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Music Business (BA)

The Business of Music . . .

At first, “Music Business” seems like a contradiction of terms. But the truth is, the success of any professional musical venture—whether commercial or classical— involves business. And it also involves a lot of people, doing a lot of different things. A musical concert, for example, requires a promotion team, an agent, a manager and stage crew (including lights and sound) before the first note of music is played. Similarly, a single CD or digital download represents the work of the artist and supporting musicians but also studio engineers, producers, technicians, visual and graphic artists, photographers, lawyers, marketing strategists, distributors, retailers – and the list goes on.

Great career potential . . .

Yes, the commercial music industry offers an impressive diversity of career opportunities. And the Industry’s continuing expansion and increasing complexity have created the need for a new professional—one who understands not only music but also administration, accounting, marketing, entrepreneurship, creative and critical thinking, and law.

To prepare students looking for a career in today’s music business, the DBU College of Fine Arts and the College of Business have joined forces to create specialized degrees in music business at DBU. In addition to the liberal arts core of general studies requirements, the degree features studies in music, traditional and jazz music theory, accounting, marketing, management, and specific aspects of the music industry and entrepreneurship. Our music business students are fully integrated into the life of the Department of Music through private lessons, ensemble experiences, and performances. A solid foundation for a successful career.

And that’s not all . . .

The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex commands national attention in the entertainment business. In addition to both television production and state-of-the-art recording studios, booking agents, concert promoters, commercial production houses, and major performance venues are located in the area. Because of DBU’s close proximity to the Dallas/Forth Worth music industry, our degrees in music business offer students the opportunity of actually working in the industry. During the senior year, music business majors are required to complete an internship and may apply with a local music business or entrepreneurial venture that matches their area of interest. It’s a distinct advantage.

For more information on the music business programs at DBU, contact finearts@dbu.edu.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

courses

credit hours (ba)

CORE EXPERIENCE

DBUE 1301 - Foundations for the DBU Experience

3

Developing A Christian Mind
DBUE 2301 - Developing a Christian Mind

3

English

9

ENGL 1301/1401 - Composition and Rhetoric I

ENGL 1302 - Composition and Rhetoric II

and

ENGL 2301 - World Literature I

or

ENGL 2302 - World Literature II

Fine Arts
FINE 1306 - Introduction to Fine Arts

3

History Lower Level (LL)

3

Choose one 3-hour course from HIST LL Course List.

Kinesiology

1

KNES 1101 - Fitness for Living

Mathematics (3-4 hour LL course)

3

Choose one 3-hour course from Math LL Course List.

Natural Science (3-4 hour LL course)

4

Choose one 4-hour course from Nat. Lab Science LL Course List.

Religion

9

RELI 1301 - Old Testament Survey

RELI 1302 - New Testament Survey

MUSI 4342 - Ethnomusicology in Cross-Cultural Service

Social Science

3

POLS 2301 - American National Government

Total Core Experience

41

Additional Program General Education Hours

14

Choose two 4-hour courses and two 3-hour courses in the same language from LANG/BL Language Course List.

Major Core:

14-16

MUSI 1011 - Written MPE (Music Proficiency Exam) Level II

MUSI 1012 - Dictation MPE (Music Proficiency Exam) Level II

MUSI 1013 - Sight-singing MPE (Music Proficiency Exam) Level II

MUSI 1111 - Aural Skills I

MUSI 1112 - Aural Skills II

*The above list of MPE and Aural Skills courses is not required for students pursuing the Live Performance Career emphasis.

MUSI 1311 - Music Theory I

MUSI 1312 - Music Theory II

MUSI 2305 - Introduction to Music Literature and Fine Arts

MUSI 3207 - Basic Conducting

MUSB 3301 - History of Commercial Music

* Music Proficiency Exam Level II courses are requisites for MUSI 2311, 2111, 3316, all upper-level music courses, and all Music Business career emphasis courses.

Applied Lessons

5

MUSI 1117 - Class Piano I

MUSI 1118 - Class Piano II

MUSI 2023A - Piano Proficiency Level III

Please select three additional credit hours of applied lessons from Voice, Piano, Organ, or Guitar (Two 2000-level and one 3000-level).

Ensembles
Please select four credit hours of ensembles.

* Note: Some career emphases require additional ensemble credits

4*

Seminar/Performance Lab
8 semesters (noncredit-hour requirement) 

MUSI 1000/1001 (S-L)

8 sem.

Total Music

23-25

Business Courses

15

ACCT 2301 - Principles of Financial Accounting

ECON 2301 - Principles of Macroeconomics

MANA 3301 - Principles of Management (S-L)
or
MANA 4319 - Communication Styles: A Key to Business Success

MANA 3308 - Business and Public Law

MRKT 3301 - Principles of Marketing

Music Business Courses

24

MUSB 2301 - Introduction to Music Business

MUSB 3301 - History of Commercial Music

MUSB 3310 - Inside the Recording Industry

MUSB 3311 - Introduction to the Recording Studio

MUSB 3380 - Copyright and Intellectual Property Law

MUSB 4301 - Music Publishing

MUSB 4310 - The Musician as Entrepreneur

or

MUSB 4320 - Launching an Entrepreneurial Venture in the Music Business

MUSB 4380 - Seminar in Music Business
or
MUSB 4385 - Internship in the Music Industry I  (S-L)

Career Emphasis (Select one area of emphasis)

Live Performance

11

Ensembles - Please select two (2) additional credit hours of upper-level ensembles.

Music Electives - Please select three (3) additional credit hours of Music electives.

Music Business - Please select six (6) additional credit hours of upper-level Music Business electives.

Recording

11

MUSI 2311 - Music Theory III

or

MUSI 3316 - Jazz Theory

MUSB 3312 - Advanced Recording Techniques

MUSB 3213 - Critical Listening for Recording Engineers

MUSB 4375 - Music Production Practicum

Songwriting

11

MUSI 2311 Music Theory III

or

MUSI 3316 Jazz Theory

MUSB 3320 Introduction to Songwriting

MUSB 3321 Advanced Songwriting Techniques

MUSB 4275 Songwriting Practicum

Worship Leadership

13

Ensembles - Please select two (2) additional credit hours of upper-level ensembles.

MUSI 3107 Fall DBU Doxology

or

MUSI 4107 Fall DBU Doxology

and

MUSI 3108 Spring DBU Doxology

or

MUSI 4108 Spring DBU Doxology

MUSI 2207 Introduction to Church Music and Worship 

MUSI 3270 Church Music and Worship Administration

MUSI 3271 Contemporary Worship and Technology

MUSI 4305 Congregational Song

or

MUSB 3320 Introduction to Songwriting

3

Total Career Emphasis

11

Total Career Emphasis (Worship Leadership)

13

ELECTIVES

Upper Level

Lower or Upper-Level

0

0

Upper Level

0

TOTAL CREDIT HOURS REQUIRED (Live Performance)

128

TOTAL CREDIT HOURS REQUIRED 

130

TOTAL CREDIT HOURS REQUIRED (Worship Studies)

132

A 120-credit-hour minimum for a bachelor’s degree is required, including 36 upper-level credit hours.

Minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA required in the major field (business, music, music business), with a letter grade of “C-“ or better in each course.

At least 12 credit hours in the major program must be completed at Dallas Baptist University, including nine upper-level course hours.

Minimum GPA Required for Graduation from Dallas Baptist University: DBU requires a minimum institutional cumulative, major, and minor GPA of 2.0.

A minimum grade of C- is required for all music courses within a music major or minor field of study. 

(S-L) = Course(s) with field-based service-learning component.

MINOR IN MUSIC BUSINESS

See information about the Minor in Music Business here.

Refer to individual course descriptions for course requisites.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Find course descriptions by category under the Undergraduate Course Descriptions section in the navigation panel.