The Music Industry Program Entities, or the MAD Dragon Music Group (MDMG), is an umbrella company owned by

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

, run by university students and overseen by faculty and staff. The purpose of the company is to provide industry experience to the students in the university's Music Industry program. The companies of MDMG include MAD Dragon Records, DraKo Booking, MAD Dragon Publishing, MADKo Concerts, and artist services company Bantic Media.

History of the Music Industry program

The brainchild of Jonathan Estrin, the dean of the college at that time, the Music Industry program came about in 2000 when he came to Drexel to head the College of Media Arts and Design and wanted to revive the sub-par music program, "re-envisioning the media-oriented university for the new century". Part of the process was redesigning the curriculum, which showed that the music program would need an overhaul and the addition of a recording studio. After obtaining $250,000 in funding staffing was hired for the program. Marcy Rauer Wagman, an entertainment lawyer and former songwriter/producer, was hired to teach about industry law, business models, royalties, and create and manage a student-run record label. The concept of having an umbrella organization was the brainchild of Wagman in 2003 as a way for students to have experience in all aspects of the music industry. The name MAD Dragon came from the fact that the College of Media Arts and Design was often abbreviated as CoMAD and the university's mascot is a dragon.

MAD Dragon Records

The record label, MAD Dragon Records, is the only student run record label with a national distribution deal. It was signed through

RYKO Distribution Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record ...

in Spring 2005 and is run out of the University itself. The venture between Ryko and MAD Dragon allows the LPs that are produced to be distributed nationally while allowing the students to continue to work with the artist. MAD Dragon Records is currently distributed by the

Alternative Distribution Alliance Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) is a music distribution company owned by Warner Music Group, which represents the rights to various independent record labels. ADA provides "independent artist and label partners with access to the resource ...

(ADA/

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me s ...

). On December 18, 2007, MAD Dragon Records' work with Hoots & Hellmouth won them the 2008 College Record Label Award from the Independent Music Awards (IMA). They won again in 2009 for their work with

The Redwalls The Redwalls were an American Rock band#Rock and pop bands, rock band from Deerfield, Illinois, in Chicago metropolitan area, suburban Chicago. The band was composed of singer/guitarist Logan Baren, bassist Justin Baren, lead guitarist Andrew La ...

. They received over 15 IMA nominations in 2009 and 2010. MAD Dragon worked with or put out records for artists such as

Jules Shear Jules Mark Shear (born March 7, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He wrote the Cyndi Lauper hit single " All Through the Night" and The Bangles' hit "If She Knew What She Wants", and charted a hit as a performer with "Stead ...

The Swimmers The Swimmers are an American four-piece rock band from Philadelphia and include drums, guitar, keyboard (or synth more recently), and bass. They are signed to Drexel University's MAD Dragon Records and released their first album, ''Fighting Tre ...

Matt Duke Matthew Duke GBE GVCO (born 16 June 1977) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the goalkeeping coach of Championship side Sheffield United. Career Hull City He joined Hull City on 23 July ...

Andrew Lipke Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

Hoots and Hellmouth Hoots & Hellmouth is an American band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. History Hoots & Hellmouth was formed in 2005 by Sean Hoots and Andrew Gray. The formation of the band was partially a reaction to and a rebellion against the ...

Toy Soldiers A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, American Indians, pirates, samurai, and other subjects that involve c ...

Kuf Knotz Qoph (Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician Qōp ) is the nineteenth Letter (alphabet), letter of the Semitic scripts. Aramaic alphabet, Aramaic Qop is derived from the Phoenician letter, and derivations from Aramaic include Hebrew alphabet, Hebre ...

The Spinning Leaves ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Pretty Good Dance Moves Pretty Good Dance Moves is an indietronica band from Chicago, Illinois in the United States. Their style is also labeled as electropop. It is influenced by 1980s new wave, electronic, pop and indie rock genres. Career Genesis of the Group Pr ...

, and

The Other MIP Entities

DraKo Booking is the booking agency responsible for booking regional, national and all types of tours around the United States for artists. MADKo Concerts books and promotes independent concerts in the Philadelphia area featuring local artists. MAD Dragon Publishing helps artists to place their music in film, commercials and television. MAD Dragon Media, formerly known as Bantic Media and previously D3, is the MIP Entities' artist services company.

References

External links

* {{Authority control American record labels Drexel University

History of the Music Industry program

MAD Dragon Records

The Other MIP Entities

See also

References

External links