Purdue Fort Wayne hopes to hit high notes with new Gold Top Music Group

FORT WAYNE, Ind.—For the first time ever, Purdue University Fort Wayne has formed a full-service music company that also includes a record label.

University officials today unveiled Gold Top Music Group, created to provide professional experiences that will position students to compete in the ever-changing music industry. By doing so, those students will continue Purdue Fort Wayne’s time-honored tradition of excellence.

Three years ago – almost to the day – university and community leaders gathered to dedicate the Purdue Fort Wayne Sweetwater Music Center. Key stakeholders were optimistic that the new music industry and popular music programs would be successful, and that the Music Center would be essential to that success. What wasn’t known was just how successful they would ultimately be.

“The numbers are off the charts, and we couldn’t be more pleased,” said Chancellor Ron Elsenbaumer. “During the past three years, 120 students have enrolled in the music industry and popular music programs. Virtually overnight, we have captured the attention and imagination of students who are drawn to these programs, which are part of our School of Music, as well as these incredible facilities. And now, today, we take another gigantic step forward as we announce and launch Gold Top Music Group.”John O’Connell, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, noted that it was a long road to getting to this point.

“Today is a culmination of three years of devoted and hard work by many Purdue Fort Wayne faculty and staff to make this business model available to our music industry students, who need the real-world, hands-on experience,” he said.

John Buteyn (byoo-tine) is the director of Gold Top Music Group and brings with him years of experience as a recording engineer, musician, music producer, and writer. The group has already signed two artists to recording contracts and is getting ready to celebrate the release of their first signee’s debut album.

“By offering this unique and professional immersion with faculty guidance, students gain an array of tangible professional experiences that directly apply to the occupational and creative environment associated with music, along with entertainment, and the arts,” said Buteyn. “We’re confident Gold Top Music Group will expose the greater Fort Wayne region to the amount of talent and opportunities available at Purdue Fort Wayne, as well as serve as a recruiting tool worldwide.”

During a Tuesday morning news conference, Buteyn helped introduce Gold Top’s first two signees, Bear Case and Man of the Flood, and invited everyone to a release party on Sept. 2 for Bear Case’s first album, “Brain Soup.”

Buteyn thanked Sean Ryan, in Purdue Fort Wayne’s Office of University Engagement, for all his work on making the group a reality. Appreciation was also extended to the Office of Innovation and Research and its co-directors, Connie Kracher and Shannon Bischoff, for their assistance in gaining funding for the Gold Top Music Group, which is the newest of the university’s Centers of Excellence.

Bear Case closed the news conference with an acoustic performance of one of the tracks from her album.

For more details, go to the Gold Top Music Group website.