Michael Janas began his career in the audio industry while playing in bands and working as a live sound engineer during his undergraduate studies at the University of Kansas.  After earning a Bachelor of Music Education degree he toured several years full-time as front-of-house engineer and road manager touring the U.S., Canada, and Europe with artists including Leon Russell, Jason & The Scorchers, and Webb Wilder.    In 1990 Janas changed his career path and became recording engineer and personal assistant to songwriter Paul Kennerley, who has penned hits for The Judds, Emmylou Harris, and Marty Stuart. Janas also continued to work as a live sound engineer at legendary local nightclubs The Bluebird and The Exit/In.  In 1991 Janas was hired as Studio Manager of The Castle Recording Studio in Franklin, TN, and eventually promoted to Vice President.  During his twelve years at The Castle, Janas was involved in everything from studio scheduling, remodeling and construction, training interns, to cooking dinner for clients. He also recorded, and occasionally produced, a wide variety of artists including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jason & The Scorchers, Jonell Mosser, as well as three Grammy-nominated recordings for Arista artist BR5-49.  He also engineered recordings for Warner/Chappell Music, Emmylou Harris, Billy Ray Cyrus, Anna Wilson, Webb Wilder, and Brad Paisley, along with a wide variety of local and independent artists.   In 2002 Belmont University partnered with the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum to operate historic RCA Studio B, which had been renovated by the Mike Curb Family Foundation. Janas was hired as the first Studio Manager of the new partnership.  While overseeing the outfitting and operations of the famous studio, Janas also served as adjunct faculty for Belmont. In 2007 he was hired as a full-time faculty member and appointed the Director of Recording Studio Operations for Belmont University.  As Director, he supervised the rebuilding and renovation of the historic Quonset Hut Studio and Columbia Studio A for Belmont University as well as serving on the design committee for the R. Milton and Denise Johnson Center, which includes an ATMOS mixing stage along with many other post-production audio facilities.  In 2012 he earned his Master of Education degree. From 2016 to 2024 Janas served as Chair of Belmont’s Audio Engineering Technology program, the third largest major at Belmont.   In addition to teaching, administrative responsibilities, and facility development, Janas also brought together professional artists to work in close collaboration with Belmont students, including string recording sessions for Cody Fry, Ben Rector and recordings for Chuck Mead and Matt Urmy. Additionally, Janas also has served as the faculty sponsor for the Belmont Showcase Series and the student section of the Audio Engineering Society. Janas is a member of the Audio Engineering Society and the Recording Academy.