MBA Alumnus Offers Internships to SAEM Students at Artist Management Company Student Profile

Point Park University’s Sports, Arts & Entertainment Management program emphasizes the value of collaboration, from its academic partnerships with Pittsburgh sports teams and venues to the structure of its in-house record label, Pioneer Records.

In that spirit, Michael Chancey '18, a Point Park MBA alumnus who completed his degree with a concentration in SAEM, works with the Professional Career-Readiness Center to provide SAEM students with experiential learning opportunities at his artist management company, M Chancey Management, which has offices in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. 

Brianna Kamauf ’22 enjoyed her summer social media marketing internship with the company so much that she is completing a second internship as a booking assistant this spring. 

In the Q&A below, learn about Kamauf and Chancey’s Point Park experiences.

How did you land your internship with M Chancey Management, and what made you want to intern with the company a second time?

I reached out to Mr. Chancey on LinkedIn to set up an interest interview so that I could learn more about his company. I sent Mr. Chancey my resume, which includes information about my music content and curation project, lofinites. We spoke about career goals, as well as my passion for music and helping artists within the industry. We reviewed my resume, social media content and curation project, after which he offered me a social media marketing position. 

Coming back for a second internship as a booking assistant was one of the easiest decisions I have made. Working with M Chancey Management has helped me narrow down my goals and focus on building concrete skills. I have learned to take chances on myself and to be confident in my skills and adaptability to new environments. The music industry is constantly growing and changing, and I have learned how to grow with it from the hands-on experience I have gained.

Describe some of the projects or tasks you've worked on through your internships.

In my first internship, I worked with artists in different genres to grow their audiences on social media, such as Sierra Sellers and A Kid Called Gauwd. I used photo and video editing software, such as Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Photoshop, to create music video teasers and other promotional content for song and album releases. I used Adobe Creative Express to design graphics, color palettes and font families to help the artists with defining their brand and social media identity. My favorite assignment was attending the Pittsburgh’s Cultural District's Lights On! event to take photos of Sierra Sellers' performance for her social media.

Currently, I am working on creating a master contact list for venues and promoters in the Austin, Texas area. As we move further into the semester, I will be contacting promoters directly across the U.S. to secure bookings for artists on M Chancey's roster. I am excited to learn more about the booking process as the semester progresses.

Why would you recommend Point Park and its SAEM program to a prospective student?

Point Park understands that students need opportunities to gain hands-on experience and is highly invested in helping you find the right internship, club or course to achieve success. The faculty are dedicated to encouraging students to grow and take on new experiences that will benefit them as they move into their careers. They teach with years of real-life industry knowledge and experience to back up their lessons and coursework.  

Michael Chancey '18

Job title: Owner 
Company name: M Chancey Management
Degree earned from Point Park: MBA, concentration in Sports, Arts & Entertainment Management
Hometown: Braddock, Pa.; Woodland Hills High School
Now living in: Los Angeles, Calif.
Hobbies/interests: Sports and traveling 

What motivated you to start your own company?

I am a former artist who moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to pursue my dream of music with an independent label in 2006. Even though I started as an artist, being on the other side of the business was always the end game for me. As I navigated the industry, I saw many artists and creatives being mistreated and taken advantage of by people they trusted. I told myself when I stopped making music, I would get into artist management so I could ensure the artists I worked with would never have to go through the things I witnessed. Unfortunately, I was forced to retire from making music in 2012 due to a medical condition with my esophagus that affected my voice and ability to talk for over a year. I moved back to Pittsburgh, partnered with a friend and built a recording studio in North Versailles, now known as Serenity Sounds. I started working with young artists by sharing my experience and contacts with them to help them succeed, which basically started my artist management career.

How did Point Park's MBA program and SAEM concentration prepare you for success?

Point Park’s program was a great experience because the professors who taught us had actual experience in the industry. Faculty like Ed Traversari have been instrumental in my success, introducing me to great individuals. He even introduced me to one of my clients, Jonny Goood.

I’ve also collaborated with other alumni from the program who have gone on to pursue careers in the entertainment industry. The SAEM program was perfect for me because, even though I started my company for artists in the music industry, we plan to expand into sports in the future, which the program prepared me for in a lot of ways.

What does it mean to you to offer internships to Point Park students?

It means the world to me. I want to continuously find ways I can help people avoid going through what I went through early on in my career and make their entrance into the industry as easy as possible. It's awesome to help students from a University and program that I value so much. I tell every student I want them to come out of this experience getting more from me than I get from them, so I encourage them to ask as many questions as possible. I want them to leave us with as much knowledge as possible. 

More About: sports, arts and entertainment management, success story, alumni, Rowland School of Business, M.B.A., Sports, Arts, Entertainment and Music Partnerships, internships