Recorded Music B.F.A. Undergraduate Program
About The Program:
The Recorded Music B.F.A. undergraduate program is designed to provide professional training for students who aim to succeed as creative entrepreneurs in the music industry. A creative entrepreneur is a driven, passionate individual who starts and runs an innovative business enterprise.
Students who enroll in Recorded Music have a wide range of aspirations. Some aspire to become CEOs of record labels. Others aspire to become innovative record producers who helm successful production companies. Some students are performing artists or music critics who want to develop their business acumen so that they might build a successful brand.
In every case, our mission is to provide students with the necessary skills – business, creative, intellectual and social – so that they might succeed as leaders in an evolving music industry. We encourage students to develop innovative musical ideas and envision new music business models. We also encourage students to work collaboratively and to cultivate both intellectual rigor and a willingness to experiment artistically.
The program’s course of study includes a four-year, 58-point progression of courses structured around the study of entrepreneurship. There are three main areas of curricular study: business, production, and history & criticism. Students take courses on business and legal issues as they relate to the specialized needs of the contemporary music industry, in conjunction with a series of practicums in the recording studio, where students are expected to become proficient in a range of recorded music practices. Concurrently, students also explore critical writing and music journalism, delving into the cultural impact of recorded music and the history of contemporary musical genres such as rock, R&B, hip-hop, and pop, world and electronica. By graduation, students are expected to actualize a comprehensive creative plan to launch a music business venture, such as a record label, production company or new media enterprise.
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