
Bernice Chan on How Berklee Helped Jumpstart Her Career as a Publicist A panelist at Career Jam 2023, the recent alum discusses landing her current position and how shes adjusted to life after graduation.
By
Mirtini Oikonomou
March 28, 2023
Bernice Chan B.M. '22 will speak on a panel at Career Jam on March 31.
Through her work as a publicist at T.C.B. (Taking Care of Business) Public Relations, a company founded by women, Bernice Chan B.M. '22 has worked with a variety of artists such as Duckwrth, Del Water Gap, Lauren Jauregui, and Tamino, and she recently helped promote the score and soundtrack for the Academy Award-winning film smash Everything Everywhere All at Once. Chan has a diverse skill set in management, public relations, A&R, and music journalism, and is particularly passionate about guiding independent artists.
Her musical journey began at a young age in a children's opera company and continued at a performing arts high school in Toronto, Canada. She later studied music business/management at Berklee, where she was introduced to the industry through the A&R club and working as a student employee in the Office of Media Relations. She believes in building genuine relationships in the music industry, and strives to amplify the breadth of artistic talent she sees around her. In this interview, we delve deeper into her experiences and insights regarding the music industry ahead of her appearance on the Bursting the Berklee Bubble panel at Career Jam on Friday, March 31.
What are some of the things you learned at Berklee that you apply to your current job? The job with the Berklee Office of Media Relations definitely helped me with PR projects and pitch language; I think it helped to get the job where I am currently because I had previous PR experience.... You could have the Berklee name on your r sum , but the important thing is what you do with it. I wasnt the typical academic student because I wanted to do more things outside of the classroom. Thats why I joined the A&R club, took the media relations job, and did internships. I used the Berklee network to do that and also utilized the Career Center. I was really focused on how I can use Berklee as a stepping stone to get to where I want to be after graduation.
What piece of advice did you get that really helped? One of the most valuable pieces of advice that really helped me is to find someone who grew up with a similar background that you can relate to and has the lifestyle you want to have-[use] it as a rough guideline, knowing that there is someone like you who has achieved what you want to achieve.
What are some challenges that you have faced in your career so far, and what are some of the skills that helped you get through them? I think once you get yourself in the door you need to build discipline and grit to transition as a student to a full-time employee. Half of my degree was completed during the pandemic so when I started working from home, it was a struggle to figure things out and learn on the job. I had to be okay with making mistakes and learning from them-and at first it didn't feel great because it felt as if I might be bad at this job, but it's all part of a learning experience. Being a musician first and having your success come with your talent and then shifting to a job where you need to have the foundation of a skill set, which includes things that you have to learn-and you are not born with these skills-is tough. Founder Carrie Tolles and vice president Alison Smith at T.C.B. were big mentors for me, and they gave me space knowing that I was young, and they guided me along the way. But a lot of it was on my computer alone figuring out how to maximize the presence of an artist in the media.
As a woman in the music industry do you think there are difficulties starting out? What changes do you hope to see? Being led by a woman and working with so many women, I felt pretty comfortable the whole time, which I'm very grateful for! However, there is so much more work that the industry could be doing, and knowing the experiences that other women have had in the industry are always kind of in the back of my mind. I think because of that, women in the music industry need to work so much harder, and I think there is a lot of pressure.
What are some pieces of advice that Berklee students need to know before they head out into the music world? Use what's available to you, and understand you don't have to make a whole new connection; since the industry is so small you are going to find people who know someone. I had zero connections starting out in the music industry, but the reason I ended up in New York was that I used the Berklee network and found alumni or people who worked in the industry. I messaged people through LinkedIn, asked to interview them or get coffee with them, and asked them, How did you get to where you are? Another key takeaway is to take it one step at a time. A lot of the time we are comparing ourselves to other people and where they are in their careers. Take baby steps and you are going to feel more confident in yourself. Dont forget the reason why you got into music and keep that passion close to your heart because there are a lot of things that may keep you away from that. Finally, try to keep some kind of balance. It is so easy to burn out when you are constantly thinking of how to get ahead.
Related Categories
Keyed In
News
Most Popular
Berklee President Erica Muhl
Image by Kelly Davidson
Berklee to Hold Inauguration of President Erica Muhl in April Muhl is the fourth-and first female-president of Berklee.
Latest
Loretta J. Ross
Image by Dave Green
A Remedy for Cancel Culture MacArthur Fellow Loretta J. Ross spoke about toxic internet culture and the virtues of calling in instead of calling out at a recent campus lecture.
G
North America Stories
30/04/2026
Avid powers faster workflows and next-generation immersive audio with latest Pro...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Scalable broadcast-grade production over public internet, replacing traditional OB workflows...
30/04/2026
Live demonstrations highlight LCEVC ecosystem momentum, AI-powered video pipelines, and expansion across broadcast, streaming, and social media.
DTV (TV 3.0) ...
30/04/2026
Student Spotlight: Matthew Leon The dual major shares his path from community college to Berklee, and how his heritage influences his work.
April 29, 2026
B...
30/04/2026
Berklee Artists to Perform at Major Global Music Festivals As part of the Berklee Popular Music Institute, students will perform at Lollapalooza, Governors Ba...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
A flexible monitoring platform designed to simplify ST 2110 operations, consolidate vendor tools, and support modern live production environments. See it at NAB...
30/04/2026
Sundance-premiering Run Amok is an expressive, unconventional take on today's teen experience, replete with musical numbers. When cinematographer Shachar ...
30/04/2026
JACKSONVILLE, AL, APRIL 29, 2026 Jacksonville State University, known as Jax State and a proud NCAA Division I member of Conference USA, has transformed its a...
30/04/2026
Transforming viewer and content data into real-time intelligence to deliver relevant streaming experiences at scale
ThinkAnalytics, the global leader in AI-pow...
30/04/2026
Sports Production, Delivery is Big Biz at NAB
Andy Marken April 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image source: NAB
One of the neat things about trade shows i...
30/04/2026
It's gonna be May - and the cloud's in full festival mode.
16 games ar...
30/04/2026
Scripps Research ranks third in 2026 Cure Innovation Index
April 29, 2026
LA JOLLA, CA Scripps Research ranked third in the inaugural 2026 Cure Innovation In...
29/04/2026
It was a delicate job in a 150-year-old venue laden with traditions. Begun at th...
29/04/2026
In annual event, the league gives startup companies the opportunity to prove the...
29/04/2026
Panel discussions, networking, and a facility tour will take place in the renova...
29/04/2026
(L-R) Derek Drescher, Coss Marte, and Syretta Wright have each other's backs. (Micheal Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Veronika Lee Cla...
29/04/2026
Some people stumble into their passion. Julissa Padilla walked straight into a film vault. For her, entertainment was never just about the movies themselves. It...
29/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/04/2026
Clear-Com has appointed Brian Grahn as Market Outreach Manager of the Americas and Ben Turnwell as Business Development Manager for EMEA live, expanding their ...
29/04/2026
nxtedition is bringing its range of consolidated production tools to MPTS 2026, with new developments spanning transcription, editing, graphics and AI-assisted ...
29/04/2026
Quortex Switch to boost the streaming experience for Telxius customers, reaching millions of viewers worldwide
Synamedia and Telxius, the leading global connec...
29/04/2026
freispace, the leading ERP-as-a-Service platform for media and entertainment production, and Projective, a leading provider of post-production collaboration tec...
29/04/2026
DHD reports strong interest in its broadcast audio product range, exhibited at the April 19th-22nd NAB Show in Las Vegas. The event attracted a claimed 58,000 a...
29/04/2026
Student Spotlight: Alan Catz The Argentine film and game composer talks about working on League of Legends, receiving Berklee's BMI Award, and the lifelon...
29/04/2026
Jay Jennings Builds the Worlds You Hear on Screen The supervising sound designer behind A Minecraft Movie, The Meg, Letters from Iwo Jima, and dozens of other...
29/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/04/2026
Back to All News
SUPERNOVA: GENESIS Reached a Peak Audience of More Than 6.5 Mi...
29/04/2026
Jin-Quan Yu elected to the National Academy of Sciences Yu is recognized for his pioneering work in synthetic organic chemistry.
April 28, 2026
LA JOLLA, CA S...
28/04/2026
The audio team for the entertainment event must blend speech intelligibility with full-range music reproduction while considering the broadcast
Last week's...
28/04/2026
The Pac-12 Conference has released an updated primary mark and logo as the starting point of the new league's brand identity. The mark was soft-launched acr...
28/04/2026
The DP World Tour and Amazon Leo have signed an agreement making Amazon's lo...
28/04/2026
Pixellot and HELIOS have announced an integration that automatically converts full-game hockey video into individualized shift videos for each athlete, without ...
28/04/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the Asheville Tourists to manufacture and install a new LED video display. The installation was completed in late 2025 and is now ...
28/04/2026
Eutelsat has announced the renewal of its partnership with PCTV, a content aggregation and distribution company in Mexico and part of Megacable Holdings, for co...
28/04/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the Gary SouthShore RailCats to install a new LED video display at U.S. Steel Yard, replacing the previous Daktronics display inst...
28/04/2026
Telos Alliance and the College Radio Foundation have announced that WWSU-FM of W...
28/04/2026
Golf viewership is growing. The 2025 Ryder Cup drew five million viewers in the UK, a 45% increase over the 2023 event. The US Open was the most streamed golf e...
28/04/2026
The CW Network and WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), have announced t...
28/04/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced that the Internet Protocol Media Experience (IPMX) suite of standards and specifications has been named...
28/04/2026
The 2026 NAB Show is in the books and the show once again served up a cavalcade ...