Arts & Communication Alumna Enters Global Music Industry
A lifelong singer-songwriter, Sara Torabi ’14, ’17 M.S., now works in sync licensing in New York City.
The path after graduation does not lead most Florida Tech graduates to the global music business, but in true Panther spirit, Sara Torabi ’14, ’17 M.S., is undeterred by following the path less traveled.
Having finished her humanities-prelaw bachelor’s degree and global strategic communication master’s degree at Florida Tech, Sara considered how to bridge the gap between the “creatives” and the “suits.” She grew up a singer-songwriter and was very interested in international marketing, so this spurred the decision to pursue a second graduate degree in music business at NYU.
After exciting internships at the ASCAP Foundation and Sony Music Entertainment and completing her second master’s degree in May, Sara now works in sync licensing at Downtown Music Publishing (DMP) in New York City. Sync licensing refers to a license given from a musical work’s owner to a licensee to use in a commercial, film, TV show or video game.
“Sync licensing is a crucial part of the music industry,” she says. “Today, singers-songwriters not only have the opportunity to make decent money through a sync, but it is also how many artists are ‘Shazam-ed’ and discovered!”
Sara pores through DMP’s extensive music catalog to make sure the audio asset library is data-accurate and ready for licensing.
“That requires listening to a lot of music—I can’t lie; it’s a fun job!”
The focus of her master’s research was how emerging music markets can enhance their global communication strategies by applying lessons learned from the success of K-Pop, a global music genre that blends musical styles and cultural elements from around the world.
“I’m interested in global music markets, what makes them ‘tick,’ how they market internationally. My global strategic communication degree really equipped me with that marketing and communication knowledge that I needed to advance myself in this area of the music industry.”
What’s the next big thing in international music? Sara is keeping her eye on the Indian music scene.
Q&A
Are you messy or tidy? Tidy, but I have “a drawer.”
What would you name your boat if you had one? Unsinkable II.
Useless talent: I can finish off the lyrics of a song I’ve never heard before.
World’s best invention in your opinion: A/C
This story was featured in the fall 2020 edition of Florida Tech Magazine. Read the full issue here.
