Alumni Update: Magda Olszewska, Music Business Diploma

Upon graduating from the Music Business Diploma Program, Magda Olszewska began working as the full-time Label Coordinator for Curve Music’s Country Music Division. The independent Toronto-based record label manages a growing roster of artists including The Dead South, The Weight Band, Garth Hudson, Holly McNarland, Peter Katz, Wide Mouth Mason, Suzie McNeil, and many others. 

In her current role, Magda is responsible for multiple facets of the business. She coordinates digital and physical distribution of music and royalties, organizes the company’s expenses, prepares funding and grant proposals, oversees the marketing department’s work, manages the online store, submits a variety of applications on behalf of the artists (i.e. For the Junos), and is responsible for ensuring that everything in the label’s office runs smoothly. 

During her time as a student at Metalworks Institute Magda seized multiple opportunities to network and gain experience in different aspects of the music business. Not only did she volunteer as a Stage Manager at Cameron House for Canadian Music Week, she then continued to volunteer to assist venue’s FOH engineer after the festival ended. As she tells us, “This was awesome! I could put my hands on the live console, get the cables tangled, talk to the artists and help them with their shows. I knew that as a future Manager, Agent or Record Label Employee, I needed to get as much experience in the ‘battlefield’ as possible.” 

Magda finished up our interview with some great networking advice for current students, “A good word from one of MWI’s teachers helped me a lot with getting my actual job – so I definitely recommend that students take time to build positive student-teacher relations.” She also recommends that students take the time to memorize the “boring” but important fundamentals of the music business – royalties, distribution, and entertainment law.