Ulf Oesterle
Assistant Professor, Bandier Program
Syracuse University
uoesterl@syr.edu
Ulf Oesterle is both a teacher and a doer. He founded Aux Records in 2003, which he still operates, and fell into teaching while pursuing his PhD at Syracuse University in New York. He teaches within the Bandier program at Syracuse, which is designed to balance classroom learning and real life experience in the music business. The program often sends students to London, L.A. and New York for hands-on experience and brings industry executives to campus to speak. Oesterle applies his own experiences as an artist manager and label owner to his teaching.
How did you become a professor
It was never part of my master plan to enter higher education. I came to Syracuse as a master student in 2000 and ended up staying to finish my PhD. Throughout the process, my focus was in PhD Mass Communications with a focus on Music Industry and Marketing. I was teaching throughout my time there. It kind of grabbed me.
Teaching media classes, I heard of the music program, and timing worked out well. There are few areas where I could take the PhD I’d been working on and my business experience and put it together in the program.
Is there a learning curve for teaching music business
There is a learning curve to getting in front of a classroom and managing course content and students in the class. I was fortunate to cut my teeth in media classes before coming to this program. Some of those classes had 70 people, others had 10 for highly intensive media research. You learn how to approach different class sizes and topics. You learn to cater to your class as a professor. Fortunately, now many classes are similar year to year, but the content is consistently a moving target.
Do you ever want to stop teaching and return to the business full-time
The itch sometimes arises when you want to get back into the industry in a much more meaningful way. When teaching, it’s tough to maintain a full-time business position and academic position. I still have a small record label and management company I work with. Most of the bands are at the local or regional level. It was a bit bigger before teaching. I worked with Honor Bright, a pop punk group from Syracuse. They had a good run, did a few Warped Tour dates and MTV’s TRL. Eventually, they moved to Triple Crown Records and management with the Artery Foundation.
Once I started teaching, everything else went to the backburner. But, this past year, I picked back up with few bands. I’m not a full-time manager, but I consult with them.
How is your business experience a teaching asset
I don’t have major-label experience, but I have released 13 or 14 records and handled everything for those records. Having that business experience, even on the indie side, does inform your teaching. If you don’t have any business background, it makes it harder. It’s such an evolving experience.
How can students benefit the most from music business classes
I think the students benefit the most by being open and experiencing. There’s a number of different ways to make a career in this industry. We provide multiple angles and paths to look at these careers. Some students may never go into publishing, but an internship in that field may be the exact path they need to walk to understand what’s in the walls of a publisher and how that’s going to impact them in their career path. Be ready to spend a little time on social media. Know what’s new and how it can impact the business.
What types of students tend to struggle
The students who have more of a challenge are those who aren’t as outgoing or not as willing to take a risk––which isn’t to say they won’t be successful. College gives you the opportunity to try and fail and recognize why you fail, so when you’re in business, you remember those mistakes and don’t walk that path again.
What advice do you give your industry-hopeful students
In today’s industry where we see some consolidation and things shrinking a little bit, the relationships you build help you get your foot in the door and get that first job or promotion. We offer those networking opportunities. Consume music often. Not only music you like, but all music.
Let down your guard when it comes to introducing yourself, and have fun. This is the music business. It’s supposed to be an entertainment field, and if you don’t love what you do and you’re not having fun, maybe it’s time to move on.
