40 CRAS AES Students Participated and Learned About HITMKR, Including its Origins and its Purpose of Being a Collaborative Platform for Musicians
Gilbert, Ariz., Oct. 19, 2022 – The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS; www.cras.edu), the leading institution for audio engineering education, is proud to announce yet another recent successful Zoom event, getting industry professionals and the CRAS AES student section together to discuss technologies and the industry from each other’s perspective.
This time, collaboration musician platform HITMKR’s CEO and Founder Vu Ho discussed the current climate of the music industry and what it’s like to work in a professional studio today.
“We provided additional context on the current audio engineering workflow and then dove into how HITMKR can provide engineers with a new and easy way to work,” explained Vu, who has been an independent musician for 17 years under the stage name Kato Dox, as well as having 11 years experience as a data and software engineer. “We did a product demo, from how to set up an account to how it can be used for collaboration. Then we opened it up for Q&A. There were about 40 students and it was a great event. The students were engaged and there were a lot of terrific questions.”
HITMKR was created in June 2021. It was originally based out in Austin, Texas, but now a majority of the team is in California. HITMKR provides a secure and streamlined workflow to share and collaborate with others on audio projects. It also provides an opportunity for freelance engineers and producers to sell their music production and audio engineer services.
“CRAS offers a great alternative to traditional college education,” Vu continued. “It allows students to save time and money and only focus on what they truly what to learn, which is audio engineer and music production.”
David Kohr CRAS AES Faculty Advisor, said that leading up to the event with HITMKR, he was showing the website in his classes. “We were exploring the different options and services that it offers which built up interest and excitement to learn more about it directly from the creator. We can’t thank Vu enough for taking the time to host this event for our student section of AES. Vu gave us a personal tour of the website, a demo of how it works and what we could use it for, and he answered all of the questions that we had. If you’re an educator, I highly recommend you reach out to Vu and HITMKR about hosting a presentation for your students, as well.”
Vu added that one of his favorite stories that he came away with from the event was hearing Kohr talk about the website. “He originally thought it was just a talent marketplace and did not realize there was an entire collaboration platform,” Vu said. “Our team worked really fast when it came to development of the website and things changed on a weekly basis. The first time that David visited the website, it was just a marketplace without any collaboration feature. But less than one month later when we spoke, the website looked totally different.”
Then, HITMKR was ready. And having Paul Montes, a CRAS alum, as HITMKR’s Head of Brand Partnership, is an added benefit.
“The HITMKR event was informative with hosts who know exactly what they are offering,” said CRAS student Blake” King” Curtis. “I learned a lot about the site and how much of a tool and asset it is for the industry. Being able to network on a site that makes it so easy is great. They laid out the site perfectly to be able to not only pitch yourself to clients but have other professionals pitch themselves to you. HITMKR is kind of like a one-stop shop for all your networking needs when it comes to making connections and relationships within the industry.”
CRAS student Lauren Bodron echoed Curtis’ sentiments. “I enjoyed the presentation very much. I found the information and the idea of the site to be interesting and I love the idea of having an easy way to get in contact with other audio engineers and producers.”
The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences is composed of two nearby campuses in Gilbert and Tempe, Ariz. A CRAS education includes broadcast audio, live sound, film and TV audio, music, and video game audio, all taught by award-winning instructors who have all excelled in their individual fields, including sound reinforcement, audio recording and production, digital recording, troubleshooting/maintenance, and music business.
CRAS structured programs and highly qualified teaching staff provide a professional and supportive atmosphere, which is complemented by its small class sizes allowing for individual instruction and assistance for students in engineering audio recordings. CRAS has been providing quality vocational training in audio recording for more than three decades. The curriculum and equipment are constantly being updated to keep pace with the rapid advancements in the music and sound recording industries. CRAS’ course offerings and subject matter have always centered around the skills and knowledge necessary for students’ success in the audio recording industries.
The 11-month program is designed to allow every student access to learn and train in all of the Conservatory’s studios which are comprised with state-of-the-art audio recording and mixing gear, the same equipment used in today’s finest studios and remote broadcast facilities, including Pro Tools Ultimate, API Legacy consoles, SSL AWS consoles, Studer Vista consoles, and much more. All students must complete a 280-hour industry internship to graduate from the Master Recording Program II that may ultimately lead to industry employment.
For more information on HITMKR, visit HITMKR.com or cras.hitmkr.com (CRAS specific), or email Vu Ho (CEO & Founder) at [email protected]; Andy Chiang (Head of Marketing) at [email protected]; or Paul Montes (Head of Brand Partnership) at [email protected].
For more information on the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences, please visit www.cras.edu, contact Kirt Hamm, administrator, at 1-800-562-6383, or email to [email protected].
About The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences
Based in the heart of The Valley of the Sun with two campuses in Gilbert and Tempe, Ariz., The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS) is one of the country’s premier institutions for audio education. The Conservatory has developed a unique and highly effective way to help the future audio professional launch their careers in the recording industry and other related professional audio categories.
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