This past summer, senior music industry major Ellie Gressman completed the top internship in marketing solely at Live Nation. With a niche for music promotion, this opportunity sparked her journey of working at live music events while assisting with artist and band publicization. 

Out of 200 applications in the Glassboro area, she was chosen as Rowan’s representative at Live Nation. 

In a 25-hour week, she worked remotely from home on Mondays, Fridays, and Tuesdays through Thursdays hands-on at Live Nation’s two offices. Gressman met with six marketing venue coordinators throughout the internship. She initially began working with smaller-sized venues that reached 1000 capacity and then transitioned to help market venues that fit 15,000 to 40,000. 

Gressman scored the internship through LinkedIn in March, after receiving an email from the chair of the Music Industry department, Matt Gendreau, about the internship opportunity for students. At the end of April, Gressman completed a Zoom interview with Live Nation and received an email congratulating her on receiving the internship at the end of May. Through this internship at Live Nation, Gressman found her love for live entertainment marketing.

Three days before landing the internship, Gressman ended her last internship with Rising Sun Presents at the end of May. This role helped prepare her for her next internship by teaching her marketing basics such as engagement, analytics, and copywriting. Furthering her marketing skills through working at live music events while receiving new tasks daily, Gressman’s confidence grew as she was challenged to complete evolving assignments in her new position. 

“I was so grateful for that internship because it was really like a launching pad for me to jump into this huge Live Nation opportunity,” said Gressman, “It was a perfect stepping stone, and that’s how I recommend people to do it, to kind of start off with a smaller unpaid [internship], and then go for the big ones.” 

As the summer intern at Live Nation, the tasks she received continued to change as new concerts and ticket sales were announced. Her daily routine in the Live Nation office consisted of assisting with ongoing community-based projects, and meeting with marketing directors while creating flyers and spreadsheets. She reported her progress back to two supervisors after completion. 

After finishing her assignments early, Gressman was keen to take on more tasks. 

“I would get done early sometimes and I would just walk around the office and stop at each cubicle, and be like, ‘Do you have anything I can do? I wanna do stuff,’” Gressman said. 

With a passion for music publicity outside the classroom, Gressman works on her part-time marketing venture in her free time. She helps her friends who are in bands or artists create websites and social media content. 

“One of the bands I’m working with are Rowan graduates, another I met through this internship because she works in the Live Nation office I worked in and we got super close and I was like, ‘Hey your band is really cool, can I make you a website?’” Gressman said, “I’ll ask these artists if I can do this for them and I won’t charge them or anything because I’m trying to build up my own portfolio.” 

A moment that stuck out to her the most during this past summer while at Live Nation was when she wore a bear mascot costume to promote the 2024 music festival Sad Summer Festival at The Mann Center in Philadelphia.

To draw attention to the all-day event on a weekday, the marketing team decided to have someone dress in the festival’s themed bear mascot and walk throughout the streets of Philly. On a 90-degree summer day, Gressman rocked the bear costume traveling to Independence Hall, The Fillmore, and the cheesesteak shop Jim’s Steaks documenting the journey. 

“It ended up being an Instagram reel and we just put together all the silly videos we took. The one is just videos of the bear just walking across Independence Hall and then it shows the show graphic at the end,” Gressman explained, “In my opinion, I’m a little biased but I think it was awesome and I think it helped a lot.” 

Following Gressman’s graduation in May, she aims to go back to the Live Nation office to work full-time. She anticipates continuing her work with up-and-coming artists while focusing on building their brand and social media presence. 

For students aspiring to obtain internships, Gressman recommends talking to professors and advisors about opportunities they know of. They may have connections in the field you’re looking to work in, or they’ll be able to point you in the right direction. She also recommends making a LinkedIn profile to connect with those in direct fields. She leaves pursuers with her ultimate piece of advice: 

“No matter how stressful or overwhelming things can get, always remember you’re absolutely worthy and deserving of success.”

For comments/questions about this story DM us on Instagram @thewhitatrowan or email arts@thewhitonline.com.