Kassie Frasher’s co-op was a green light for her career
The third-year UC student shares her experience at Red Light Management in Nashville
By Michelle Flanagan
Music star hopefuls go to Nashville to chase their dreams. Turns out, some University of Cincinnati McMicken College of Arts and Sciences students do, too.
When Kassie Frasher, a third-year student majoring in communication with a certificate in public relations, was on the hunt for a co-op, she knew she wanted to work for a company she was genuinely interested in – that meant the music industry. Determined to land that experience, she applied to every company in Nashville, Tenn., that offered a fall internship or co-op, and waited until the end of the summer to hear back. When she got the call from Red Light Management, she made sure she’d done her company research so she could ask her prospective employers questions as well.
Being in the co-op program gives you the ability to experience different careers, to decide which field you want to pursue in the future.
Kassie Frasher
Image provided by Kassie Frasher
After acing her interview, Frasher was officially a co-op student at Red Light Management, and was specifically put in charge of country music artists Craig Morgan, Caleb Lee Hutchinson, Kristian Bush and Lindsay Ell, and helped create the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour Presenting: Lindsay Ell, a tour that included 16 venues and countless marketing, public relations, and promotional responsibilities.
“My favorite part of the job was that it was always changing, so never became boring,” recalls Frasher. Curious what exactly goes into planning a tour? Her work with the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour Presenting: Lindsay Ell “included all aspects of the tour, marketing, design, ticketing, 16 venue stops, writing press releases, and even going to a few tour stops around the U.S.”
This opportunity was the perfect way for Frasher to put her coursework to good use.
“The PR Writing class gave me the tools to properly write press releases and newsletters that I used a great deal in this internship,” said Frasher. “In many of my classes, we would practice elevator speeches. During my co-op there were label, radio, and management parties where I met important people in the industry and practiced introducing myself.”
In fact, UC set Frasher up for success even before she got to Nashville. The COMM Development Course allowed her to strengthen her resume and interview skills, and the portfolio workshop aided in the interview preparation she did on her own. “If it was not for this class and all the feedback I got,” she says, “I would not have had the confidence I needed when going into the interview process.”
Still, no job is 24/7 glamour, and this co-op was no exception. Whether it was analyzing and proofreading 16 venue contracts for the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour – “after the first four, everything started to look the same!” –, constantly checking emails, or thrilling-turned-tedious experiences, Frasher got a taste of it all.
Frasher was able to be on-set for the shooting of the “What Happens in a Small Town” music video, a recent country radio hit featuring Brantley Gilbert and Lindsay Ell. “Unfortunately, I had to stand in the cold for hours during this shoot. It just happened to be a very cold day and the shoot had to be finished in one evening. We did not wrap until after 1 a.m. and then had to drive the hour home,” Frasher explains.
Those tough moments led Frasher to her biggest takeaway: hard work pays off. “If you want something,” she says, “don’t be afraid to go after it. Behind all the exciting and glamorous aspects of managing an artist, there is a great amount of detail within the hard work.”
I would like to thank the University of Cincinnati for offering such an amazing program. If it wasn’t for UC, I would not have had such an incredible experience.
Kassie Frasher
If hearing about Frasher’s experience induces jealousy pangs, Frasher has a suggestion: “I highly suggest you get involved with the co-op program,” she says. “You never know what kind of real life experiences you can be a part of. I never would have thought at 21 years old I would have walked the 2018 CMA Red Carpet as a publicist or planned a tour.”
Do you have a co-op or internship story you want to share? Email the College of Arts & Sciences News at artscinews@ucmail.uc.edu
Header Image: Image provided by Kassie Frasher
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