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Is Music Business 101 part of formal music education ?


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What is formal music education?

 

Formal music education can be defined as that which is 'very regular, systematic and orderly

(Barhart et.al., 1992: 839 as cited in Miya, 2005), executed according to set rules and predictable order.

 

It is conducted in schools, colleges and universities.

 

==================================================

 

I assume you are credentialed , degreed in music education from a college/university.

 

If not exactly that, you made serious effort/strides towards that.

 

My question,,, did your school/university have a Music Business curriculum ?

 

Such as Music Business 101, 201, 301 etc etc. With related classes on promotion/marketing ??

 

I went to business school at Loyola in Chicago. I never noticed any such Music Business classes/curriculuum.

 

Thus my O/P or question to you. Thanks !

Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ?

My Soundcloud with many originals:

[70's Songwriter]

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in chatting with a few music friends, I am hearing that universities don't offer a " Music Business " curriculum.

 

If so, colleges are not preparing music students for the obstacles and rigors and challenges of the music business.

 

Taking other business courses does not prepare the music student, The theory is good, but the content should reflect

that music business reality , that the student will face when he/she is +21 yrs old.

Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ?

My Soundcloud with many originals:

[70's Songwriter]

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My son is leaving for college in a couple of weeks, to major in theater and minor in music. An additional minor he can take is "arts administration", for the business side of the performing arts world. I haven't seen the course catalog to say what exactly those courses are, but it is something available that he wants to add to his course load. (This is at LeMoyne College, in Syracuse, NY.)

"Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion)

NEW band Old band

 

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I have a relative who just acquired a degree in music composition. I asked her if they included a course in copyright. They did not, she has no idea how that works :o

 

I think thats a good example, of what the colleges are not providing.

 

I don't believe in 'try as you go ' in business. The same 'try as you go ' should not apply to the music business.

Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ?

My Soundcloud with many originals:

[70's Songwriter]

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People often ask me what course they should take in pursuing a musical career. My usual answer is marketing and child psychology :)

 

But this thread reveals a hole in the educational system - compartmentalization. When I went to college, I wanted to major in electrical engineering and minor in music. That was NOT ALLOWED. It turns out those were exactly the disciplines I needed to do what I do, which is why I dropped out of college after a year so that I could get an actual education.

 

I have a relative who just acquired a degree in music composition. I asked her if they included a course in copyright. They did not, she has no idea how that works.

 

That boggles the mind.

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good points.

 

My assertion is that graduates are not prepared for the greasiness/sketchiness of the music business.

 

A skilled musician grad should see him/herself as a ' brand '. And employ a force of promotion.

 

Granted, the idealistic grad may not 'want ' to deal with the obstacles and persistence of promotion.

 

Thus they could find a partner, a business oriented partner to do the nitty gritty of the business side.

 

I have an example of relentless promoters- realators [ home Realtors ]. Thats what it takes, if you accept the analogy.

Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ?

My Soundcloud with many originals:

[70's Songwriter]

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A political science course or two would not hurt and may help immensely.

 

So would a business finance course. Art classes may have more impact than music classes, creativity is more important than learning by rote, which is the primary function of all music classes.

 

If you can create, you can come up with something new, if you learn to repeat what has been done (most music courses), you are doomed to be a sideman at best.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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It used to be that the early recording schools of 25 years ago always taught business. In fairness to today's schools, the music business changes so fast that it would be impossible to develop a business because you wouldn't know what it would be like by the time you needed to know.

 

What to do? Teach cooking?

 

Another thing that seems to be missing is basic electricity and electronics, and practical applications. Do they even know what a soldering iron is for?

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It used to be that the early recording schools of 25 years ago always taught business. In fairness to today's schools,

1] the music business changes so fast that it would be impossible to develop a business because you wouldn't know what it would be like by the time you needed to know.

 

What to do? Teach cooking?

 

Another thing that seems to be missing is basic electricity and electronics, and practical applications. Do they even know what a soldering iron is for?

 

Good points worth discussing

 

Recording 101 was available in a San Jose college some years ago, as a night class.

 

Granted tech changes , almost weekly. But thats the world we live in.

 

To deal with substantial change, the course material is updated at least once per year.

That is already happening with all college courses.

 

Since much curriculuum is online, the content could be updated more often.

 

Remember , college courses are to prep the student to " think ".

 

Learning how to think [ critically, analytically]

is more vital than a memorization of 12 steps on how to complete a task.

Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ?

My Soundcloud with many originals:

[70's Songwriter]

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Of course business 101 should be in everybody"s basic education. It is amazing the misconceptions the general public has about business operates. In particular the current Covid situation has made that more clear to me.
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2]What to do? Teach cooking?

 

]Another thing that seems to be missing is basic electricity and electronics, and practical applications. Do they even know what a soldering iron is for?

 

2] that sentence leads me to think Music Business curriculum would provide a range of Full Time [ FT] music business careers/opportunity

 

By FT, I am referring of potential annual income for the music career choice.

 

Such as FT school time credentialed Music Teacher.

I estimate the beginning annual income is +$30,000 per year.

 

I understand that much of music career income is a total list of side hustles.

 

I am defining a named/titled career choice that providing the bulk of annual income such as 70-80%

 

Another assumption is that the music student plans to pursue a livable income out of school , at age 21.

 

Thats a standard approach at Universities - they lay out career prospects and a range of annual income.

Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ?

My Soundcloud with many originals:

[70's Songwriter]

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