David Knight Presents MTEC
The Music Talks Educational Center Now Open For Registration!
By Brooke Mason

It was nearly a decade ago when the idea to build a music school campus in a digital world first began to develop in the mind of Music Talks founder David Knight. In 2001 Knight was producing the Music & Internet Expo with Steven Zuckerman. This Madison Square Garden event was sponsored by the bourgeoning company MP3.com. PC Magazine called the event, “The Woodstock of the I.T. World.” It was at this expo that Knight first met and began working with Eric De Fontenay, founder and President of MusicDish, LLC who will be the official news content provider and distributor for MTEC, providing a live RSS news feed through Mi2n links on the virtual campus.

Knight recalls, “Ultimately I ended up producing throughout the years leading to the fruition of the Music Talks sessions in New York and Los Angeles. When I’d return home from my meetings in Los Angeles I was noticing a lot of emails requesting Music Talks to go international. I couldn’t at the time, but then I started getting a larger demand. I began to see the value of the sessions I was producing. So in 2006 I began researching how I could reach more people. I looked into webinars and phone conferencing, but still wanted something that was more engaging, interactive and unique. I stumbled into Second Life, and noticed it was slow and funky.”

Second Life was developed by Linden Lab in 2003 as a virtual world that allows users the ability to combine 3-D modeling tools and scripting language into an interactive space for avatars. Knight explains, “There weren’t too many virtual worlds out there [in 2006], but I thought it would be cool to bring that to the music industry. About a year later I continued to think about this concept and me and Eric De Fontenay were sitting in Central Park discussing the concept and he suggested I contact a friend of his who was designing a virtual world. So I followed up and we began to develop my vision for MTEC through the hosting softwareActive Worlds, which hosts 60 to 70 worlds within their virtual universe.”

“My vision was to build MTEC design based upon the Jacob Javitz Center. The actual concept for Music Talks Educational Center was this idea of holistic health centers where you have twenty teachers on staff that teach a whole menu of courses ranging from health and nutrition to spiritual healing for the mind and spirit. So for MTEC I wanted a whole list of teachers offering classes in everything from personal to artist development. As of now enrollment is open. All my teachers have set up their courses and the class schedules are listed on the bottom of the registration page.”

When you register you will have to create a username and password. From this point you can create your own avatar or choose between previously created avatars. Upon registration for campus courses you will receive an automated email welcoming you to MTEC with details on the time, date and location of your classes as well as material requirements which you can purchase through the Café bookstore (virtual books and software programs link to Amazon.com.)

When you first enter MTEC you are a tourist but not yet a citizen. A tourist is only able to walk around campus and text message. As a citizen you have a presence on campus and are offered more interactive functions. All you have to do to become a citizen is click on the register button when you come in as a tourist. As a citizen you can voice chat, send telegrams to other artist residents, create a contact list of up to 500 contacts, and transfer files.

MTEC also features an art gallery, dorm rooms, a theatre and recording studio. Artists can create there own personal space in a dorm room where they can share their music and videos as well as host parties with fans. The theatre is where artists will be able to host paid and free events including full feature length movie screenings, interactive lectures, and panel discussions with keynote speakers. The recording studio on campus will not be used to do actual recordings but will be a center for discussions on technology and production. Engineers will offer discussions on different recording techniques. Manufacturers and representatives of recording gear will also be welcomed to teach citizens about their products.

On your first tour through the bookstore you may select and play a Napoleon Hill video on a virtual television. Knight explains, “I grew up with two entrepreneurs, my grandmother and my father. My Grandmother was a real estate investor and was very successful in Long Island and New York. My father was a restaurant owner. I learned a lot from them and knew there was a lot more I needed to learn. I learned that every entrepreneur who has been successful knew and had read Napoleon Hill’s work. I felt it was important to do that too. I like to know the history of people; their life stories are important to me. I read about Napoleon Hill’s life. He was commissioned by Andrew Carnegie to interview Henry Ford, Kodak, Alexander Graham Bell, Einstein…People that were wealthy and influential between the years of 1908 and 1925. What Napoleon Hill discovered through all of these people was the spiritual side of the business dynamic. In order to gain success you have to be in touch with the things that are not necessarily a part of this world. Hill captured very eloquently the power of the mind and the power of the soul to help you acquire your dreams and manifest your thoughts to fruition.”

And what are David Knight’s dreams for MTEC? “I know the CEO of Active World and I am always pushing the envelope. I don’t see right now where the potential of video games like Rockband will integrate into all of this. Right now I think they are a lot of fun for people who are inspired to be a rock star but don’t play an instrument. Before I began playing bass I remember as a kid standing in our living room pretending to be in the Jackson 5. These games that are popular now are just an extension of that. Everyone wants to be a rock star but only a handful of us really get a chance to do it at the highest level. But with an expansion of this technology you could potentially put on a helmet and glasses and really begin to get the sensation of being in a world where you do get to experience being a rock star on that level. It could come to a point where you really feel like you’re in the experience and you’re there. I can see technology going there. Once everything goes to broadband sound delays are going to clear up and the internet will begin to feel more like television and the video will be crystal clear and high definition.”

It is free to register for MTEC and to download and run the software, although DSL or a cable connection is recommended. You can learn how to start up at: Music Talks Quick Start To learn more about MTEC go to: MTEC Educational Center