Student creates, operates record company

Senior’s company prepares to make its first album release

By Sarah Szczepanski
Assistant Features Editor

As if being a college student was not enough, Christopher Lynch, a senior in the School of Liberal Arts, is the owner of his own record company, Double I Intertainment, which he started in 1997.

The Double I Intertainment is preparing to make its first release of an album.

"For these years, I have just been learning the industry, learning what’s right, preparing myself for when I actually have the finances to put the product out," said Lynch. "It’s been a hard process."

Among other things to start Double I Intertainment, Lynch did research, built a business plan, developed public relations materials and made connections with people in the music industry.

He said the hardest part was finding the funds to put the first album out — finding investors everywhere from friends of friends to the Internet.

Sometimes when Lynch contacted potential investors, they looked at him as if he were a child because he was still in college.

He said to get people to invest more in a company and put forth money, the people want to know that the owner knows what he or she is talking about.

"As they see you continue and you become good at what you do, they are going to change their opinion of you," he said.

Lynch, who is planning to attend law school to study contract law, said his main goal for his company is to develop the hip-hop scene in the Midwest.

"I feel like there are a lot of talented people in Indiana," said Lynch, who wants to release his own album someday. "Normally they get snatched out of Indiana and head to the coast. I really want to put them on the map and get their music out."

Double I Intertainment’s first artist to release an album is an Indiana native. Anthony Cherry or "MicRafon Kaos" is from Gary, Ind. Cherry, who has been performing for 10 years, is a senior at Ball State University.

He says within five years he thinks his album and Double I Intertainment will be successful.

Cherry said he decided to put his career in the hands of Double I Intertainment because of Lynch’s determination and knowledge of the music industry.

Starting a business, being a college student and handling extracurricular activities is a challenge, said Lynch, who is also a founder of the Kitchen Table, a student organization that promotes diversity on campus.

"It (his company) is more than a part time job," said Lynch, who sometimes spends more than 40 hours per week alone on his company. "It’s part of my life."

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