There’s no better place to begin your career in the music industry than at a top-rated undergraduate music business program that can provide you with both business acumen and practical learning experiences. Whether you’re interested in managing talent as an agency founder, starting your own record label, analyzing royalty data at a top company like Spotify, or writing melodies for a place like Sony Music Publishing, the programs we cover in this post will set up you with the connections and knowledge you’ll need to find your perfect job.

We’ll guide you through the ins and outs of the following top programs in Music Business & Music Industry:

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Music Business and Music Industry are interchangeable terms for the purpose of this article. Below, we break out the differences of each program. Remember, these are just a handful of the best programs you can attend for a degree in Music Business/Music Industry. We list other top programs below under Other Programs of Note. Be sure to check them out, as they are also quite competitive!

Curriculum

Commonalities Amongst Top Programs

Any top undergraduate program in music business (or music industry) will combine music industry education with a rigorous business curriculum. It will equip its students with skills in areas like music publishing, music licensing, and talent management, as well as financial accounting, data analysis, and creative entrepreneurship, to name only a few. Most programs, like Drexel, Thornton, and Bandier, offer a major in music business, providing students with a deep dive of the music industry and the business skills required to navigate it. Other programs, like Northeastern, offer only a concentration (similar to a minor) in Music Industry. Those degrees focus more on traditional music education curriculum–such as theory, ensembles, and history of music–with a truncated music industry curriculum.

Similarly, many schools, such as Syracuse, NYU, and Thornton, offer both a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Music in Music Business. The BM will focus heavily on music education (instrumental, vocal, or academic) supplemented by Music Business courses. For the purposes of this article we will focus on the Bachelors of Science degrees in Music Business as those degrees provide the most intensive education in music business.

All of the schools we feature here also require internships or, “co-ops” in the industry, which we discuss more below. These provide students with practical learning experiences in an industry that relies heavily on networking and making professional connections.

Unique Offerings of Top Programs

One of the fun parts of researching schools and narrowing down your list of potential programs is finding those special details that make a program the perfect fit for you. For example, some schools incorporate study abroad. Steinhardt allows its music business students to spend their first year immersed in the international music scene in London. Bandier, too, offers an “International Immersion Trip” for students to engage with emerging music markets all over the world, and Thornton is known for its strong International Programs.

Each school also offers its own brand of curriculum. At Thornton, students often double major in public relations and other business-related degrees, while some programs, like Bandier and Drexel offer five-year accelerated degree programs combining an undergraduate Music Industry degree with an MBA. Drexel even offers students the opportunity to choose from two concentrations: Music Industry Business (MIBU) and Recording Arts and Music Production (RAMP – Recording Arts and Music Production). Students can also minor in Business Administration if they wish, though Drexel’s MIBU curriculum includes plenty of music business classes, such as Artist Representation, Music Industry E-Commerce, Music Merchandising, Touring and Booking, and the opportunity to spend three terms with Mad Dragon Music Group, an immersive entrepreneurial experience. Drexel’s RAMP concentration offers advanced courses in recording, mixing, mastering, and arranging, as well as the option to take advanced electives in Scoring for Motion Pictures, Video Game Music & Audio, and Electronic Music Production.

Pay attention to the required curriculum at each school. Bandier’s weekly business lecture series is required for at least one semester and features executives from Columbia Records, Atlantic Records, CAA, Sony and more. Thornton requires music technology courses, such as Fundamentals of Audio Recording as well as Audio Engineering, Classical Music Recording, and Speaker Design, to name a few. Northeastern’s curriculum is leadership-focused with a strong entrepreneurial emphasis, training its students to be thought leaders in the industry with courses like Musical Entrepreneurship and Global Music Industries in Context. As you gather more information about each program, pay attention to which details align with your interests and goals, and make them a priority. The process of researching schools is about teaching yourself which environment will be best for you!

Location & Culture

Location

A program’s location can be a prime determinant in a student’s success in the industry. While all of the programs we feature here are located in large cities, which is an important factor for making professional connections, not all cities are created equal when it comes to the music business. By far, New York City and Los Angeles are the epicenters of the industry. In this way, Steinhardt and Thornton offer a significant boost when it comes to professional networking on and off-campus.

Programs like Steinhardt, located in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village and the iconic Washington Square Park, and Thornton School of Music, with its deep roots in the Los Angeles music scene, are going to provide students with direct, hands-on access to the music industry. These students will be able to see a different genre of music every night of the week should they choose to seek it out. And yet, while this kind of proximity to the center of the music industry can be invigorating, it also means a more competitive atmosphere within the programs.

Industry connections can still be made at the other programs, where you will also find award-winning faculty and programming that’s lauded within the industry. Most programs outside of NYC and LA, particularly Drexel and Bandier of those we’ve featured here, help their students secure internships and co-ops in NYC and LA to ensure they’re able to fully immerse themselves in the inner workings of the industry.

You’ll also want to weigh other factors like culture and quality of life. New York City and Los Angeles are bustling urban centers with large populations and exposure to a variety of cultural experiences that will enhance your understanding of the music industry as a whole. Although Syracuse, where Bandier is located, is the smallest city on our list, it still has a population of almost 150,000 and ranks as the fifth largest city in the state of New York. At Bandier, you get the best of both worlds: a thriving downtown with theaters and museums and easy access to nature at any of the twenty surrounding state parks. Similarly, Northeastern in Boston offers a short walk to the Boston Symphony and the Boston Museum of Fine Art, and Drexel, in downtown Philadelphia, is located in what’s called University City, near the University of Pennsylvania’s main campus, a stretch of bustling and collegiate city life near the riverfront. These cities also offer paths into the music industry, so be sure to weigh your professional desires alongside your lifestyle preferences when choosing which programs are best for you.

Culture

The culture of any program will be inherently defined by its size. Both Steinhardt and Thornton are similar-sized programs (around 500 students) housed within much larger universities, which is something to consider in terms of what environment you’ll most thrive in. Ask yourself if you’d be more comfortable in a large campus environment with thousands of other students and ample on-campus activities as well as a sizeable program where you will always be meeting new people each year, or if you’d prefer a program like Bandier, which, though also housed within a larger university, has a much smaller and more close-knit program of around 25-30 people. At Bandier you would grow close with the same students throughout your time in the program. Drexel, like Bandier, is on the smaller side with only 75 students admitted each year. Likewise, Northeastern’s entire undergraduate Music Bachelors program enrolls only around 40 students each year, and the Music Business concentration enrolls even less.

Smaller programs can be an advantage. Not only do you become closer with your peers, but with your professors as well. These relationships often stand the test of time once you begin your career, paying off later with a variety of industry connections. Drexel, in particular, has been praised for its accessible and personable faculty. One Drexel MIP alumnus even said of her career since graduating, “Every job or internship I’ve had since 2009 has been because someone in Drexel knew someone in the industry.” So as you’re weighing each program’s pros and cons, remember to pay attention to the culture and the atmosphere that best suits you and your long term career goals.

Career

Internships and Professional Networking

Because of the nature of the music industry, networking is a fundamental lesson taught and applied in a practical way in every top undergraduate music business program. Additionally, alumni networks are vast and well-connected, particularly at schools like Syracuse, Drexel, NYU, and Thornton. Each school offers opportunities for students to gain practical, hands-on experience in the industry, usually for at least two semesters. These experiences come in the form of internships, which are typically unpaid; and co-ops, which are often paid and are considered full-time employment. Usually the student alternates semesters, spending one semester taking coursework and the next semester working in the industry. Across all of the programs we feature here, these internships and co-ops begin sophomore or junior year.

Steinhardt’s students are required to complete at least two internships at locations throughout New York City, including independent and major record labels, publishing companies, artist management firms, concert management agencies, and performance venues. Thornton requires internships as well, securing positions for students at places like Warner Records or Rattle Room Studios. Bandier requires the most internships, at three, and places students with major industry hitters like, Spotify, Vevo, United Talent Agency, Virgin Music.

Generally, co-ops, which are required at Northeastern and Drexel, are considered more intensive than internships. They are often longer in duration, singularly focused on the job, and allow for a deeper integration of the skills required. In turn, co-ops often allow for a more nuanced and embodied understanding of the industry. At Drexel, students participate in co-ops at record labels, music venues, recording studios, and radio stations; or booking agencies in Philadelphia, New York City, and elsewhere. Past co-op placements at Drexel have included places like Atlantic Records, RCA Records, VH1 & MTV. Northeastern’s co-ops offer similarly competitive placements like Apple Music, House of Blues – Boston, and Columbia Records. And at Northeastern, at least 96% of its co-ops are paid.

Beyond internships and co-ops, though, make sure you consider the potential for mentorship offered at each school. Thornton offers a strong Musical Mentorship Program and similarly, Steinhardt offers students access to NYU’s Violet Network, a professional networking and mentorship platform that connects them with NYU’s active alumni network. Drexel’s Dragon Network is also a great place for students to connect with alumni and potential mentors. Northeastern has a host of mentorship opportunities for students from faculty-designed mentorships to their Co-op Mentor Program, to name only a couple. A program with an emphasis on professional development can significantly help you jumpstart your career post-graduation.

On-Campus Opportunities

Also consider student organizations and extracurriculars. Some of NYU’s on-campus, student-run organizations include their radio station, WNYU, and their Music Business Association. Bandier has a student-run radio station as well as multiple television broadcast networks where students will learn the music needs of broadcast television, radio and film. Music for media is an increasingly in-demand area of the music industry and will be a beneficial experience for any music business student. Both Steinhardt and Northeastern also have student-run record labels (Green Line Records and Village Records). Be sure to research these types of direct music-related opportunities at each program you’re applying to. They are the kind of low stakes environments where you can gain experience in your field, learning and experimenting in a collaborative atmosphere. And they are the extra opportunities that will round out your college experience.

As you’ve learned more about some of the top undergraduate programs in Music Business and Music Industry, we hope you’ve acquired some new knowledge about yourself as well. Building your list of priorities takes time, but understanding which aspects of the programs to research is crucial. Using our topics–such as location, culture, curriculum, and internships–as a guide, be sure to keep digging into the Other Programs of Note below. Before you know it, a portrait will emerge of which programs are the best fit for you!

 Other Programs of Note

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