Stevens’ Castle Point Records provides music industry experience

HOBOKEN, N.J. — Students taking part in the Music and Technology program at Stevens Institute of Technology are gaining valuable real-world industry experience in addition to their classroom courses. More than 20 Stevens students now work with Stevens’ own record label, Castle Point Records, which was founded in early 2005. “They are handling everything from art design to publicity,” said David Musial, Director of the Music and Technology program. Castle Point Records recently issued a compilation record, “Delusions of Grandeur,” featuring six artists, two of whom were hand-picked by the students. The CD is now available for purchase online at the Castle Point Records website (stevensmultimedia.com), Best Buy and other retail locations.

In April 2006, Castle Point Records held a release party for the “Delusions of Grandeur” CD at Maxwell’s in Hoboken , N.J. The party included performances from some of their artists, such as Myopia, Never the Nines, the WMD and the Last Perfect Thing.

Musial wants students to gain real experience from working in a professional setting. The students traveled to clubs, listened to CDs and also considered feedback from both students and people at clubs before choosing bands for the compilation. “As a student-run organization, we don’t have the funds to do a whole album,” said Stephen Puig, a Stevens alumnus and former president of Castle Point Records. Despite financial limitations, everyone involved with Castle Point Records has worked to make the album a success. The label’s publicist, sophomore Ken Bachor said, “This album has been like our child that we’ve been nurturing.”

“Castle Point Records had an interesting growth period,” said Musial. “Now we are in a unique position where national attention will bring more positive energy.” The company recently met with The Music Syndicate, a college radio promotion company, which will enable Castle Point Records to have contact with approximately 300 radio stations in the US .

Musial has been working to spread the word about Castle Point Records. “We are considering a 10- to 12-university tour next fall with bands that are on the album. The first concert would be at Stevens,” he said. “We hope to increase awareness of Castle Point Records at other universities.”

The staff at Castle Point Records will begin working on their next album in the fall.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

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