Music Management

Overview

Celebrities may swap managers like kids swap baseball cards, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad gig. If you’re with the right star, you travel the world, live the good life, take at least some of the credit for wildly boosting the success of your client, and get the star-studded insider scoop the tabloids would kill for. Plus, no singing abilities necessary! So what’s the catch? Dealing with divas. But if you can live with that . . . . As a music management major, you’ll learn about every aspect of the music world as seen through the eyes of a music business professional. You’ll examine their ethical dilemmas, legal matters, and the juggling of all things financial. On the artistic side, you’ll look at the challenges musicians face and how to best overcome them. Music history and theory—as well as performance—are included to provide insight and expertise. On the business end, accounting, marketing, copyright laws, unions, arts patronage, and advertising will all be covered. You’ll also learn how to fundraise effectively and how to write a professional grant.

Music management majors go beyond the music itself to understand the entire industry that makes music come alive. You’ll take courses in both music and business, and by becoming well-versed in both fields you’ll be able to see how they affect and are affected by each other, and you’ll be on your way to helping to make their interaction smooth and profitable for all. (As for knowing how to respond when your client insists that her dressing room, hotel room, and car interior are decorated only and entirely in white—that’s not part of the curriculum. You’re on your own!)

Your major in music management can take you many exciting places, and many colleges offer internships with recording studios, orchestras, music publishers, and other arts organizations. Music management, the backstage of the industry, is vital to the life of music. And your efforts as a music manager will play a unique and crucial role in spreading the latest sounds around the world.