“As you meet with folks, do interviews and begin to network, the more involved and informed you are, the better you look,” said UCD music business professor Storm Gloor at a lecture for the Music Entertainment Industry Student Association on Nov. 13 in the Tivoli.  “It behooves you to stay up-to-date,” he said.
     The program adopted not only a new professor but an expert in keeping up with this constantly changing industry. Gloor, a transplant from Texas by way of Arkansas, has been teaching Music Business I and II, Current Issues in the Music Industry, and the CAM Records class since the fall of 2006. Before taking on the job of giving future industry professionals the instruction they’ll need to succeed, Gloor was a real life music businessman with experience ranging from distribution to writing.
     In addition to the technologically savvy lectures he gives in classes, he also gives the occasional discussion outside of the classroom. For Tuesday’s talk, Gloor gave a lecture to MEISA called “Keeping Up With The Music Business,”  where he  addressed the difficulty of staying on top of the constantly evolving industry. In a generation of Internet users, this feat is becoming less intimidating. He explains how the Internet and online music tools can be a great resources for job hunting, for writing research papers, and of course for networking.
     “There’s no reason to have to search for the latest music news,” Gloor said. He encouraged students to sign up for as many music news email blasts as they can handle, acknowledging that they may not have time to read every one, but at least they’d be available. Billboard.com features two free blasts: one that’s more entertainment based and one that’s more business focused. While Billboard is a definitive industry resource that gives short highlights including breaking news, there’s often a lot of overlap between the two sources. They unfortunately do not include full articles. Always a strong campaigner for the South By Southwest music festival, Gloor sings the praises of the Daily Chord, SXSW’s Monday-Friday newsletters keeping fans and professionals informed. It covers news from bands who got their break at the festival and a myriad of other business subjects as well. The major downside Gloor pointed out was that this news source only has seven days of retention, and some articles require user registration.

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     As Gloor says, “They’re blogs; therefore, there’s no schedule.” With a surplus of blogs creeping onto the Interwaves, Gloor has done the legwork in weeding out the wheat from the chaff. He recommends music news sources like Coolfer and Hypebot for the best in information and tips, by way of blog. With step-by-step instructions on how to locate and receive their daily updates, he’s practically spoon-feeding lecture goers ways to stay informed. He also explains how old standbys such as mtv.com and rollingstone.com can be valuable for strictly music news, not simply business news.
     When it comes to managing the overwhelming amount of music news out there, Gloor had a few online strategies for keeping organized, but when it comes down to it, he admitted, “the best system is your system.” Google alerts, Evernote, and Delicious were among the websites that manage the flood of music news. 
     In addition to his lecture, Gloor is writing a two-part essay for the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association. With all of his valuable expertise mapped out and easily attained, more than just his students may benefit.
Gloor realizes that he teaches a wide range of students with a wide range of interests and needs. He also realizes that he’s dealing with music students who are and will probably remain poor for most of their lives, so he wanted to get the word out about some free alternatives to which they can resort. Whether the student’s focus is publishing and licensing, technology and digital music, or strictly music fanaticism, he can direct them to an informational source to accommodate their fancy.