After high school and college, many students look at themselves and think about what they are going to do with the rest of their lives. They often wonder where to start. Luckily for the musically-inclined youth of today there is MOXIE, an organization which helps young adults get started on the path to a successful career in music and journalism.
MOXIE was founded back in 1996 by a group of friends who got burned out of the record industry, and ever since they have been making the dreams of aspiring young musicians and reporters come true. MOXIE works with talented young musicians to help them produce their music. The company then sends the albums to journalism programs at schools across the country to give young musicians exposure to their targeted audience.
“We got into the business out of a love of music, and it was frustrating to constantly see artists and records getting overlooked because they weren’t able to get in front of people who might have liked them,” said MOXIE founder Susan Webber.
By sending the music to high school journalists, Moxie puts the music in front of the youth of America, which is the targeted audience for most of the young musicians. MOXIE is the perfect solution for the problem of musicians who are not able to get in front of their target audience.
MOXIE also provides journalism programs across the country with real-world journalism experience in reviewing singers and musical groups. MOXIE sends tickets, as well as backstage passes to see their musicians when they tour to schools. This allows inexperienced journalists to get some field experience by going out to interview the musicians.
The tickets and albums that get sent to schools also allow journalism programs with the chance to fundraise. The Bradford was recently sent tickets to an All Time Low Concert, as well as Sheppard’s smash hit album Bombs Away. The album includes the top forty hit Geronimo as well as many other excellent songs. With a sound comparable to One Direction, the album is definitely worth downloading on Itunes.
MOXIE has worked with many of today’s household names, such as Carly Rae Jepsen, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and Rixton. These musicians, who are very popular with the youth of today, have all had exposure to their targeted audience via MOXIE.
Many students of today can become as successful as these artists through Rixton. “I think that it is very cool that MOXIE can start the careers of young musicians. It is a great opportunity for people like Taeghan Hagood who are making albums as their senior project,” said Doug Waine ’15.
MOXIE hopes to inspire many more successful careers in the music and journalism industry, but at the very least they hope that the music can be a conduit for further learning, exploration, and critical analysis.
(Dillon Hourican ’18, Staff Writer)