A Quantitative Review of Music Business Education in America.

ABSTRACT

As the classical music industry adapts to the rapidly changing world we live in, the skills needed for a successful career in music evolve just as quickly. The decreasing prevalence of permanent full-time positions in arts organizations is leading to an increase in music graduates building multi-faceted careers. While post-secondary music instruction in the United States was initially modelled around traditional European conservatory curriculum, technical performance skills are no longer the only expertise musicians need to thrive professionally. While most institutions have a business school, the curriculum is often not directly applicable to careers in the arts. Select music schools are providing a solution by offering specific courses on music business related topics within their department. This study was conducted to better understand which schools are currently doing this and to what extent.

METHODOLOGY

  1. Within each state, every school’s course catalog was examined to determine its offerings.

  2. All music business related courses were documented.

  3. It was noted if schools offer degree options, or additional resources pertaining to music business.

  4. Schools were further filtered out based on whether they met the criteria of providing a bachelor’s degree in music or equivalent. This was done to best fulfill the intent of this study: to identify programs allowing traditional post-secondary music students the option to include music business

NEED

A lack of resources exists to inform students where they may be able to access post-secondary music education with the opportunity to include music business in their studies. The only existing similar resource is the Programs Archive produced by the Association of Arts Administration Educators. Unfortunately, it focuses solely on programs where arts administration is offered as a degree rather than a course option and is dependent on membership due payments which may not be feasible for all programs.

FINDINGS

  • The greatest concentration of programs offering music business courses was found in states with more heavily populated metropolitan areas. States including California, Texas, and New York have over 20 schools with such courses. This is expectedly due to their larger cultural landscapes providing a greater number of qualified instructors.

  • Surprisingly, less populated states such as Minnesota and Indiana were also found to have at least 10 institutions with music business curricula to support their students making more out of less resources in their communities.

  • In addition to assessing the number of programs offering music business in each state, percentages were calculated to represent the ratio of programs within the state offering subject. This data was also gathered pertaining to schools offering degree options and resources related to music business.

  • It was observed that states such as Colorado and Delaware have pushed to evolve their curricula to include music business, with over 40% of programs offering it as both a subject area and degree option.

NUMBER OF SCHOOLS OFFERING UNDERGRADUATE MUSIC DEGREES WITH MUSIC BUSINESS COURSES

SELECT IDENTIFIED MUSC BUSINESS COURSES

Artistic Entrepreneurship

Arts Organization Management

Career Development for Musicians

Community Engagement in the Arts

Current Issues in Music Business

Grant Writing and Fundraising

Leadership in the Arts

Legal Aspects of the Music Industry

Live Event Production

Marketing for Musicians

Music Publishing and Copyright

Personal Finance for Musicians

Philanthropy in the Arts

Recording and Production Technology

NUMBER OF SCHOOLS WITH MUSIC BUSINESS DEGREE OPTIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS

While it is assuring to see many post-secondary institutions providing offerings in music business, there is still much opportunity for growth.

  1. As resources and administrative red tape frequently limit schools, advocacy is essential for moving these programs forward.

  2. It could also be beneficial for standardized courses to be constructed by a central body and offered to schools wishing to expand this area within their department.

  3. An accessible recourse must be developed to help students identify programs that will provide them the opportunity to include music business in their studies.

SELECT RESOURCES

Association of Arts Administration Educators. “Programs Archive.” Association of Arts Administration Educators, 2023. https://artsadministration.org/programs/?program-filter-degrees=&program-filter-state=&deg=undergrad&opt=all&cnt=all.

College Music Society. “Directory of Music Faculties.” College Music Society, 2023. https://www.music.org/index.php?option=com_cmsdb&view=schools&Itemid=2885&layout=default&filter_state_province%5B0%5D=TX&limitstart=30.