From opening for national acts to 400,000 Spotify streams to a fantastic L.A.-based internship — Jack Lutz '25 is fast-tracking his success with the help of BW.
Lutz's passion for music sparked at a young age. The Columbus, Ohio, native got his first guitar at age six and was his dad's sidekick to rock concerts three years later. By high school, he was in a band and ready for the next step.
"One thing that drew me to BW for the music industry major was the impressive guest speakers. Among them was John Feldmann, whose accomplishments include being a frontman for the punk rock band Goldfinger, a legendary producer and the A&R (Artists and Repertoire) head at Big Noise," explained Lutz.
With an ambitious eye to securing a prestigious internship for his senior year, Lutz reached out to Big Noise, a multi-faceted music company that spans artist representation, a label, publishing division and recording studio in Los Angeles.
"I've learned all I've wanted to and more from this experience," said Lutz. "I got to see how music is distributed from a label's perspective, how to work as a team when it comes to promotion, and how to properly manage business relationships within the industry, such as working with streaming services and artist management."
"My dream job is being an A&R for a label and being a touring musician. At Big Noise, my internship has focused on the marketing side of the label. My projects have involved creative marketing, stats collection and content creation, including running the TikTok and Facebook pages," he added.
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Over the past four years, Lutz has leaned heavily on experiential learning to break into the field. He worked for Jacob's Pavillion and The Agora, interned for Tragic Hero Music Group and was an intern for a freelance music supervisor for TV and film. He has been writing, recording and performing with various bands as a session member since 2016.
In March 2023, he went full force into an indie pop solo music project, which led to seven singles, an EP, over 400K Spotify plays and opportunities to open for national acts like Wheatus, Phantom Planet, 24kGoldn, Jonah Marais (of Why Don't We), Sponge and Lee DeWyze.
"BW has taught me so much. I've experienced so much positivity and support from the staff and my classmates," remarked Lutz.
"BW has amazing professors," believes Lutz. "They taught me how to look at my solo music project from a business angle, and that has been some of the best advice I have ever received. I have gained so many valuable connections within the industry. This school and music project have brought me so much happiness, friends and fun memories. I am truly so thankful."
Lutz will be performing with the BW Beatles on May 3. He also will be performing at The Grog Shop on May 6 with BW students Joe Brown, Ty Bogikes, Ryan Acevedo, Hank Temple and Dakota Renteria.
For those interested in following his journey, Lutz invites people to check out his work on Instagram at @jacklutzmusic.
