Berklees Top News and Stories of 2023 From AI in the classroom to music licensing 101, 50 years of hip-hop to the next great American jam band, take a look at where the last year brought us.
By
Bryan Parys
December 20, 2023
Image by Elizabeth Friar
How do you tell the story of a year?
The short answer, of course, is that you cant. Who can predict how many students will look back at a class they took in 2023, for example, and say, yes, that was the moment my career began? And while this year marked the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, the genres clearly not done evolving, so its not for us to try and understand this years beginnings and endings.
Instead, we collected just a handful of moments from the Berklee community that inspired, that challenged, that brought recognition, that expanded minds. Take a look below to get a sense of where we are, and imagine what stories may come next.
Career Advice from Donald Glover
How Donald Glover Built a Career as a Multi-Hyphenate Artist
Make sure that your point of view is sharp and that you know who you are, and you know who youre speaking to. -Donald Glover
Berklee SVP Featured on Reuters and NBC
Lacretia Johnson Flashs Ancestral Journey Is a Call to Stay Connected to History
This story gives the world a vivid example of the intergenerational consequences of systemic racism carried out through routine policies and practices.-Lacretia Johnson Flash
corook Goes Viral on TikTok and Beyond
Viral TikTok Song If I Were a Fish Is a Joyous Call for Acceptance
After their ode to being different went viral, Corinne Savage B.M. 17, who performs as corook, expanded on their savvy blend of humor and sincerity on a new EP.
Advancing with the Latest Technology
What Does New AI Technology Mean for Artists?I can only imagine AI will get more powerful, and with great power comes great responsibility.
-Ben Camp
Everything Is Music to Instrument Inventor Akito van Troyers EarsI want to create the most original sounds. Original sound counts when youre making new music.
-Akito van Troyer
How Generative AI Is Change College ClassesI am concerned about [AI] not making its way into classrooms fast enough. I think we need to first engage with it before we can understand its risks and downfalls.
-Sherry Li
Artistry in the Algorithms: Music in the Age of AIIt used to cost a million dollars to create an album, then $10,000, and now $1,000. To me, generative AI is just . . . the next evolution of enabling more people to be creative.
-Jonathan Bailey 08
Pathways to the Industry
Music Licensing 101: How to Sync Your Music
The person that youre sitting next to can be tomorrows executive that you need a favor from, that can put you onto your next opportunity.-Dom Jones B.M. 19
EA Scholarship Helps Composer Katie Rupinski Close the Gender Gap in the Game IndustryThis scholarship has been an absolute fever dream of just amazing opportunities. I feel so prepared.
-Katie Rupinski B.M. 23
Inside the Ever-Changing Job of a Talent Buyer[At C3 Presents] we have the opportunity to dive into all these different areas we want . . . so you can kind of jump outside of your job and get experience in other areas.
-Nicol Kuburoglu B.M. 22
Alumni Shape the Cultural Landscape
Podcast: Both Sides of Goose, Americas Premier Jam Band
It's such a different energy in the studio than it is live. And often times we'll get into the studio, and we're trying to track a song that we played live hundreds of times, and you realize very quickly that what works live does not necessarily translate the same way we work in the studio.-Ben Atkind
Illuminati Hotties Sarah Tudzin Sings in Star Wars: Ahsoka First EpisodeI was of course excited to help, but when I knew the cue was all about going full-gremlin mode, I knew I could crush it[.]
-Sarah Tudzin B.M. 14
Hong Kong Indie Artist cehryl Faces Her FearsI just navigate my fears and doubts by precisely cataloging them. When I read them back, I realize how silly or hypocritical some of them are.
-Cheryl Chow B.M. 17
Faculty Experts Spark Conversation
From Turntables to Samplers: The Gear That Made Hip-Hop
Marking 50 years of hip-hop, Prince Charles Alexanders new book explores the role new technology played in helping hip-hop become a global juggernaut.
Why Are Fans Throwing Things at Artists?I think its okay to say, Hey, can you stop throwing chicken nuggets? Youre hitting my friend in the back of the head.'
-Morgan Milardo
Podcast: What Does Science Sound Like?This is this incredible age of discovery. And I think music and art can open that up, and make us more curious, more reflective, and hopefully more grateful as well.
-David Ibbett
Lost Coltrane Album Still Sounds Like Freedom[This lost album] offers another example of the power of courageous musicians to inspire hope, innovation, and empowerment through sound.
-Emmett G. Price III
Berklee Today: A Legacy of Her OwnThe guitar is my instrument and there is nothing I do with it that is not deeply felt.
-Berta Rojas
Curated Playlists
15 of the Best Cover Songs (and Why They Work)
From Fast Car to Ring of Fire, there's no formula to making a successful cover song. But the best covers answer two important questions: why this song, and why this performance?
Queer Artists Who Made Music HistoryThis playlist pays tribute to the queer roots of genres ranging from classical to electronic dance music to hip-hop.
Why Some of Us Cant Stand Holiday MusicListen to a playlist of winter songs that ditches the festive baggage.
Related Categories
News
Most Popular
Ledisi, Q-Tip, and Gilberto Santa Rosa will receive honorary doctorates from Berklee College of Music at its 2024 commencement ceremony.
Ron T. Young
Ledisi, Q-Tip, and Gilberto Santa Rosa to Receive Honorary Doctorates at Berklee 2024 Commencement The ceremony will be hel
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
Berklees Top News and Stories of 2023 From AI in the classroom to music licensing 101, 50 years of hip-hop to the next great American jam band, take a look at where the last year brought us. 
