Sure, on the surface, an English degree may not seem ideal for a budding entrepreneur in the music business, but it\u2019s working for Jason Edelstein \u201918.<\/p>\n
Beyond the classroom, Edelstein\u2019s life was filled with music: Making it (he had a band), listening to it (he\u2019d attend live performances), and falling in love with it.<\/p>\n
When he describes the aura of campus as he recalls it, you can hear that love in his voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cCC was one of the most exciting scenes for music I\u2019ve seen to this day \u2014 nothing else like it,\u201d Edelstein says. \u201cThere were eight houses that had shows with fantastic student bands. There were 35 bands that played regularly \u2014 that\u2019s a lot from a college with 2,000 people.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also felt support for his own music. His band played at CC and raised enough money to fund a tour of the East Coast. \u201cHaving that support from the college was foundational for me to continue to play,\u201d he says.\u2028\u2028He remembers spending a lot of time in the Music Department, which housed a new recording studio where he learned the finer points of music production.<\/p>\n
And all that time spent in Armstrong Hall as an English major studying and creating fictional characters has helped Edelstein with the branding of his label and artists.<\/p>\n
\u201cMusic fans today desire a more three-dimensional product; it\u2019s not just about the record, it\u2019s about the band that made it. We\u2019re working directly with our artists to discover and elucidate captivating stories and engage their audiences in the full dimensionality of their brand.\u201d<\/p>\n
The real problem he soon found after graduating and moving to Denver, Colorado, was that the city had throngs of good bands, but their music wasn\u2019t getting heard beyond the state\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n
To help those bands, Edelstein and his business partner, Andrea Hoang, started The Salt Lick Records in 2021. The label includes\u00a0 a professional studio, sound engineering, cinematography, and a monthly online concert series called \u201cSongs from the Pond\u201d that showcases the music.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe label was born out of my own experience after college, releasing my own music during the pandemic, sending it out into the void and not breaking through the small bubble,\u201d Edelstein says. \u201cWe\u2019ve now officially signed some bands and we\u2019re creating content and filming promos and videos. I\u2019m excited about where we can take them.\u201d<\/p>\n
And in a full circle effort, he wants to bring some of his artists to the CC campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to see how we can help students revitalize the campus\u2019s music scene. I think that would be a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n