The multi-billion dollar music and entertainment industry is the eighth largest industry in the United States. It is an exciting, but ever burgeoning and competitive field comprised of a multitude of interrelated jobs that help move music and music related products from artist or manufacturer to consumer: songwriters, music publishers, attorneys, artist managers, sound technicians, promoters, recording engineers, distributors, retailers, publicists, and on and on. For years now, the music industry has been demanding better educated and more highly trained personnel to supply most of its entry level positions.
Since 1979, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale has offered a music business degree program. Originally conceived as a music merchandising program, music business at SIUC evolved over its first decade and now provides a broad-based degree plan to adequately prepare students for virtually any aspect of the music industry. Enrollment has also grown and now constitutes one-third of the total at the SIUC School of Music. A growing number of SIUC music business graduates populate the industry with such firms as Shure Brothers/Evanston, Jam Productions/Chicago, EMG/Santa Rosa, Treasure Isle Recorders/Nashville, The Voice Studio/Nashville, William Morris Agency/New York, Paul Koch Entertainment/Chicago, and Gaylord Entertainment Company/Nashville, among others.
There are presently two tracks in the music business degree program at SIUC, both of which are 121-hour plans that culminate in a Bachelor of Arts degree. The first -- music business -- combines the disciplines of music and business; the second -- open studies -- combines music with a related discipline, such as radio/television or electronics. Both tracks are general in their approach and utilize electives and selected courses to provide specific focus.
Regardless of which track a student chooses, there are four core classes in music business:
Commercial Music: This class, the cornerstone of the SIUC program, is taught in five intensive sessions in Nashville, Tennessee. Students are bussed to BMI headquarters, where they are afforded the opportunity to meet, listen to and question top-level professionals from throughout the music industry -- valuable future contacts! Commercial Music provides a solid foundation for a student's career and a broad overview of the industry and how it works.
Internship/Work Experience: Every effort is made to help arrange internships for students who want them. Because direct or hands-on experience can be an invaluable learning opportunity, students are encouraged to utilize this course to explore their particular areas of interest, or topics that are not yet a part of the SIUC curriculum.
Introduction to Recording Engineering and Advanced Recording Engineering: The sequence of recording engineering classes takes a student from ground zero to fairly complex production levels. The course combines both classroom and studio time to give students the best possible training -- a secure theoretical footing and hands-on experience.
Independent Study: This course functions as a major senior-year project. The details and parameters of each project are established one-on-one with the music business faculty. Like Internship, it is an opportunity to explore a student's particular area of interest, or a topic that is not yet a part of the SIUC curriculum.
Additionally, each year, SIUC offers Externships, which are effectively short internships over the spring vacation.
The Music Business Association, a student professional organization, was chartered in 1994 and provides many networking opportunities among the music business students at SIUC. Service projects and training seminars are regularly scheduled throughout the year.
Please note that this degree program does require performance skills at the university level. The curriculum includes a minimum of four semesters of study at the 140 and 240 levels. An audition is required for admittance to the program.
For additional information, contact:
Philip Brown, Coordinator/Music Business, or
Henry Romersa, Lecturer/Music Business
School of Music
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL 62901-4300
Telephone (618) 536-8742
fax (618) 453-5808
email: phibrown@siu.edu |
