After renovating the Grand Stafford and going on to start his own production company, Jose Arredondo, Class of 2011, dropped by his alma mater Tuesday to give students tips on breaking into the music industry.
Arredondo, who began at A&M as an electrical engineering major before switching into telecommunication media studies, started his company, Defacto Productions, in 2006 while still in high school.
Arredondo said he started his career as a musician and instead of begging booking managers to take a chance on his band, he started his own company to book his band.
“I sort of made it look like a third party, Defacto Productions, and booked my band so it didn’t look like I booked my own show,” Arredondo said. “So I started Defacto Productions.”
He said his transition into the industry started from booking his own band and that led to booking other bands until eventually organizing other bands’ tours.
“Slowly I learned about the music industry,” Arredondo said. “I didn’t take music classes. I didn’t go to music school, so everything I’ve learned, I’ve learned from doing it and reading and putting myself out there.”
Arredondo said Defacto Productions now handles consultation, concert and festival promotion, artist management and booking for its clients.
Currently, Arredondo lives in Nashville, Tennessee and works closely with the Nashville band “Sugar and the Hi Lows,” which recently opened up for Chris Stapleton and “Kings of Leon” to 50,000 people in downtown Nashville.
Arredondo said networking is an important skill to master while trying to maneuver in the music business.
“There are opportunities that exist within the industry that [students] aren’t exposed to like in Austin or Nashville, or if they were studying music at a different university,” Arredondo said.
Arredondo also stressed finding internships in order to gain as much experience as possible. He also recommended getting involved locally at venues such as The Grand Stafford, The Village and Revolutions Cafe.
Music sophomore Jona Howard, who said she wants to work for a public relations firm or a record label, said the talk was informative for the career path she wants to take.
“I found out that basically in the beginning you have to go out and beg people for that position you want and not just going for it and expecting to get it,” Howard said.
Parks and recreation and tourism science graduate student Sarah Angell said she worked with Arredondo at the Grand Stafford and felt the talk would be a great opportunity for students interested in the music career.
“He’s an Aggie and has done a lot of work in our community,” Angell said. “Jose’s very D.I.Y. and shows you can do what you want to do even though that major isn’t specific to what you want to do.”
Arredondo said the purpose of the talk was to show students they can do anything they want in the industry, as long as they work for it.
“I sort of wanted to be able talk to other students who might be in the same place that I was when I was a student — going into the industry and either maybe not leaving the university or finding other ways to do things, or learn about getting in the music business on our own terms,” Arredondo said.