“CHASE YOUR DREAMS” was written in bright, white letters on the back of the young artist’s jacket.
He was in the front row of the audience at Racket NYC, staring up, awestruck, at Coco Jones, who was sitting on a pink couch with Grammy awards surrounding her as she spoke about her latest album at the Grammy U Conference in downtown Manhattan on Friday, April 25.
“I feel like it’s not even real,” Jones said. “I can’t believe that it’s finally out. It was just in my notes app, and now it’s out. It’s kind of surreal.”
Jones released her first album, “Why Not More?” just hours before speaking at the Grammy U Conference in the first keynote discussion of the event entitled, “Crafting a Multifaceted Career.” Although Jones is a Grammy winner for the category Best R&B Performance in 2024 for her song “ICU” she is also well-known in the acting community for her work as a teenager on Disney Channel.Most notably, Jones played Roxie in the Disney Channel Original Movie, “Let it Shine” (2012).
“As a kid, this didn’t feel real for me. I was like, this is the land of dreams,” Jones said. “To me, all that really mattered was singing my heart out. It was all perfect until I got older and learned about the business side of things.”
Everybody has a dream. The dream that you’ve had since you were a kid, the one that you only reach for when you’re falling asleep at night. It’s the dream that you fantasize about, obsess over and continuously fall in love with throughout your life.
Some people call it a pipe dream, and others, who are much more fortunate than the rest, like Coco Jones, call it reality.
For the man in the first row with the “CHASE YOUR DREAMS” jacket, as well as most of the audience at the Grammy U Conference, that dream is to be in the music industry. Whether that’s as singer, DJ, producer or rock star, the young artists and music professionals filling the conference room were gathered there to get one step closer to their dream.
“My purpose in coming today was to get my foot in the door and find an opportunity that helps me develop as an artist,” said Nadir Lumos, a pop and trap/R&B artist from Atlanta, Georgia. Lumos was attending the event with his best friend as a Grammy U Member. He said he attended the conference because he wanted to meet music professionals from various labels and companies, especially mRoc Nation. He said he dreams of being a superstar someday and is grateful to be at an event that brings him closer to that goal.
“I was at my top peak when I entered [the event] being surrounded by people who love music,” Lumos said. “Just being able to experience this is a blessing and something that I’m super grateful for.”
The conference began at 2 p.m. on Friday and was scheduled to end around 10:30 p.m. The first two hours were dedicated to a Career Center and Networking Mixer, where Grammy U members could meet and talk to professionals from around the music industry, including representatives from Amazon Music, Roc Nation, Sony and more. There was a coffee bar serving raspberry matcha, a headshot station and a resume review area where recruiters met with members looking for advice on securing a job in the industry.
“It’s a good source for talent,” said Taylor, a music business recruiter at the resume review area. “We love giving back and coming to events like this. It can be a tough market, so I encourage everyone to stay persistent.”
Beyond networking with professionals who work directly in the music industry, attendees could also meet representatives from local not-for-profit organizations that offer benefits and resources for various communities, such as Women in Music, The Digilogue and Girls Make Beats.
“We just launched our women’s network a few months ago now, so it’s been really exciting to tell women about that and different mentorship opportunities, and to be on the lookout for courses that we now have for women,” Yasmine said, the New York Social Media Manager and lead for Girls Make Beats. This not-for-profit organization teaches girls and young women how to DJ, audio engineer and produce music, with chapters in New York City, Los Angeles and Miami.
“We offer these courses to the communities like the ones I come from — underfunded, barely any books — so to see them be able to dive into this and take it on within a week really blows my mind,” said Yasmine. A Paterson, New Jersey, native, she spoke about her passion for the organization, its work in her own community and skills that she has learned from being a part of it.
After the networking event, there was an hour-long dinner break before the first keynote speaker, Coco Jones, took the stage and shared her own journey of success and of her dreams coming true for the hungry artists in the audience. Jones was electric on-stage — funny, relatable and full of energy from the moment she greeted the roaring crowd. She offered pieces of advice for the artists and fans in the crowd that addressed every major concern a young musician could have, ranging from how to collaborate with other artists to how to stay persistent in a judgmental and difficult industry.
“As you learn more about the world, things can disappoint you, and that can shift your perspective of yourself,” Jones said. “What I had to do as an artist to survive that was to shift my mindset to, ‘It’s still gonna be me, even if it doesn’t happen through this route, it’s still going to be me.’ You kinda gotta look a little crazy.”
Her words struck a chord with Madeleine Veras, a freshman from Temple University, who dreams of working in the music event industry.
“She’s awesome,” Veras said. “She’s inspirational, and it was very realistic, what she was saying. It’s stuff that all of us can implement in our daily lives.”
After the keynote with Coco Jones, there was a panel discussion, “Grammy U LIVE: Sync, Sound, and Strategy,” with professionals from the music business industry like Rigo Morales (A&R Executive), Bob Bruderman, chief digital officer of Kobalt Music, and Blu DeTiger, an artist, bassist and producer. They each spoke about different parts of the music business industry, from discovering artists to songwriting for advertisements and even brand deals with companies like Fender.
Morales, a music executive who has worked with major artists in hip-hop and pop, such as Eminem and Rihanna, spoke directly to the young artists in the crowd about what it takes to make their dreams into their full-time reality, and how the industry has changed in the world of social media.
“Drive is going to be the thing that gets you from point A to point Z,” Morales said. “But I want to be real while I’m on this stage. The business is crazy right now and it’s all data driven.”
The importance of social media in the entertainment industry was heavily explored in the last panel discussion of the day, “Influencing the Industry: How Content Creators are Redefining Media” with Davis Burleson, host of “What’s Poppin?” on TikTok; Anthony Gargiula and Jonathan Tilkin, two TikTok acapella stars; Julian Shapiro-Barnam, host of “Recess Therapy” on TikTok; and moderated by Tigg Baira, host of “Street Hearts” on TikTok. This panel was full of inspirational quotes from the internet and real-life stories of how to generate success from making videos in your bedroom.
There was a lot going on within the conference, as well as behind the scenes. Fordham alum of the Gabelli School of Business graduate program, India Sahai, is the New York Chapter representative and one of the event leads. She said that a year ago, she was a Fordham graduate student volunteering at the 2024 Grammy U Conference, and now she is helping to run it.
“You get really into the nitty gritty and close to the team really quickly,” said Sahai. “Getting into the music industry can be so discouraging, so having a community like this post-graduation has been so nice.”
Sahai dreams of being an A&R Executive and is currently being mentored by Rich Christina at Warner Chappell Music through the Grammy U mentorship program, which pairs artists and creatives with music professionals around the country in their desired fields. Although Sahai was a singer originally, she said that she dreams of a career with more stability and fewer gigs, but that her background and passion for music are why she wants to work directly with up and coming artists.
“I get it, and I want to help,” said Sahai. “Whether that’s discovering talent or helping talent relations — anything that helps their campaign or brand in a way that is authentic to them.”
The second day of the conference included a breakfast followed the “Grammy Unwrapped: ‘Family Business’ with Lawrence” discussion where three members of the band Lawrence talked about their new album, “Family Business,” and their musical family. Shortly after was the final keynote, “Reimagining Contemporary Music with Laufey,” where the Grammy winning jazz musician talked about making classical styles popular again with her music.
To finish off the event, there was, naturally, music. The Grammy U Conference ended with a Showcase where three Grammy U member performers — Isea, The Jax Experience and The Millers — took the stage and showcased their dreams and passion for music. The showcase was headlined by five-time Grammy winner and jazz artist Samara Joy.
The Grammy U Conference was most definitely long, but the opportunities were absolutely timeless. Young artists met with peers from around the country, heard advice from career professionals who can make their dreams come true and, most importantly, were inspired to keep chasing their dreams.
“Delulu is true true,” Coco Jones jokingly commented.
