It’s unclear exactly when it started (five or more years ago?), and there is debate about how to pronounce the name, (mee-sah?, my-sah?) but the members of MEISA know they are passionate about music and careers in the entertainment.

Members of Ohio State’s Music and Entertainment Industry Student Association range from those who see music as a fun hobby to people who want it to be a part of their career path. Roughly 25 people attend MEISA’s weekly meetings in room 222 of Enarson Classroom, where members listen to music, discuss recent concert they’ve attended, play trivia and plan events.

Two of those events include MEISA’s upcoming concerts. MEISA is set to support a concert featuring Canadian alternative rock band Stuck on Planet Earth on Nov. 12 at Donatos at 2084 N. High St., with Columbus bands Betsy Ross, Astral Junkies and Fisher supporting.

Two days later, MEISA is slated to put on a show in a make-shift concert venue, located at 186 E. Hudson St., featuring local alternative band They’re coming they’re coming along with The Candescents and The Vessels.

Not surprisingly, given the common genre between the upcoming concerts, Eric Spurlino, a second-year in economics and the event coordinator for MEISA, describes the musical taste of the group as homogeneous, but open.

“A lot of this club is alternative music, because that’s just what people happen to be interested in, but we do everything,” Spurlino said.

MEISA isn’t only an association for listening to music and planning concerts, though. It also serves as a networking opportunity for members. People with jobs as bookers, programmers and music professors, as well as representatives from Promowest Productions, CD 102.5, Substream Magazine, Prime Social Group and more often make appearances at meetings.

Caleb Mihalik and Emily Gutierrez, both fourth-years in marketing, landed internships at Promowest Productions through MEISA.

“I wouldn’t have been able to find out about a lot of those opportunities that exist without MEISA,” Gutierrez said.

The association also connects with bigger names in the industry, including Sony Music, Warner Music Group and Universal Music. At MEISA’s meeting last Wednesday, Mihalik — MEISA’s vice president and a college representative for Warner Music Group — manned a table covered with music-related stickers, pins and posters that members can take for free.

“Our biggest thing is trying to get people to listen to music that they haven’t heard before, because maybe they’ll become a fan of it,” Mihalik said.

Gutierrez said she enjoys the camaraderie of the group.

“You can come here and just be a total geek about music and not get judged,” she said.

People interested in MEISA can attend one of their weekly Wednesday meetings at 7:30 p.m. Dues are $10 a semester, or $15 for the year.

MEISA’s concerts on Nov. 12 and 14 are set to begin at 8 p.m.