Heather McDonald, PhD

Director of the Music Industry Concentration

Instructor of Arts Administration

Dr. Heather McDonald has worked in nearly all aspects of the music industry, from independent record labels to acting as manager and buyer of a record store to tour booking and show promotion. She started out sitting behind a record store counter, first as an employee and then as the manager of a small, independent record store. At the store, Dr. McDonald worked closely with both major and indie labels on new release promotion and worked on in-store performances from artists across all genres.  She left the record store to move to Glasgow, Scotland, where she worked at indie label Shoeshine Records. There, Dr. McDonald got to do a little of everything: dealing with manufacturing and distribution, securing international licensing agreements, artist management, tour booking, show promotion and album promotion.