Music Business 101
The business of music is a global multi-billion dollar industry comprised of individuals creating the music, and a whole lot of people doing everything else: working at labels, distribution companies, publishing companies, recording studios, artist management, promotion, producing, and legal counsel. If you are looking to further your career in the business end of the music industry, you cannot be successful without first understanding the entire industry as a whole. Music Business 101 presents a broad overview of the music industry, and explains how its various segments operate on a day-to-day basis: where monies are generated, who the key players are, how deals are made and broken, how to protect your interests, and new developments in digital technology that are changing the way that music is marketed, promoted, distributed, and heard. This course presents the career opportunities that are available within the industry, and the knowledge you’ll need to achieve your goals.
By the end of this course, you will:
- Recognize the structure of, and relationship between, the recording, music publishing, marketing and live performance industries
- Learn about different career and income opportunities, and develop a strategy to break in and succeed in the music industry
- Understand the business aspects involved in the producing, manufacturing, marketing, distributing and other use of recordings and the live performance trade.
Syllabus
Lesson 1 The Music Industry
Lesson 2 Record Labels and Types of Deals
Lesson 3 Recording Agreements
Lesson 4 Copyright Basics
Lesson 5 Band/Brand Organization and Protection
Lesson 6 The Artist’s Team/Reasons That Deals Get Broken
Lesson 7 Making the Record or Promoting the Show
Lesson 8Preparing for Your Record Release or Show
Lesson 9 Building a Market
Lesson 10 The Changing Music Industry Landscape: New Opportunities
Lesson 11 The Live Show
Lesson 12 New and Future Opportunities in the Music Industry
Requirements
Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements
This course does not have any prerequisites.
Required Textbook(s)
- Take Care of Your Music Business, Second Edition: Taking the Legal and Business Aspects You Need to Know to 3.0 by John Kellogg, PJ’s Publishing
Instructors
Author & Instructor
John P. Kellogg, Esq., is the former Chair of the Music Business/Management department at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, and an entertainment attorney. He has represented recording artists Levert, The O’Jays, Eddie Levert, Sr., LSG, Stat Quo of Shady/Aftermath Records, and G-Dep of Bad Boy Records. He also served as general counsel for the late R&B recording star Gerald Levert and his entertainment venture, Trevel Production Co., Inc. Kellogg is a former President of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association (MEIEA), a former board member of the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyer’s Association (BESLA) and a 2005 inductee into the BESLA Hall of Fame. A songwriter and former vocalist with the group Cameo, he now advocates for the rights of artists through his writings, which include the Second Edition of his best-selling book, Take Care of Your Music Business, Taking the Legal and Business Aspects You Need to Know to 3.0, that reached #1 and #2 on the paperback and general music business category sales chart on Amazon.com. He is also the author of several peer-reviewed academic journal articles and both developed and taught the first free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on the music business, “Introduction to Music Business,” a six-week offering available through edX.org. He also authored a four-week MOOC, “Foundations of the Music Business,” available through Coursera.org. Combined, the courses have enrolled tens of thousands of students since their inception and led to him being named a finalist for the Second Annual edX Prize for Exceptional Contributions in Online Teaching and Learning.
Kellogg has been profiled in Billboard, Ebony, Black Issues, Black Enterprise and In the Black magazines, and periodicals The Guardian and The Bay State Banner. He is a frequent commentator on entertainment industry issues on Radio, TV and other media outlets and served as a judge on the New England Emmy-award winning TV talent show “Community Auditions.” He holds a Juris Doctor degree from Case Western Reserve University, where he also attended the Weatherhead School of Management. In addition, he holds a Master of Science degree in Television and Radio from the Newhouse School of Communications and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science—both from Syracuse University.
Instructor
Jim Horan has over 20 years of experience in the music business as a record company executive, artist manager, consultant, and musician. He began his career at Rounder Records, one of the most revered independent labels in the country, where he rose to become the company’s Vice-President and General Manager while working with artists such as Robert Plant, Gregg Allman, Steve Martin, John Mellencamp, Rush, Alison Krauss, Nathaniel Rateliff, and The Jayhawks. He has managed artists including the GRAMMY-nominated Americana band Della Mae and the acclaimed indie folk artist Marissa Nadler, and he serves as a consultant for domestic and international artists. He is also a singer, songwriter, and guitarist who has been performing for over 25 years, most recently with the Boston-based country rock band, Georgia Overdrive. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Connecticut.
Instructor
Bruce Houghton is founder and president of Skyline Artists Agency, representing a diverse roster of national and international touring talent including Zoe Keating, Darlingside, Poco, Freddie McGregor, Roger McGuinn, and many others. A sought-after industry expert and speaker, he has served on the Advisory Boards of Midem and SXSW Accelerator, is a graduate of the prestigious Leadership Music program, and serves as a senior advisor to Bandsintown. His top-ranked sites Hypebot and MusicThinkTank cover the new music industry and the way that technology is changing how music is created, marketed, consumed, and monetized.
Instructor
Bradford C. Auerbach is a senior legal counsel with extensive and unique expertise in intellectual property law and licensing, business development, and marketing on a global level.
He has had success in structuring many groundbreaking deals with a diverse range of rights holders, including every record label, NFL, NBA, NHL, HBO, MTV, Live Nation, Marvel Entertainment, International Olympic Committee, English Premier League, Screen Actors Guild, every Hollywood studio, ESPN, Sesame Workshop, Getty Images, among numerous others. Auerbach has deep familiarity with each aspect of the media business, having sat on all sides of the deal-making table, on behalf of artists, labels, promoters, mobile, cable, satellite, internet, hardware, software, distribution, and production companies. He currently represents a select portfolio of clients in their branding and merchandising activities, including George Clinton, Parliament-Funkadelic, Frank Zappa Estate, and Keith Moon Estate.
Auerbach most recently directed all business development for Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the media and entertainment industry. Previously he was engaged as Executive Vice President at Epic Rights, handling merchandising and branding for top tier artists like KISS, John Lennon, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Woodstock, among many others. He was also Managing Director of Rock Paper Photo, the preeminent online gallery of rock ‘n’ roll photography, founded by Guy Oseary (manager of Madonna and U2).
He has held the positions of General Counsel for Philips Media (a division of Royal Philips Electronics, Netherlands) and Head Counsel, Business Affairs for Astro/MEASAT (Malaysia), the premier direct broadcast satellite operator in South East Asia.
Auerbach started his entertainment media career at Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and his past clients include Warner Music Group, Playboy, and the Getty Museum. He holds a patent with Qualcomm relating to mobile phone media technology.
Auerbach is a guest lecturer at University of California, San Diego for two senior seminar classes in the School of Global Policy and Strategy relating to media, technology, and the law. He holds a BA from Hamilton College and JD from Boston College.
What’s Next?
When taken for credit, Music Business 101 can be applied towards these associated programs:
Associated Certificate Programs
- General Music Studies Professional Certificate
- General Music Studies Advanced Professional Certificate
- Music Business Advanced Professional Certificate
- Music Business Fundamentals Professional Certificate
Associated Degree Majors
- Bachelor’s Degree in Music Business
- Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Music Studies (Create Your Own Major)
- (Pre-Degree) Undeclared Option
- Bachelor’s Degree in Music Composition for Film, TV, and Games
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