ACM@UCO welcomes the leadership of its Chief Executive Officer, Scott Booker, music industry veteran and entrepreneur.

Scott Booker began his career in the music industry as a clerk at Sound Warehouse in Midwest City before moving on to manage the Rainbow Records chain in Oklahoma City while simultaneously attending Central State University, now known as the University of Central Oklahoma. Shortly after graduating from UCO with a degree in education, he met local band the Flaming Lips and in 1990 began as their manager. He created Hellfire Enterprises, Ltd, an artist management company and continues to work with the three-time Grammy Award winning Flaming Lips today. Scott has also worked with Academy Award nominee Elliott Smith and other acts like Wheat and Mercury Prize nominees British Sea Power. In 2003 Scott co-founded World’s Fair Label Group – a service company that runs independent record labels and artist-owned labels for artists to self-release their own music. Recently he sold his ownership in World’s Fair to focus on launching and growing the Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma.

What do you hope students gain from the ACM@UCO experience?

Scott: “What excites me about the ACM@UCO program is how well-rounded it is. It doesn’t just focus on being a great musician – the program also cares about if you can break into the business as well. ACM@UCO provides the skills you need to maneuver through the industry once you start working.”

And so why is ACM@UCO important to Oklahoma and the United States?

Scott: “No one in the U.S. or Oklahoma has a program like ACM@UCO – they all have bits and pieces of it within their schools. ACM@UCO combines teaching music skill, production and music business. This is important for Oklahoma because the Oklahoma Department of Commerce has identified the music industry as one of the areas it wants to focus on for development. ACM@UCO will be at the forefront of this development.”

Scott is committed to the success of ACM@UCO as an engine for the music industry in Oklahoma and as a stepping stone to Oklahoma’s future music professionals. ACM@UCO welcomes him, his wife Jennifer and his son Harrison to the University of Central Oklahoma family.