NOVA Loudoun

The Music Recording Technology Program (MRT) has existed at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) for over 15 years and boasts a brand new state-of-the-art studio. The program focuses on training in the field of recorded sound. While the Greater Washington, DC area is not known as a hotbed for music recording opportunities like other more notable cities (NYC, L.A., Nashville, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami), there is a labor market in the DC region for sound editors beyond solely music. Estimates from music and sound recording industry organizations such as Women’s Audio Mission and SoundGirls put the number of women in this profession’s workforce at a mere 5%. In mid-2017, NOVA  sought to increase the number of women who enroll in, and ultimately complete, the program. The target audience was specifically arts-focused women in the 18 to 35 year old age range who wanted to be relative trailblazers in a hands-on creative STEM field. Awareness of and interest in the program was generated through a 26-week bus-side advertising campaign. Daily estimated circulation (DEC) was 5,500 on a Loudoun County, Virginia route that runs 6 days per week.