Mike Curb School of Music Business
Pamela G. Browne, Associate Dean

Wesley Bulla, Jimmy Carter*, Don Cusic, James Elliott, C. Alan Golden, David Henson*, Robin Mitchell Joyce*, Dan Keen*, Ken Landers, Steve Moore*, Billy Wayne Prince*, Clyde Rolston, Ernie Rowell*, David Skepner*, Timmy Tappan, Renee Thornton*, Larry Wacholtz.

*Part-time.

Admission:

In addition to meeting the general requirements for admission to the university, applicants for the Curb School of Music Business must complete an interview either in person or by phone.

Admission from high school/another university

1. Submit all application materials required by the Admissions Office of Belmont University by April 15 for Fall entrance or by September 15 for Spring entrance.
2. Have at least a 2.8 GPA on a 4.0 scale in all high school and/or transfer* university work and a minimum ACT score of 24 or SAT score of 1100.
3. A campus or phone interview may be scheduled with the Associate Dean for Music Business or a Music Business faculty member by contacting the school office through the web site or by calling the music business office.
4. Students must be accepted into the Curb School of Music Business as a music business major before they are assigned an advisor or before they may be advised for registration as a Music Business major.
5. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors and transfer students will be assigned advisors from the Curb School of Music Business

A transfer student includes current Belmont University students seeking to change from another major to Music Business.

Belmont University offers a music business program that combines classroom experience with real world applications. After careful counsel with members of the Nashville music industry, Belmont pioneered a program in 1972 to prepare men and women for operational, administrative as well as creative and technical positions within the music industry. In November of 1995, the program was named the Mike Curb School of Music Business in honor of Mike Curb, Chairman of Curb Records.

The program consists of three major areas: (1) general education core; (2) a business base, consisting of basic tool and core subjects; and (3) four music business emphasis specialization areas: Product Development, Marketing, Management, and Recording Technology.

The program maintains highly credible status by constantly evaluating and implementing curricula that teach cutting-edge management, marketing and technology skills. The full-time faculty and staff of music business professionals are complemented by adjunct professors who work full-time in the music industry. An active Music Business Board of Advisors, consisting of music industry executives, assists in setting the direction of the music business program.

The placement of Belmont students in music business depends almost entirely upon the students' own initiative through interning and finding ways to make a niche for him/herself. Despite the presence of a large number of music industry companies, the music business is a relatively small, fragmented industry with virtually no employee recruitment program. An active internship program provides opportunities for students to work in virtually any music company in Nashville as well as nationally and internationally. Frequently, those internship (MBU 300) experiences usually lead, directly or indirectly, to full-time employment after graduation. The Mike Curb School of Music Business is not a "trade school" -- it does, however, encourage the process of continuing education years after graduation. The university cannot, and does not, guarantee job placement.

The 9,000-square-foot Center for Music Business provides music business students facilities reflecting the progressive advances in the music industry. Providing an academic resource center continually striving to improve with advances in technology, the center features three state-of-the-art recording studios and control rooms, 16-track project studio, 4 isolation booths, a MIDI pre/post production room, writer rooms, an all-purpose classroom, a sound reinforcement classroom, an engineering shop, Intern and Placement Office, and office for the manager of the center.

Progression Requirements

The following requirements apply to the students pursuing the Music Business concentration:

1. The student must earn a grade of "C" or above in each required Music Business course and all other 300-400 level Music Business courses (electives).
2. The student must maintain at least a "C" average in all other courses taken within the Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Music Business.
3. The student must pass a comprehensive "Exit Examination" with a grade of 70 or higher during the last semester of work prior to graduation. The examination will cover four core areas: general music business knowledge, music publishing, intellectual property law, and recording studio principles. Additional questions in the student's chosen emphasis area (Marketing, Management, Product Development, or Recording Technology) are included.
4. Participation in a senior focus group is required for graduation.
5. Music Business students are required to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8. Those students failing to maintain this requirement will be placed on Music Business probation.
6. To remain in the Music Business Program and to be removed from Music Business probation status, the student must attain a minimum cumulative 2.8 GPA the following semester. Students who do not meet this requirement will be suspended from the Music Business Program. Any appeal for reinstatment from suspension is made to the Music Business Admissions Committee.
7. Students suspended from the Music Business Program may be reinstated to the program upon the attainment of a 2.8 cumulative GPA and approval by the Music Business Admissions Committee. Those students who fail to attain these requirements within one year must reapply to the Music Business Program.

Bachelor of Business Administration