What do this year’s Coachella lineup and global health research have in common? Women are underrepresented in both categories.
“Working in the music industry… [there were] so many times on the performance side I’d be the only woman on stage, or the only woman on a music lineup… [and] I had always really felt that,” Colaizzi said.
She also said clinical trials and research saved her mom’s life after her cancer diagnosis, which led her to adding advocacy for women’s health into the organization’s mission as well. Women Who Rock is a “trailblazing, female-founded brand dedicated to supporting women in music, empowerment and advocating for women’s health.”
After ten years of working as assistant professor of SAEM at Point Park, Colaizzi decided it was time to bring the Rock movement to Point Park. Thus came Women Who Rock the Music Business.
Senior sports, arts, entertainment management (SAEM) major Zach Gordon said, “You don’t really realize how ‘business-y’ the music industry is until she breaks it down for you.” He also said, “it really wakes people up to how big of a gap there is in the industry…I didn’t know a lot about that until I started taking her class. It teaches us how hard it really is to be a woman in the music business.”
The class, Colaizzi said, started as a study on Taylor Swift and Beyonce. Colaizzi said there is much to be studied from the success of these women. The class covers topics ranging from the release of Swift’s movie, “The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version),” to Beyonce’s rebrand into country music, which highlighted the fact that country music is rooted in Black American culture.
“[Women Who Rock] is the only class that focuses on specific artists in the industry,” Colaizzi said. From there, the class studies the marketing strategies these women used to become so successful and discuss how those strategies can be used today. She notes the class is much more discussion and lecture-based than test-based, which she said serves the lessons better.
“I like how collaborative it is, we do a lot of talking,” Gordon said.
Colaizzi said members of the Rowland School of Business were supportive of her idea to start the Women Who Rock class. The idea was out of the box, Colaizzi said, but each school of business member could see the importance of bringing the class to life.
Senior SAEM major Grace Thomas said she enjoyed the business tactic discussions.
“[I’ve enjoyed] learning about all these different really smart marketing tactics and other sort of things that help artists stand out,” Thomas said. “If that’s somewhere I want to take my career, I have a back burner of ideas and information. I know what works, what has worked, and what has backfired for people in the past.”
Currently, there are 10 students enrolled in Women Who Rock the Music Business. As the course began this fall, Colaizzi said it will likely be offered in the fall semester for the next couple of years unless demand is raised.
To bring more awareness to the Women Who Rock movement, and thus the class, Colaizzi said there are plenty of volunteer opportunities for students to get involved. Students can volunteer in digital media, apparel and event planning in the fall for their benefit concert. There are also for-credit internships in the fall and the spring with Women Who Rock. @officialwomenwhorock is their Instagram page.
Students of all majors, interests and genders are encouraged to take the course. There is valuable business information and inspiring stories about people successful in their field.There is something to be gained regardless of one’s background.
Sam Myrick contributed reporting.
