ISU music classes held a party Thursday afternoon to celebrate the launch of ISU’s record label, Stu Records. Students performed both original songs and covers across various genres.

Rose Marshack, assistant professor of music business, said the label was a long time coming for students, who value real experiences within the music industry and involving music business.

“The students all want a record label. They want recording spaces, and it makes perfect sense to [have one],” she said. “[The things students] like best in classes are real life experiences and things that they can take with them, and I really took that to heart.”

She said from a music business standpoint, having a record label attached to ISU will help students in many ways, from learning to record in a studio to learning about the business aspects of running a studio.

“I can sit here and talk about what goes into the music business and what goes into how you run a record label and have a diagram with all kinds of boxes,” she said. “Or we could have our own record label.”

She said this will give students the opportunity to take part in all the different aspects of running a record label.

“We’ll realize there are a hundred different artists who want to be on the label. Which ones do we pick? Well, that’s the function of an [artist and repetoire] person,” she explained.

Martha Warfel / Daily Vidette Photo Editor: Jamere Walton, junior communications major, also known by his stage name Jay Jay, performed Thursday afternoon in Centennial East for the Stu Records release part. The music business organization, MUS 275: Introduction to Music Business and Rose Marshack, professor of music business, created ISU’s first record label Stu Records.

 “If we start out small like this, tasks will fall out and people will realize there are all these things we need to do and I think it will be a much better learning experience than trying to read about what goes into a record label from a book.”

She said the existence of the studio will benefit students across the disciplines.

“Record labels are businesses also,” she said. “They’re companies, the same as anywhere you might go out and work.”

Second semester music business classes spend four weeks in a local studio recording a song by an artist in the class in order for the students to get an understanding of what it is like to work in a real studio. The studio space will also be available to students outside of class time, as well as alumni and others who may want to create work under the ISU name.

“Anybody can record there,” she said.

Jamere “Jay Jay” Walton, a junior communications major, performed his original song, “Check My Vision” at the launch party and said he plans to use his education here to achieve his dream of becoming a hip hop musician.

“My passion’s music and I plan on doing that for the rest of my life,” he explained. “I can’t see myself doing anything else besides music.”

He said that the students will definitely benefit from an ISU record label.

“There are a lot [of aspiring musicians] on campus,” he said. “There are a lot that people don’t know about.”

The studio is located in the basement of Waiting Room Records in Uptown Normal.