Music Business

A Bachelor of Music (B. Mus.) in Music Business from the nationally accredited Lionel Hampton School of Music at the University of Idaho combines extensive music study with broad training in business and finance. The degree program gives you the in-depth musical knowledge and strong business-savvy you need for an exciting career in the multibillion dollar arts industry.

As a music major, you’ll learn by performing, listening to, analyzing and creating music. Courses in theory and history give you a broad understanding of musical styles and techniques of all eras, including contemporary music. You will build on your passion for music by forming a strong foundation in business. The program includes courses in finance, management, economics and marketing. You will work closely with first-class business professors from the highly regarded College of Business and Economics.

The Lionel Hampton School of Music, accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, offers opportunities to perform in an array of ensembles and performance groups, with the flexibility to explore a wide variety of performing media – which is sometimes not an option in larger music schools.

Additionally, the annual University of Idaho Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival and performances by other guest artists give you the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the greatest professional musicians in the world.

Prepare for Success

Do you have a love for music? The Bachelor of Music in Music Business is an excellent way to transform this passion into a viable musical career. To succeed, you must build a broad knowledge of both music and business. This fast-paced, growing field demands excellent organization, communication and interpersonal skills.

The music program at the University of Idaho Lionel Hampton School of Music is not just a course of study, it’s a lifestyle. The Bachelor of Music is an extremely rigorous program that demands tremendous dedication and unwavering focus.

To prepare while still in high school, take private lessons in music. Candidates for the Bachelor of Music must be capable performers on at least one instrument or voice. Admission into the program requires an audition.

Your First Year

During your first year in the Bachelor of Music program, you will enroll in university general requirements, music foundation courses, and studio instruction. You are also required to attend recitals throughout the year. You may take:

• MusC 139 and 140 – Aural Skills I & II
• MusC 141 and 142 – Theory I & II
• MusA 115 and 124 – Studio Instruction
• MusA 145 and 146 – Class Piano
• MusA – Major Ensemble
• MusX 101 – Orientation for Majors
• MusX 140 – Convocation
• MusH 111 – Intro to Music
• English 101 and 102 – College Writing
• Core Discovery

The program also requires the following business courses:

• Econ 201 and 202 (or 205) – Principles of Economics
• Acct 201 – Intro to Financial Accounting
• Acct 202 – Intro to Managerial Accounting
• Bus 301 – Financial Management
• Bus 311 – Intro to Management Theory
• Bus 321 – Marketing
• Stat 25 – Principles of Statistics
• Business electives

Printable four-year plan

What You Can Do

With a Bachelor of Music in Music Business, you may pursue a career as a:

• Business manager
• Nonprofit director
• Arts manager
• Talent agent
• Record producer
• Music publisher
• Label producer
• Promoter
• Booking agent
• Fundraiser
• Sales manager
• Publicist
• Marketing representative
• Finance manager
• Music supervisor
• Tour manager

The degree is also excellent preparation for graduate study in music and business. The University of Idaho offers the following graduate programs:

• Master of Music
• Master of Arts in Music History

Opportunities

A degree from the renowned Lionel Hampton School of Music at the University of Idaho will open doors to exciting opportunities. While many music students dream of becoming a successful professional performer, the Bachelor of Music in Music Business will greatly enhance your career opportunities in the music industry. Your musical knowledge and talents, combined with a strong background in business, could lead to careers in:

• Record label companies
• Radio stations
  
• Marketing and public relations firms
• Concert venues
• Record distribution companies
  
• Arts organizations
• Nonprofits
• Publishing companies
• Product manufacturing companies
  

A degree in music, however, also prepares you to succeed in many other fields. When you study music, you develop valuable transferable skills – creativity, leadership, analytical and critical thinking, attention to detail, discipline, perseverance – highly desired traits in general business, law and other professions.

Current Research

Faculty members in the University of Idaho’s Lionel Hampton School of Music are recognized worldwide as accomplished soloists, orchestral musicians, chamber musicians, conductors, composers and teachers. They are leading experts in education, piano, voice, guitar, and orchestra and band instruments, with extensive experience performing professionally in classical, jazz, operatic and popular ensembles.

Current faculty research interests and areas of expertise include:

• Music entrepreneurship
• Compositions and arrangements for symphonic bands, wind ensembles, orchestral winds, choirs, jazz bands, symphony orchestras and marching bands
• Composition of music for video documentaries and interactive CD ROM educational software and chamber music
• Jazz performance and education
• Theory, history and criticism of film music
• Theory pedagogy and analysis
• 19th and 20th century American music, including historiography, criticism and the community band movement in the West
• Pedagogy, 19th century chamber music and the music of Francis Poulenc
• Effects of instrumental music participation on middle and high school students and on senior adults
• Pedagogical works of Godowsky, the transcriptions of Franz Liszt
• Piano teaching and performance
• Stages of growth of new teachers, music education in one-room schools, vocal physiology and Byzantine music notation
• Neurological and physical bases for human finger independence
• Music of Abel Carlevaro, Maximo Diego Pujol, and Bryan Johanson
• Music of the 19th century virtuoso-composer Johann Kaspar Mertz
• Mental skills and techniques for training and presentation 

Activities

Sigma Alpha Iota (SAI): Sigma Zeta Chapter, the international fraternity for women in music
Phi Mu Alpha: A music fraternity for men
Collegiate Music Educators' National Conference (CMENC), University of Idaho Chapter
Pi Kappa Lambda: An honorary music society
Student Advisory Board: Acts as liaison between students and music administration

Hands-On Experience

Musical performance is an integral part of student and campus life at the University of Idaho. You’ll have many opportunities to perform on and off campus.

• School of Music Internships: Internships include production management, arts management, jazz festival audio technician, and jazz festival site management.
• Undergraduate Teaching Assistants: Students may apply as teaching assistants in music theory, aural skills and music history.
• Ensembles: We have musical organizations to fit the interests of almost everyone, including the University Chorus, Vandaleers Concert Choir, Opera/Musical Theatre Studio, Vandal Marching Band, Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, jazz ensembles and many other performing groups. We produce more than 170 recitals per year.
• Convocation-Recital Attendance: Because listening experiences are important in the study of music, all music majors are required to attend 10 recitals per semester for seven semesters.
• Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival: This widely popular, four-day event draws hundreds of top jazz artists and spectators from around the world to the University of Idaho each year. Visiting professionals and students in the Lionel Hampton School of Music give evening concert performances and conduct clinics for elementary, junior high and high school students. Lionel Hampton School of Music students perform throughout the event.
• Auditorium Chamber Music Series: The series presents some of the world's finest chamber ensembles in concert and places these extraordinary musicians in university and public school classrooms and community centers in our region.
• Dancers, Drummers and Dreamers: This spring performance is presented in collaboration with the University of Idaho Department of Dance. All dances are performed to original, live music composed by faculty and students in the Lionel Hampton School of Music.
• Community Performances: The region’s active arts community creates many opportunities for students to perform in a variety of venues.

Facilities

The Music Building houses the Schuldt Music Library, faculty studios, ensemble rehearsal areas, classrooms, an electronic music lab, a music education materials center, a listening center and a recital hall. Individual practice rooms are available in nearby Ridenbaugh Hall. Recording, radio-television, language listening lab, and computer facilities of the campus are also available to music students.

In addition to organ, harpsichord, harp and piano practice instruments, the school maintains two performance pipe organs, three concert grand pianos and a concert harpsichord.