Fort Collins offers a multitude of opportunities for residents looking to explore their artistic interests, and for incoming students at CSU wanting to explore that creative side of themselves, The Music District is located right next to campus.

The nonprofit organization creates a space for musicians and local music businesses to build connections within the industry while perfecting their craft. Several amenities are granted to members, including exclusive events, access to the entire Music District campus, usage of professional gear and collaboration with the staff.

“There’s always an employee there that’s able to give valuable information or suggestions on how to better my track,” said Paul Cauchi, a current MD member. “The people are a main part for me.”

Besides the dedicated employees, The Music District’s campus includes soundproof rehearsal and production rooms so that artists have access to an area that gives them a high-quality edge to become successful within the industry.

“It provides a really valuable space for beginners, intermediates and really anyone in music to have a creative space with peers,” Cauchi said.

Besides the seven rehearsal rooms at artists’ disposal, there are also opportunities within The Music District to host meetings and connect with the business side of music. So instead of just learning about it, students get a hands-on experience with their potential career.

With many people being full-time students, one large factor when exploring a membership is the cost. For $30 per month, members have 14 hours in that month to use everything The Music District has to offer, from software to a detailed setup.

“To devote to music has been really awesome,” Cauchi said. “It’s surprisingly helped me with time management. I’ve been able to really maximize my time.”

But if the price does not work, The Music District still houses opportunities for nonmembers to be involved through things like public workshops and Groove Theory, a monthly music production meetup for anyone from audio engineers to recording artists to connect.

Mervin Montante, otherwise known as with love, harlōw, was the most recent special guest and masterclass presenter at Groove Theory.

“The coolest part about The Music District is just to bump shoulders with people and kind of open your eyes to different genres and different people and all ages,” Montante said.

The Music District originally flew Montante out to Fort Collins for a sync writing class.

“Basically, what they do is have a bunch of local Colorado people come through, and they flew out producers from all over the U.S. to kind of facilitate a sync writing opportunity,” Montante said.

Montante is a Filipino American artist based in Detroit, exploring multiple genres throughout his songs, such as indie, electronic, R&B and rock.

“During my stay (at The Music District), they’ve just been super hospitable,” Montante said. “They opened their doors.”

Montante plans on returning back to Northern Colorado in the future and partnering with The Music District.

Offering several unique resources, The Music District continues to draw in new members and keep the original ones, one of those being Lance Lang, whose stage name is Lane-O.

Lang is a part of the Dream Create Inspire Tour. The tour travels around and teaches music through workshops, which is how they connected with The Music District. Because Lang was frequently associated with DCI, he was also asked to come down to Fort Collins.

“The rest was kind of history,” Lang said.

Lang became a member and has continued to work with The Music District for the past year as they have consistently supported the growth of his passion.

“That’s a big part of The Music District — is being able to network, … and The Music District is pretty much a great hub for that,” Lang said. “To be able to meet other musicians or music business professionals, and within that, that’s how you (are) able to move around in the music industry.”

Those looking to expand their career beyond just connections can do so in the several rooms around The Music District campus that are specialized for each artist’s needs. The Music District is currently at capacity for membership but accepting submissions on their waitlist.

“I just aspire to be in a space where I can give back from my artistry, and I think The Music District would be a great place for me to be able to do that as far as the opportunities that … supported me and then the things that I’ve learned,” Lang said.

The music industry is a competitive one, and not every member is guaranteed success, but the love, passion and resources provided are an ideal starting place.

“I’m able to use The Music District and develop being who I am unapologetically,” Cauchi said. “That unapologetic behavior of being myself is what really, I think, helps musicians stand out.”

Reach Sophie Webb at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.