About this course: This course shares practical tips and strategies to help you take your first step into launching your career as a musical artist. We’ll cover everything from developing your unique identity as an artist and how to lead a band all the way to planning and recording your first independent record with the help of crowdfunding. The course curriculum is modeled from the real-world experience of Leah Waldo (also known as the emerging country artist, Elisa Smith) and features interviews with industry executives, artists, producers, and engineers — all designed to help you navigate the music industry.
Who is this class for: This course is for musical artists or anyone who wants to start performing in public or record an independent record. This course is also for artists who are working to develop their brand and identity. This course would also be helpful for people who work with artists throughout their development, including producers and managers.
Created by: Berklee College of Music
Taught by: Leah Waldo, Course Author
Berklee Online
| Basic Info | Course 2 of 4 in the Music Business Specialization |
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 4 weeks of study, 2-4 hours/ week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Welcome!
Welcome to Navigate the Music Business! Before you begin the course, we will cover all the details about the course and what you'll need to know to get the most out of your experience.
1 video, 4 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Practice Quiz: What do you hope to accomplish?
- Reading: How This Course Works
- Reading: Earn a Certificate for this Course
- Reading: Connect with Your Classmates
- Reading: A Note from Your Teaching Assistant
Your Foundation
In this lesson, we will begin to lay the foundation for who you are as an artist and a leader. We'll discuss the importance of having a strong sense of your identity, vision, and intention and we'll also how leverage your natural skills as a musician, like intuition and collaboration, to work for you as an entrepreneur. Finally, we'll discuss how to become a better band leader.
4 videos, 3 readings
- Video: Developing Your Identity, Vision, and Intention
- Discussion Prompt: What's Your IVI?
- Video: Musicianship = Entrepreneurship
- Video: How to Become a More Effective Band Leader
- Reading: Overcoming An Internal Struggle
- Reading: About Your Instructor: Leah (a.k.a. Elisa Smith)
- Reading: Case Study: Elisa Smith's IVI
Graded: Case Study: Elisa Smith's IVI
WEEK 2
Your Brand
Now that you have a strong foundation (your IVI), we'll discuss building your brand and your fanbase. We'll go over tips for building a presence on social media and how to connect to your fans and potential business partners on a personal level by learning how to network effectively. Finally, we'll discuss the trend of artist-brand partnerships and why a brand partnership might be a smart move for independent artists.
4 videos, 1 reading
- Video: Building Your Fanbase
- Video: The Art of Networking
- Video: Partnering With Brands
- Reading: Using Brand Names in Your Songwriting
- Discussion Prompt: Brand Partnerships
Graded: Case Study; Brand Partnerships
WEEK 3
Your Record
In this lesson, we'll focus on planning your recording project, whether it's a full length album or an EP. We'll discuss the role of the producer and the very special relationship that exists between producers and musicians. We'll also discuss how to cast a vision for your project by choosing the right songs, feel, and instrumentation. Finally, we'll learn how to set up a simple recording budget so you can keep track how much your project will cost.
5 videos, 2 readings
- Video: Choosing The Right Producer
- Reading: The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship
- Video: Establishing A Vision and Intention for Your Record
- Discussion Prompt: Choosing The Right Producer
- Video: Setting Up a Simple Recording Budget
- Reading: Recording In the Studio
- Video: Case Study: Do You Need A Producer?
Graded: Case Study: Do You Need A Producer?
WEEK 4
Your Money
The majority of this lesson will focus on planning, launching, and managing a crowdfunding campaign. Crowdfunding is a great way to gain support for your music, but running a campaign requires careful planning and preparation. We'll also share a some tips on how to turn your band into a sustainable business.
5 videos, 2 readings
- Video: 5 Tips for Turning Your Band into a Business
- Video: Crowdfunding: Pre Launch
- Video: Crowdfunding: Post Launch
- Reading: 10 Tips for Running a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign
- Video: Case Study: Successful Crowdfunding
- Reading: Reviewing Rench's Crowdfunding Campaign
Graded: Case Study: Successful Crowdfunding
Your Career
Congratulations! You've made it through the course content and now it's time to put what you've learned into practice for your final project.
1 video, 1 reading
- Reading: Launching Your Career
Graded: Launching Your Career (Web Presence)
FAQs
How It Works
Coursework
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
Help from Your Peers
Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.
Certificates
Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.
Creators
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study and practice of contemporary music. For more than half a century, the college has evolved to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. Berklee serves distance learners worldwide through its award-winning online extension school, Berklee Online.
Pricing
| Purchase Course | |
|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
This is a good course. I really appreciated used her personal experience as a living case study to teach and demonstrate the material.
Excelent course, great topics, I´ve learned a lot about the business and about myself as musician
I enjoyed this program tremendously. It's informative, practical, straight to the point, and not to mention, fun! Leah Waldo is passionate not only being a musician but a teacher and I have found all of her words of wisdom along with every single one of her guests that appear throughout the course to be absolutely invaluable. I hope to apply what I've learned to furthering a humble career as an independent artist in today's and tomorrow's music industry.
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BH
I really love this course and think Leah Waldo's perspective as a musician is vital to understanding how to navigate the music business. I feel like this is part of Course 4 mixed with an actual musician's experience and guidance. It was really nice to feel like Leah understood that everything she was teaching was just a reflection of herself and her own experiences. I really appreciated this course even though she is a country music performer and I create beats - I felt like she cut through a lot of the crap that I might face as just a random student/musician in this course. As a producer, I felt like I was able to learn so much valuable information about how I need to navigate the music business even though I might be unaccustomed to that point of view. It made me think differently, and also allowed me to connect with a different genre of music. Leah was really good at emphasizing that the IVI is important to an artist and I think that translates to anyone trying to do something creative so it was one lesson that I pulled out of the whole course and can apply to almost anything creative. Learning about networking was also vital in teaching me about how I can extend my social sphere and try to reach out to my audience on a small and larger level.