Courses

An overview of the various aspects of the live music industry, and how an artist and/or business person may start their career in live music. Topics include defining yourself as an artist and/or business person; self-promotion; performance development; DIY booking; DIY production; building a network; starting out as an opening act; merchandise and branding; the fundamentals of offers, settlements, and ancillary revenue streams; getting signed; history of the live industry; and current and future trends of the live industry. The course is designed to provide students with a fundamental knowledge of the live music business, and to prepare students for entry into the music industry as a performer or business professional. 

This course provides a comprehensive look at the principal functions of the key players of concerts and tours, focusing on music agents, promoters, artist managers, and tour managers/coordinators and how they interact. Other key players of focus include business managers, tour accountants, road crews, sub-contractors, ticket agencies, venues and government. The major objective of the course is to familiarize students with how these professionals effectively advise and represent artists as it relates to live events. The course is designed to expand students’ fundamental knowledge of the live music business, and to prepare students for entry into the music industry as a performer or business professional. 

An in-depth look at the business aspects of planning, producing and promoting successful music festivals. Topics include site operations; talent buying and artist relations; stage production; security and safety; ticketing and credential levels; developing a brand identity; selling food, beverages, merch, and art; sponsorships; marketing and press; accommodations and camping; permits and insurance; staff, labor, and volunteers; etc. The course is designed to expand students’ knowledge of the festival business, and to prepare students for entry into the music industry as a performer or business professional.

In this course, students will be introduced to the business fundamentals of strategic alliances between artists and brands with a special focus on live events. The course will provide a comprehensive look at the role music plays in establishing and strengthening meaningful connections between consumers and brands, how to measure the success of a strategic partnership using metrics, and how to leverage new partnerships with consideration of the cultural and social trends of the consumer market. Students will learn the differences between endorsements, sponsorships, and cross-promotions as they relate to the music industry. Specific course topics include tour partnerships, live event activations and fan engagement, VIP experiences, social media campaigns, brand ambassador programs, public relations campaigns, exclusive content and unique promotions, and corporate performances. The course will also address when an emerging artist may be ready for a brand partnership and if an artist is prepared for what brands may require. 

Students will be required to write a case study on an existing brand partnership identifying measurable outcomes such as KPIs (key performance indicators), ROI (return on investment), and other data. The course is designed to expand students’ knowledge of strategic partnerships and to prepare students for entry into the music industry as a performer or business professional.

The Berklee Popular Music Institute (BPMI) is a one-year program (fall, spring, and summer) that provides practical access to high levels of the music industry with a focus on the concert festival circuit. Students will learn how to navigate careers in the ever-changing music industry as they hone their skills in communication, marketing, promotion, and live music. Curriculum activities are designed in collaboration with today's top industry figures to reflect contemporary trends and practices in the music industry.

BPMI students will:

• find and develop artists;
• budget a tour;
• book and promote concerts;
• place festival holds;
• design merchandise;
• develop press releases; and
• build and maintain all social media platforms, and much more.

The capstone of the curriculum includes opportunities for students to participate at prestigious festivals and industry conferences.  Students will be required to travel to festivals such as Lollapalooza, Osheaga, the Governors Ball, and Music Midtown, where they will act as artist managers, production and tour managers, and artist media representatives. Students will also be required to attend and work at high-level concert and touring industry events in the USA. 

The Berklee Popular Music Institute (BPMI) is a one-year program (fall, spring, and summer) that provides practical access to high levels of the music industry with a focus on the concert festival circuit. Students will learn how to navigate careers in the ever-changing music industry as they hone their skills in communication, marketing, promotion, and live music. Curriculum activities are designed in collaboration with today's top industry figures to reflect contemporary trends and practices in the music industry.

BPMI students will:

• find and develop artists;
• budget a tour;
• book and promote concerts;
• place festival holds;
• design merchandise;
• develop press releases; and
• build and maintain all social media platforms, and much more.

The capstone of the curriculum includes opportunities for students to participate at prestigious festivals and industry conferences.  Students will be required to travel to festivals such as Lollapalooza, Osheaga, the Governors Ball, and Music Midtown, where they will act as artist managers, production and tour managers, and artist media representatives. Students will also be required to attend and work at high-level concert and touring industry events in the USA. 

The Berklee Popular Music Institute (BPMI) is a one-year program (fall, spring, and summer) that provides practical access to high levels of the music industry with a focus on the concert festival circuit. Students will learn how to navigate careers in the ever-changing music industry as they hone their skills in communication, marketing, promotion, and live music. Curriculum activities are designed in collaboration with today's top industry figures to reflect contemporary trends and practices in the music industry.

BPMI students will:

• find and develop artists;
• budget a tour;
• book and promote concerts;
• place festival holds;
• design merchandise;
• develop press releases; and
• build and maintain all social media platforms, and much more.

The capstone of the curriculum includes opportunities for students to participate at prestigious festivals and industry conferences.  Students will be required to travel to festivals such as Lollapalooza, Osheaga, the Governors Ball, and Music Midtown, where they will act as artist managers, production and tour managers, and artist media representatives. Students will also be required to attend and work at high-level concert and touring industry events in the USA. 

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of how a creative entrepreneur works, relates, acts, creates, iterates, and adapts. This course covers the fundamental similarities between being an artist and thinking entrepreneurially, and develops students’ entrepreneurial capacities by building on their existing creative instincts such as collaboration, improvisation, the ability to observe, learning by failing, and the discipline of practice.

The course provides an orientation on the various roles, stakeholders, supply chains, and monetization opportunities in today's new media industry, the traditional music business, and the performing arts industries. The course aims to also address specific matters related to dance and theater majors, and will dedicate course time to the broader performing arts and artistic nonprofit worlds. The course will emphasize a familiarity with the key players and roles in the music business and performing arts industries: managers, agents, theater producers, publishers, publicists, lawyers, record label executives, live music promoters, and arts administrators, as well as fundamentals of intellectual property, music publishing, licensing, copyright, royalties, patents, etc. Students will examine how a changing industry, and emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence, result in new monetization and licensing opportunities and roles in the media and entertainment industries, and how to build a successful career in this new ecosystem. The class will also introduce to students case studies from a cross section of the creative industries including theater, TV, music, and artistic nonprofit worlds.

RAIDAR is a Berklee/MIT music licensing platform designed by Berklee students, for Berklee students to make money from their songs. Berklee students, alumni and faculty can license their songs to visual media students. RAIDAR is powered by Open Music technology, an industry consortium of 300+ members including streaming services and major labels, and is a tool for artist education and career sovereignty.

This course, the first of a two-course series, will use RAIDAR as a pedagogical tool to demonstrate experientially how the stakeholders across the music value chain interact and how intellectual property is distributed and commercialized across this chain. Through a grounding in the concepts related to RAIDAR, spread across many disciplines with the music industry, and then through experiential learning and work in the project itself, students will come away with an understanding of what it takes to build a business in the music industry, and the personal experience of helping to create a real-world startup themselves.

The first semester will focus on the ecosystem in which RAIDAR is built, including the legal, business and technical concepts, and the skills they will need to contribute to the development of RAIDAR as a business.

In the next course, students will work on the RAIDAR team through a practicum, drafting legal documents and intellectual property education tools, conducting business development, designing and implementing marketing and communication strategies, and participating in an interdisciplinary, student-led team that sustains RAIDAR, with guidance by BerkleeICE and Music Business faculty.

RAIDAR is a Berklee/MIT music licensing platform designed by Berklee students, for Berklee students to make money from their songs. Berklee students, alumni, and faculty can license their songs to visual media students. RAIDAR is powered by Open Music technology, an industry consortium of 300+ members including streaming services and major labels, and is a tool for artist education and career sovereignty. This year-long course, split into two semesters, will use RAIDAR as a pedagogical tool to demonstrate experientially how the stakeholders across the music value chain interact and how intellectual property is distributed and commercialized across this chain. Through a grounding in the concepts related to RAIDAR, spread across many disciplines with the music industry, and then through experiential learning and work in the project itself, students will come away with an understanding of what it takes to build a business in the music industry, and the personal experience of helping to create a real-world startup themselves.  The first semester will focus on the ecosystem in which RAIDAR is built, including the legal, business and technical concepts, and the skills they will need to contribute to the development of RAIDAR as a business. In the second semester, students will work on the RAIDAR team through a practicum, drafting legal documents and intellectual property education tools, conducting business development, designing and implementing marketing and communication strategies, and participating in an interdisciplinary, student led team that sustains RAIDAR, with guidance by BerkleeICE and Music Business faculty.  

The purpose of this course is to educate artists on the fundamentals of running themselves as a business and how to think as a startup. Students will explore and learn to define their mission or unique value proposition (UVP) as an artist (i.e. why they do what they do, and what they uniquely offer to the market), and how to build a career based on that. Students will learn the basics of marketing, branding, accounting, and entrepreneurial finance, as well as concepts such as negotiating, developing an online presence, building a team and organizational structure, crowdfunding, understanding basic online analytics, and legal structures of business entities. In addition, the course will incorporate material around the areas of networking, developing relationships, creating habits for self-care and promoting yourself online using common and emerging web design and social media platforms.