Bachelor of Music in Music Business/Management

As a music business major, you’ll learn the fundamentals of business within the music industry from a musician’s perspective. Over eight semesters, while completing the college’s core music curriculum, you’ll immerse yourself in the legal, financial, artistic, and ethical issues that face the contemporary music business professional. By networking with a diverse community of musicians, faculty, and industry professionals on the college’s Boston campus, you’ll gain real world experience while earning a bachelor's degree.

The Music Business/Management major offers three tracks:

Management | Marketing | Entrepreneurial

WATCH

Learn the fundamentals of business from a musician’s perspective.

Over eight semesters, you’ll immerse yourself in the legal, financial, artistic, and ethical issues that face the contemporary music business professional.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Learn about financial aid, scholarships, and others ways of paying for your Berklee education.
Study Abroad

Study abroad at our Valencia, Spain, campus. It is recommended that MB/M majors study in Valencia during their fourth, fifth, or sixth semester. For specific program information, please see the chair of your major or contact the study abroad office.

Are you interested in music business, but not in pursuing a career as a musician?

Berklee now offers a new Bachelor of Arts degree that gives students a foundation in design thinking and strategic leadership, without the emphasis on the core music curriculum. There is no audition to apply.

Note that you must apply directly to the Bachelor of Arts program and cannot transfer to a Bachelor of Music program without reapplying to the college.

Alumni Story

Sony Music U.S. Latin President Nir Seroussi B.M. '96

Nir Seroussi B.M. ’96 discusses his Berklee experience and the future of music labels during his keynote interview at the 23rd Annual James G. Zafris Lecture for Music Business/Management.

Meet More Alumni

Meet Your Mentors

Berklee Appoints First Woman Assistant Chair of Music Business/Management

Tonya Butler brings extensive industry experience to her new role as assistant chair of music business/management.

Meet the Faculty

Program Details

Full Description

As a student majoring in music business/management, you will learn the music industry skills, concepts, and methodologies necessary to manage the legal, financial, artistic, and ethical issues that face the contemporary music business professional. You can select one of three available tracks within the major: self-directed or entrepreneurial activity, music products, or management in corporate environments.

You will demonstrate functional mastery of necessary skills and concepts by completing a final capstone project/experience with portfolio documentation, depending upon the major track chosen. This experience will be an industry internship, leadership participation in an ongoing college model music industry project, or both.

In addition, you'll develop a critical understanding of the criteria of quality work in music business and management environments via your course work, case studies, and exposure to guest lecturers, among other avenues of learning. Through group projects and other class activities, you'll explore how to work effectively with others in groupings typically found in the music business, and you'll develop your ability to nimbly adapt to changes in music business and management environments.

What Will I Learn?

Upon completion of a major in music business/management, students will:

synthesize the terminology of the music industry;
apply copyright and intellectual property law as related to the music industry;
develop effective promotion and marketing mechanisms for monetizing music;
communicate effectively within business environments (musically, orally, and in writing);
apply contemporary business practices to corporate and entrepreneurial environments;
assess financial and economic considerations in the commerce of music;
integrate, employ, and forecast technological applications as they appear in business environments; and
synthesize and apply leadership models, and the ethical considerations upon which they are founded.

Entrance Requirements

As an enrolled Berklee College of Music undergraduate student, you will declare a major field of study by your third semester. Learn how to declare the major for music business/management (login required).

Students interested in this major must have a grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 from first semester of study in the bachelor of music degree program.

Curriculum and Courses

There are 30 required credits specific to this major (17 major core credits, and 13 music business track credits) in addition to the B.M. required core music courses (41 credits), liberal arts courses (40 credits, 6 of which count towards LAS major requirements), and general electives (9 credits) for a degree total of 120 credits. See the sample curriculum here.

Core courses for all music business majors:

MB-201 Principles of Business Management (2 credits)
MB-211 Legal Aspects in the Music Business (2 credits)
MB-255 Computer Applications in the Music Business (2 credits)
MB-275 Principles of Financial Accounting (2 credits)
MB-301 Business Leadership and Ethics (2 credits)
MB-325 Principles of Marketing (2 credits)
MB-389 Managing Technology-Driven Business (2 credits)
MB-395 Business Finance (2 credits)

Management track:

MB-331 Record Company Operations (2 credits)
MB-335 Music Publishing (2 credits)
MB-375 Music Intermediaries: Agents, Managers, and Attorneys (2 credits)
MB-391 Concerts and Touring (2 credits)
MB-495 Internship in Music Business and Management or an approved Advanced Music Business Elective elective (2 credits; see major grid)

Marketing track:

MB-337 Music Product Development (2 credits)
MB-341 Creative Promotion in New Media (2 credits)
MB-421 Digital Marketing in the Music Industry (2 credits)
MB-495 Internship in Music Business and Management or an approved Advanced Music Business Elective (2 credits; see major grid )

Entrepreneurial track:

MB-340: Business Startups (2 credits)
MB-387: Website Design and Management (2 credits)
MB-435: Innovators' DNA (2 credits)
MB-495 Internship in Music Business and Management or an approved Advanced Music Business Elective (2 credits; see major grid )

All three concentrates require major electives as well. Please see the major grids for specific information.

In addition, the Music Business and Management major requires these specific liberal arts courses which count toward those total required credits: