Paris Center Stories: Cindy Liu, ‘18CC
Cindy Liu transitioned from classical pianist to music management at Columbia, inspired by mentors and experiences at Reid Hall. Now at Universal Music Publishing, she advocates for artist rights and diverse representation.
Cindy Liu (Columbia College ‘18), didn’t always see herself in music management. Until she arrived at Columbia, she had a complex relationship with classical piano, which necessitated many solitary practice hours, and seemed to serve only the needs of her resumé. During her undergraduate studies, she discovered the powerful connections that music could cultivate, through the Music Performance Program and concerts performed at Reid Hall, which led to the beginning of her career in the music industry.
Through Magdalena A. Stern-Baczewska mentorship, her perspective shifted. Once Cindy realized she didn’t want to pursue a career as a performer, Stern-Baczewska encouraged her to explore music management instead. Another key mentor, composer Zosha Di Castri, provided Cindy with a behind-the-scenes perspective on the music industry through both creative and administrative roles. Meanwhile, Professor Susan Boynton, then Chair of Columbia’s Music Department, connected Cindy to Reid Hall in Paris, where she performed concerts in 2016 and 2017 honoring Maurice Ravel and Sergei Prokofiev.
Cindy’s experience at Reid Hall became a pivotal moment in her career. The 2017 Prokofiev centennial project, commemorating the anniversary of Sergei Prokofiev’s arrival in New York in 1917, allowed her to engage deeply with the composer’s archival materials—letters, diaries, and manuscripts—that helped shape a concert program exploring the aesthetic and theoretical concepts he developed throughout his career. In collaboration with GSAS alum Natalia Ermolaev, Cindy selected documents that shed light on the diverse relationships Prokofiev formed with artists across disciplines during his time in Paris. Cindy believes this may have contributed to a certain irreverent quality in his music.
Concerts she performed on Columbia's campus in New York, as well as at Reid Hall in Paris, allowed for a full exploration of Prokofiev’s transatlantic life: from Paris, which was so important to his creative evolution, to the important years he spent in political exile in the United States.
“I really wanted there to be this thread where even the audience members who did not know who Prokofiev was or did not really know anything about this collection would be like ‘Yes, I can hear certain motifs, certain narratives that keep coming back. I can appreciate how this came about because we have all of this amazing supporting documentation for that.’”
Today, Cindy works in music publishing at Universal Music Publishing Group, developing long-term strategies to guide artists in defining their legacy. She is interested in reshaping this ever-changing industry, as it increasingly recognizes the value of artists’ ownership rights—a movement fueled by figures like Taylor Swift and James Blake. She advocates for artists to maintain control of their work, navigating the complex world of rights, royalties, and recognition.
As an English and Sociology major, Cindy developed skills in reading comprehension and written and oral communication that are essential in her daily work in artist management and publishing. Her sociology studies especially grounded her understanding of social inequality, an issue that resonates in her work with women and people of color in an industry where they are underrepresented.
“I identify as a young woman of color and I think there are often times where I’m the only one who looks like me in a room. There are a lot of Asian American women authors who write about this: the double bind of being who we are is that we have to speak up and advocate for ourselves but then we’re also seen as self-serving or selfish.”
She acknowledges that the industry is evolving but emphasizes that middle and upper management remain predominantly male and white. Artists, she notes, respond to her efforts to create spaces where representation matters. She is currently representing Isobel Waller-Bridge, who notably scored her sister Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag and has created her first ballet, an adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment.
During her studies, Cindy learned about the strength of “weak ties,” a sociological concept denoting the importance of the reach of people's networks beyond their family and close friends. She has been better able to see and value these connections throughout her career, forming a professional network that supports her today.
“My current job opportunities I didn’t necessarily get from my close circle of friends. It’s usually people that are acquaintances or people that you may not hang out with all the time but are connected to this web that you can’t really see but you will feel when you put yourself out there.”
Columbia taught Cindy to “synthesize” the complex layers of her career, to shape her own path with a critical perspective, and to drive change in an industry where representation is essential. Her journey from classical pianist to music-industry professional underscores her commitment to supporting artists' success and creating a space for diverse voices.