomplish this - you can earn a degree, do an internship or take courses to learn the required new skills. But here's the very best way - a mentorship program like the Entertainment Career Connection schools, which are fully accredited, and for a reasonable cost, can get you both trained AND working with a music or recording professional who is already working in the business. At Recording Connection you will always learn from a working professional in the recording or music business, and your classroom will be a real recording studio in the town or city where you live.

What's even better is that this mentor will probably help get you your first job after you graduate. 72 percent of the students who graduate are placed at jobs within the music industry.

Are you Dreaming of Working in the Radio Business?

Do you know who is the most famous sports announcers of all times? Do you find yourself commentating along with the high school football game - play by play? Knowledge of sports along with a conversational delivery style is important for success as a sports anchor person. You can report live from the dugouts and benches as the coaches and players develop strategy that often determines the vital lose or win situation. You may interview famous professional athletes when you do in-depth interviews as part of your sportscast.

Or, do you want to learn to be a DJ because you like the idea of having your own radio show -- making jokes, playing the hit songs, announcing titles and artists, and using your personality to communicate with an audience? As a DJ, you may also interview recording artists and movie stars. As a radio personality you get paid for public appearances to help promote your station. You might even become famous!

Or, you might have a fascination with delivering the news in an informative manner. As a news person you will also be involved in on the spot news bulletins, often at the actual scene. You will also be viewed as a respected prominent member of your community, and attend civic and special meetings where important issues are resolved.

To learn how to be a sportscaster, DJ or a news announcer, isn't all that easy. Radio jobs are in high demand so it is easier to get a job at a smaller radio station, and just one more reason to look for a radio school like Entertainment Career Connection where mentors can help get you a job after you graduate. Keep in mind that earnings are higher in larger cities than in smaller towns.

According to statistics from the 2006 US Bureau of Labor Statistics, half of all radio and television announcers—some of whom were disc jockeys—earned between $8.10 and $18.62 an hour in 2004. 10 percent of the lowest paid earned less than $6.55. The highest-paid 10 percent made more than $32.98 an hour. Announcers held about 71,000 jobs.

Almost 30 percent of these workers are in broadcasting, mainly in radio and television stations, with 17 percent working in the motion picture, video, and sound recording industries.
Evening, weekend, and holiday work is very common.

There are plenty of other jobs behind the scenes at a station too -- digital recording, editing, and broadcasting has changed the work of broadcast and sound engineering technicians and radio operators. Today’s technicians must learn computer networking and software skills.

The important thing is that if radio is your passion, you need to learn from a working professional - a mentor who can teach you all the inside tips and tricks. We have been really successful at this - keep in mind more than 70 percent of our students get placed in jobs after (and often before) they graduate. So go for it. Check out our mentors and listen to what the Entertainment Career Connection's radio connection students and their mentors are saying about this program.