For Immediate Release:

Carnegie Mellon Announces Masters of
Entertainment Industry Management Class
with Les Paul Foundation

Students Will Have Hands-On Experience with Les Paul’s Original Recording Equipment

Los Angeles, California – December 3, 2024 – Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) Master of Entertainment Industry Management (MEIM) program launched a first-of-its-kind course with the Les Paul Foundation at the MEIM-Los Angeles campus. With the combined creative power of CMU’s College of Fine Arts, the management and quantitative expertise of CMU’s Heinz College, and the inspiration of the innovative and creative thinking of Les Paul, the course will explore Paul’s transformative contributions, his inventions, and artistic achievements in the music industry.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Les Paul Foundation to offer our students the opportunity to gain valuable insight into the life and accomplishments of Les Paul and experience Les Paul’s original mixing console,” said Dan Green, Ph.D., Distinguished Service Professor and director of Entertainment Industry Management at Carnegie Mellon University.   

The course “Les Paul: A Journey Through Music and Innovation” was developed through a partnership between CMU’s MEIM program and the Les Paul Foundation. It will explore Paul’s vast contributions to the music industry, including his invention of the modern recording studio, and his artistic achievements with musical pioneer and partner, Mary Ford, and more than 33 top 20 hits across multiple genres. 

The course will include lectures at the MEIM Los Angeles campus and hands-on sessions at the newly established Les Paul Studio, where students will experience Les Paul’s original mixing board and engage with top studio producers.

“Les was an inventor, an award-winning musician, an innovator and a creative genius who changed the world of music and we’re so pleased to share his gifts with the students of the MEIM program. We are honored to be part of such an exciting opportunity at MEIM Los Angeles” said Michael Braunstein, Executive Director, Les Paul Foundation. 

Steve Rosenthal and Kevin Stein will co-teach the course. Rosenthal owned and operated The Magic Shop recording studio in New York City for three decades. The studio was home to hundreds of recording artists like David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Ramones, Blondie, Coldplay, Arcade Fire, and many more. Steve is a four-time Grammy winner (seven-time nominee) having produced, mixed and restored archival projects for Woody Guthrie, Alan Lomax, Jelly Roll Morton, Blondie, Harry Nilsson, Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra, Bob Fosse, The Rolling Stones and Erroll Garner. Rosenthal adds “Like Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs and other irreplaceable Icons of the 20th Century, Les Paul remade the world of music. As an inventor, a producer and with the help of Mary Ford, as a pop star, Les created a new form of expression.”

Stein, an adjunct professor in the MEIM program, brings decades of executive experience from HBO, CBS, King World, and VH1, along with an impressive background in music documentary production for industry giants like Warner Bros., MTV, and the Jimi Hendrix Foundation. As co-author of “The Book of Rock Lists” for Rolling Stone and producer of landmark music documentaries, including The Who’s “The Kids Are Alright” and “Jimi Plays Monterey,” Stein and Rosenthal are embracing how Les Paul turned technological limitations into creative breakthroughs. As Stein explains, “His innovations laid the foundation for modern recording technology, giving today’s students nearly limitless music-making options. Our in-studio assignments intentionally recreate the constraints Les faced, challenging students to develop the same decisive creativity that made him legendary.”

Hi-res image available by emailing caroline@m2mpr.com

###

About Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy
The Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy is home to two internationally recognized graduate-level institutions at Carnegie Mellon University: the School of Information Systems and Management and the School of Public Policy and Management. This unique colocation combined with its expertise in analytics set Heinz College apart in the areas of cybersecurity, health care, the future of work, smart cities, and arts & entertainment. In 2016, INFORMS named Heinz College the #1 academic program for Analytics Education. For more information, please visit www.heinz.cmu.edu.

About The College of Fine Arts
The College of Fine Arts is made up of five internationally recognized schools (Architecture, Art, Design, Drama and Music). The college has several associated programs (BXA Intercollege Degree Programs and Arts & Entertainment Management), the Miller Institute for Contemporary Art, and the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry. For more information, please visit cfa-contact@cmu.edu

About Les Paul Foundation

The Les Paul Foundation inspires innovative and creative thinking by sharing the legacy of Les Paul through the support of music education, recording, innovation, and medical research related to hearing. The Foundation was created by Les Paul and continues to honor his legacy through grants to organizations that share in the mission. The Foundation also inspires the public through public exhibits presenting Les Paul’s life and achievements. For more information, visit les-paul.com

PHOTO ID: (l to r) front two rows – students of the Carnegie Mellon Masters of Entertainment Industry Management class; Les Paul: A Journey Through Music And Innovation. Far right, second row, Dan Green, Ph.D., Distinguished Service Professor and director of Entertainment Industry Management at Carnegie Mellon University.

Back row around console (l to r): Jeff Salmon, Board Trustee, the Les Paul Foundation; Tom Camuso, Les Paul Studio Director of Operations, Chief Engineer; Kevin Stein, Adjunct Professor, MEIM Program and Marketing Strategist/Producer for the Les Paul Foundation; Steve Rosenthal, Award winning producer/engineer, founder of The Magic Shop studio in New York and Adjunct Professor MEIM Program, Sam Hazlett, Board Trustee, the Les Paul Foundation.

PRESS CONTACT
Caroline Galloway
caroline@lespaulnew
440-591-3807