How IMS Began

The demand grew, and word quickly got out about what I was providing. It became apparent that students and families benefited greatly from my services. So I established IMS, an independent collegiate consulting business, with unmatched expertise and diverse music professional network access.

Unlike many other advisors and even colleges, my time and orientation at Berklee taught me to be open-minded, nonjudgmental, and pivot with the times. Students today are far more technologically savvy than before, so my knowledge and advice must take that into consideration. Performers want to be producers; producers want to be songwriters. They want to do it all. Even classically-minded young musicians, as well as musical theater students are listening to every genre of music imaginable: hip-hop, K-pop, Lo-Fi, EDM, Latin, house, pop country, house, ambient, breakbeat, dub, electro/electroacoustic, the permutations go on and on.

Film composers such as Howard Shore, Hans Zimmer, and Alan Silvestri have become household names, and composing for video games has become a major part of the music industry. You can’t be stuck in the past while at the same time honoring music’s history and heritage.

—Steve Lipman