Squeak E. Clean Studios' Jennie Armon Talks Career Paths and Mentorship with AMP Scholarship Recipients

Clockwise from top left: Jaida Brown, Uche Anyanwu, Max Castrillo, Justice Short

Squeak E. Clean Studios East Coast executive creative producer Jennie Armon was named a co-chair of the Association of Music Producers (AMP) Diversity & Inclusion Committee and led the charge when it came to building the organisation’s first scholarship program in 2023. Co-sponsored by the Save the Music Foundation, a non-profit organisation that partners with school districts and communities to promote music education, the scholarship program was launched in 2023 to provide both educational and career development support for promising young musicians and producers from underrepresented communities.

Squeak E. Clean Studios pledged their support as a major donor to the scholarship fund, with Armon playing a pivotal role in the development and rollout of the new program.

Armon connected with 2024 scholarship recipients Uche Anwanyu, Max Castrillo, Jaida Brown and Justice Short to discuss their future in the music industry and how the scholarship will help to support them on their journey. 

Jennie Armon> What motivated you to submit for the AMP x Save the Music scholarship?

Uche Anyanwu (UA)> Well, one of my music mentors, Sam Lee, suggested that I apply for the scholarship, which led me to do more research about the scholarship. I saw that I would be able to take an online class offered by the Berklee School of Music along with a potential internship opportunity, which I knew would help me excel in my music career.

Max Castrillo (MC)> When I was in school for my bachelor’s degree I didn’t have much exposure to music supervision, music publishing or copyright law. I had a vague understanding of what the role of a music supervisor was but didn’t fully grasp it. When I found out that the AMP x Save the Music scholarship had the opportunity to take a course at Berklee I immediately jumped at the idea to further my career path.

Jaida Brown (JB)> Honestly, my mentor motivated me. I only believed I was good enough for this scholarship once I received a pep talk. Also, what this scholarship had to offer is something I needed to help me continue my journey in music production.

Justice Short (JS)> My motivation to submit for the AMP x Save the Music scholarship was mainly because I felt like this scholarship along with its services could benefit me greatly with my aspirations in music production, audio engineering, and music business.

Jennie> What excites you most about participating in this scholarship program?

UA> The biggest thing that excites me is the potential internship opportunities available. One of my goals after college is to get a job within the music industry, so being able to work toward that with a potential internship makes this goal even more obtainable.

MC> What excited me the most about participating in the scholarship program was the opportunity to study my field of interest at Berklee School of Music. Taking a music supervision course this past fall ultimately solidified my decision to become a music supervisor and I’m really excited for the future.

JB> What excites me the most is the ability to receive advice from industry professionals like Jennie who want to see people like myself thrive. And that includes one-on-one guidance, the equipment necessary to help you get a step further into your career, and a potential internship to gain experience.

JS> What excites me the most about being a part of the scholarship program is the amount of connections that are laid out in front of me.

Jennie> Who has been an important mentor on your road to a career in the music industry?

UA> Sam Lee, who's the lead programming coordinator at Building Beats, a music education non-profit organisation, has been instrumental in my music journey. Whether it's fun conversations, words of advice, or the beautiful work he's done with Building Beats, he's taught me so much about the world of music which has led me to go on and do things such as winning the AMP scholarship.

MC> Jennie Armon has been an amazing mentor these past few months. Jennie was the original person who had told me to get a good grasp on copyright law and music publishing before trying to blindly jump into the industry. She was also the person who mentioned the AMP x Save The Music scholarship to me. If it weren’t for her I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to apply or even know the importance of music supervision.

JB> I've encountered so many. But to narrow it down. Sam Lee.

JS> When it comes to mentors, I've had a lot of important people to guide me through my developing career in the music industry, but I think the main person who pushed me the farthest is my friend and instructor, Jason Doyle, who had originally taught me the ins and outs of audio engineering and the foundations of Ableton and Pro Tools back when I was around 12 years old at the Jazz and Heritage Foundation in New Orleans. 

Jennie> Are there any aspects of the music industry that you're interested in exploring that you haven't yet had exposure to?

UA> I want to learn more about different positions within the music industry. The music industry is a vast industry with many different roles and I can't wait to learn more about being a part of it.

MC> I want to know more about the ins-outs of the major labels, navigate and cultivate relationships with publishers, and observe how in-house music studios work with ad agencies and/or film projects when engaging with music supervision.

JB> Though I have a strong passion for making music, I am curious to explore what the A&R field is like. 

JS> There are many different things I strive to do when it comes to the music industry, but one of the main outliers is DJing for me. I find myself floating around to whatever piques my interest in music and doing what I want to do, but DJing is always something that I wanted to get better at and even took major strides in the field, but never fully committed myself to it.