Berkleemusic News

It’s a new era for the music business. The music industry is rapidly changing, the traditional gatekeepers are evolving (or disappearing), and new distribution outlets, marketing techniques, and business models are popping up all the time. For those that are educated on these changes, there is more opportunity in the “new” music business than ever.

Berkleemusic’s Music Business Handbook collects some of the essential knowledge from our instructors in one easy-to-navigate guide. The music industry of the future will be driven by educated, focused, entrepreneurship-minded individuals, and this handbook will prove to be a starting point in your lifelong music business education.

Topics Include:

• Past, Present, and Future of Music
• Direct-to-Fan Marketing
• Music Publishing
• Music Licensing
• Challenges of the Music Industry
• Music Royalties

Contributors Include:

Dave Kusek
Vice President at Berklee College of Music. Co-author of the book The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution. Kusek is also the founder of musicpowernetwork.com

Mike King
Author of Online Music Marketing with Topspin; Music Marketing: Press, Promotion, Distribution, and Retail; and Online Music Marketing: Campaign Strategies, Social Media, and Digital Distribution.

Eric Beall
Former Vice President, Creative at Sony/ATV Music and current A&R executive for Shapiro Bernstein. Author/instructor of Music Publishing 101.

Download Berkleemusic’s Music Business Handbook for Free

“Whatever you need to do in the music industry today, Berkleemusic is going to teach you what you need to know in order to have a successful career,” says Dave Kusek, co-author of The Future of Music book and instructor of the online course.

Berkleemusic offers over two dozen forward-thinking online music business courses and programs, covering everything from Music Marketing to Artist Management to Concert Touring. “We’ve had the chance to recreate our curriculum from the ground up to face the industry and all the changes that are happening right now,” says Kusek.

“One of the great things about the courses is that you’re conversing with people from all kinds of different backgrounds,” says Kusek. You’re going to learn things you just never thought you’d learn, and discover new ways of looking at the music business by learning, first hand, what other people are doing.”

Explore Berkleemusic’s extensive online music business curriculum. Winter term begins January 11, 2010.

Topspin is a technology and data-driven, direct-to-fan marketing, management and distribution platform that is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this sea change in music marketing by providing musicians, bands and managers with a complete suite of tools to connect directly with their fans to market, promote, and sell their music online. In Berkleemusic’s new online course Online Music Marketing with Topspin, students will develop the marketing expertise necessary to properly execute a complete sales and marketing campaign using Topspin’s platform.

Watch a video marketing clinic with Online Music Marketing with Topspin co-author and instructor Mike King, and Topspin CEO Ian Rogers .

Contact a Berkleemusic Student Advisor
1-866-BERKLEE (USA) | +1 617 747 2146 (Intl) | advisors@berkleemusic.com

Last August, Berkleemusic caught up with our online students who make up Sugarland’s touring band. One year later, the band is still one of the biggest forces in Country—with a sold-out stadium tour, and a best-selling live CD/DVD, Live on the Inside—and they show no signs of slowing.

We recently chatted with bassist Annie Clements and guitarist Thad Beaty before they took the stage in front of thousands of fans at Gillette Stadium, as part of Kenny Chesney’s Country Fest tour.

“It’s crazy,” says Thad. “Today we’re at Gillette Stadium. There’s probably 60,000 tickets sold. It’s fairly amazing. And we’re number one on Billboard this week for the live DVD that was just released!”

“There’s no way to describe it, especially with the climate of the music business and everything that’s going on. We feel extremely fortunate and extremely lucky to be able to put out a record that people see and notice. God, its great!”

Annie agrees, grateful that their online music business coursework has helped them stay up-to-date and relevant in the ever-evolving industry.

“The classes give you realistic goals that you can set to make something really happen,” she says. “That’s what’s so great about Berkleemusic. They’ve always been so on top of what’s current and what’s happening now.”

Check out some exclusive photos from the show, and stay tuned to Berkleemusic for a new video interview with Annie and Thad—coming soon!

Watch last year’s interview
Check out Annie Clement’s website
Learn more about Sorted Noise
Explore Berkleemusic’s online music business courses

Tonight (Wednesday, July 1), join Berkleemusic business instructors Dave Kusek, George Howard, and Mike King, along with Berkleemusic Dean Debbie Cavalier, on Twitter for a conversation about the state and future of the music industry and their online business courses. Dave, George, Mike, and Debbie will be taking your questions from 9:00-10:00 P.M. EST.

To join, just post a tweet with your question or comment and add the tag #bmusic.

All you need is a Twitter account to participate. It’s free and easy to sign up at twitter.com.

Joe Scrocca knows the value of a good education. At 47, when he decided to switch careers from mortgage financing to music business, Joe turned to Berkleemusic to prepare him. “I did my research knowing that I had to limit my studies to online courses. Berkleemusic had the most to offer not only in course selection, but quality of teaching staff.”

Joe enrolled in Berkleemusic’s Master Certificate in Music Business and, midway through his studies, launched his own artist management firm, Scrocca Entertainment Group (SEG). He credits his online studies with his success.

“Taking online courses at Berkleemusic are worth the investment,” says Joe. “And I truly mean that: tuition is an investment, not a cost.”

Read More

In the latest issue of Music Connection, the magazine asks, “Are You Mismanaging Your Fan Base?”

To find out the answer, they turned to Berkleemusic instructor Mike King (course author of Music Marketing: Press, Promotion, Distribution, and Retail).

Check out Mike’s answers in Music Connection’s June issue, on newsstands now.

Download the article here.