Music & Entertainment Industry Student Association

MEISA is the student organization of MEIEA, the Music & Entertainment Industry Educators Association.

Form a MEISA Chapter

Introduction - Starting Your MEISA Chapter - MEISA Membership / Electing Your Executive Board - Campus Recognition
Chapter Recruitment - Meetings / Activities - Funding

Activities

There are two different levels of MEISA involvement: regional and local. Each level consists of different opportunities:

Regional Activities

Regional Conferences: Regional conferences are one-day events hosted, promoted, and produced by MEISA chapters. These conferences draw primairly on on local music industry professionals but may include national professionals as well. MEISA chapters at universities that are close to each other are encouraged to work together.

Local Activities

In local event, each MEISA chapter develops its own program of activities according to the interests of its members and opportunities available on its campus and community. MEISA activities are generally divided into four main categories: Professional Growth, Performance, Social, and Community. Below are ideas for activities in each area:

Professional: Conferences, workshops, guest speakers, trade/equipment shows, music industry tours, panel discussions, student-run record labels, publishing companies, promotion companies, etc.

Performance: Local Battle of the Bands, Singer-Songwriter competitions, campus concerts, local artist's shows, music festivals, etc.

Social: Networking mixers, campus social activities, recreational activities, department functions, etc.

Community: Community service projects, music education awareness programs, Rock The Vote involvement, mentoring programs, etc.

Timeline / Check List for Event Production

Funding

Funding can be a challenge for a new organization; you may want to hold many activities to get people involved, but that can be difficult if your group does not have any funds. If you learn how your university funding works, and plan ahead for future events, the prospect of funding your activities will be less intimidating.

Learn How It Works

Each college/university has a different system for distributing monies to student organizations. Your chapter may or may not be eligible to receive funds from an activity treasury or council, and finding out either way will allow you to plan ahead. If you are eligible, it may be necessary for you to submit a budget and funding requests when applying for funds. It also may be necessary for your chapter to appoint an officer or member to be a part of the activity treasury or council. It is important for you to learn how the system works at your college/university as soon as possible so you do not miss out on any opportunities.

Make a Plan

It is imperative that you plan ahead. Creating a budget for the year (or term) will allow you to do just that. After your chapter determines its program of activities for the year, you should take into account how much money should be allotted for each respective activity. Your budget may change slightly over the year, but it is important for you to create a guideline for your chapter to follow at the start of the year. It is the chapter treasurer’s job to arrange the chapter budget, but all executive board members as well as the chapter advisor should approve it.

Getting Started

Many times MEISA chapters will charge chapter dues in addition to requiring members to pay their national dues. In addition to charging dues, many chapters hold fundraisers. Of course there are the traditional fundraiser ideas such as bake sales and carwashes, but since you are part of a music and entertainment organization, you may want to try throwing a concert or event for a fundraiser.

MEIEA Grants

Registered chapters are elligable for grants that may be used to support a variety of activities intended to advance student education in the music and entertainment industries and may include--but are not limited to--workshops, guest speaker support, networking mixers, community service projects, mentoring programs, chapter membership drives, etc. For mor information on MEIEA grants click here.