A Successful Music Career May Mean Having Another Option

Junior Adriana Dunn has been hard at work on her singing career ever since she taught herself to perform by singing along with her favorite artists as a young girl in her native Bolivia. The music and entertainment industry major has already released three singles and continues to push herself by producing and writing her own material and learning about all aspects of the industry.

“After graduation, I want to work for a publishing company or record label in the A&R department to get the feel of working with artists,” said Dunn. “(I want to get) that connection with people and just get my feet in the industry, while at the same time work on my own music. My final goal (is) to open my own publishing company or record label. I want to focus mainly on international artists.”

One of the reasons Dunn chose Bradley was the combination of being able to focus on her own artistry while learning the business side. Bradley’s curriculum proved to be the perfect combination, as well as opportunities like the Hollywood Semester or networking with alumni already in the industry.

Because she knows having a successful performing career can be elusive, Dunn is getting as much experience as possible while at Bradley. One of her first steps was to join the student organization Brave Sounds Entertainment, who signed Dunn as their artist.

“We would have songwriting sessions where I would present my project to all the group members and get very useful feedback. There are people in the group that focus on songwriting, on production, so they would give me tips to do things differently and help me build my songs better.”

Initially, Dunn wrote music in English — not her native Spanish — in a pop style. In the past year, she’s opened herself to new musical possibilities and has connected more with her nationality and ethnicity.

“I’m still trying to write pop music but now it’s a mix of Spanish and English,” said Dunn. “I’m in the experimentation stage. ... I’m currently working on my first EP collaborating with some Latinx producers and it’s something I am extremely excited about. This is giving me a lot of experience networking and finally meeting a goal I had for a long time: finding my unique musical style and releasing my very own first EP!”

Dunn has also gained valuable business experience by serving on Brave Sound’s executive board and managing their roster of artists.

“I reach out to student artists who want to release music or like to sing (and create) relationships with those artists and help them build their career and music,” she said. “That’s definitely something I want to do in the future. (Being a part of) Brave Sounds has been key for me.”

During her first year at Bradley, Dunn spent a week in Los Angeles on a trip led by Carl Anderson, who directs the music and entertainment industry program. She attended meetings at various record labels, a music publisher and with several successful musicians. The trip helped cement her career goals.

“(The L.A. trip) definitely helped to direct the path I want to follow after college, find a job, keep growing my career. Those two things were very important for me, and I know I wouldn’t have had that opportunity if I wasn’t here (at Bradley).”