Music Scene: Boulder Beats is looking for interns

(Courtesy of boulderbeats.com)

Besides possibly a mullet, there are few things that can successfully combine business and party into one working entity.

The people behind Boulder Beats don’t have awkward hair, but still manage to make partying a business by applying their business majors to planning events surrounding music ranging from hiphop to dubstep. Now, having racked up over a year’s worth of party-hosting experience, this promotions and productions company will introduce two new interns to the backstage world of electronic music.

Boulder Beats, a local company started by CU students, is looking to hire two new interns to help learn the ropes of the local electronic music scene. The contract runs from Sept. 1 until Dec. 31 of this year, according to the Boulder Beats website. The website describes ideal applicants as: current CU students, preferably 21 years of age, who live in Boulder and are “hardworking and committed to the advancement of electronic music.”

The Boulder Beats founders certainly fit this description. The company was started by Mat Bernstein, 22-year-old senior business OPIM major and Josh McAdoo, 22-year-old senior economics major, who bonded over a love for electronic music and business ventures as dorm roommates their freshman year.

The company took off after the launch of the Boulder Beats website, a forum established for local music lovers looking to find more Boulder music, Bernstein said.

“You can go to a lot of places and find music, but there’s not a lot of places where you can go to find music from [Boulder], music that the other students in your class could be making,” Bernstein said. “That’s a lot of the appeal of the website.”

Boulder Beats now hosts events and promotes shows, boasting acts like Savoy and were listed as one of the sponsors of the Snowball Music Festival. Boulder Beats has found success as a promotions company, but in many ways the business specializes in working with local venues and finding talent in the CU student population.

In the past, they have been responsible for the CU welcome back concert and have worked on productions with CU’s Program Council. McAdoo said that having a relationship with campus organizations has been helpful.

“A lot of the college kids feel really connected to it, because they see [Boulder Beats] all around campus and see it everywhere,” McAdoo said. “So it’s easy for us to get a lot of input on what’s coming up through the school system. Which is cool, because it does turn over. Every year, totally new CU kids come out and we see what they bring.”

This fall, the two new interns, who have not yet been announced, will have a chance to be involved with all aspects of the small company — including blogging, event planning, ticket sales and promotions. From the tedious to the exciting, Bernstein said that the internship would give students a broad picture of the music industry.

“We want to keep them involved at every stage of the process, because we want this to be as valuable for them as it is for us,” Bernstein said. “Even when we’re sitting in the office planning an event, we want them to be there to contribute to it and hear how it works, from the start of the conception of the idea all the way through the execution. We’re not sending them for coffee and sitting back.”

Though the internship is unpaid, Boulder Beats plans to tailor the internship to meet college credit requirements. For the new interns some of the best perks include free shows and experiencing local parties from a new perspective. McAdoo said that the interns should be people who already love the genre and its atmosphere.

“We want someone who is involved in the scene, likes the scene, is a fan of the scene and at the same time also wants to maybe get into this world when they graduate,” McAdoo said. “You definitely see all that goes into the backside of an event and really creating something. [This job is] fun and it’s interesting and it can definitely help in a lot of fields today.”

With graduation coming up for Bernstein and McAdoo, the future of the young company is somewhat uncertain. Both plan to stay in Boulder and continue to build the brand, particularly due to its strong association with the city. Bernstein said that one day they might expand to another area.

“We’ve thought about expansion,” Bernstein said. “Going to another market and starting something similar. Obviously we would have to hire people to continue on with what we’re doing here. It’s also a little nerve racking to turn over control of something you’ve been working so hard on to someone. It just takes time.”

Bernstein said the most rewarding part of the job is making sure guests are enjoying themselves at the parties, wherever the venue.

“It’s fun for us to see other people having fun,” Bernstein said. “When we can throw a party like this and all of these other people are enjoying it, that makes us happy.”

To learn more about Boulder Beats or how to apply to be an intern visit the Boulder Beats website.

Contact CU Independent Entertainment Editor Stephanie Riesco at [email protected]