VCU School of the Arts–Department of Music

VCU Music's Bachelor of Arts degree with an Emphasis in Music Business addresses the need of students seeking an alternative to performance and education paths within Music. Students within the Emphasis pursue a Minor in either Business or Marketing. Electives include Survey of the Music Industry, Computers and Digital Recording, and Music Internships (whether in performance, arranging, recording, music publication, arts management, or more). Courses are taught on campus, within field trips, and at the world-class In Your Ear Studios nearby.

Career opportunities within the music business arena might include working in the fields/careers of publicity, radio promotion, physical and online retail and distribution, merchandising, Internet, advertising and touring, business structuring, finance, marketing, leadership, record-label management, personal management, venue management, concert promotion, booking agencies, media relations, music publishing, entertainment law, and music supervising-as well as simply expanding one's tools to succeed in a career as a performer, composer, and/or educator.

Students who wish to pursue the B.A./Music Business Emphasis at Virginia Commonwealth University must first audition for acceptance into the Department of Music. If you plan to audition, please visit http://www.vcumusic.org, click on "How to Apply," and follow those instructions. If you have questions, please contact Ms. Racquel Wallace, our admissions specialist, at the VCU Music Office at (804)
828-1167 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday; or e-mail her at wallacerc@vcu.edu.

It is not possible to enter this degree program without prerequisite skills on your major instrument. In other words, you must be as capable on your major instrument as you would be if you were auditioning to be a Music Performance major! This curriculum is not for persons specifically seeking an audio engineering degree, nor for those seeking to obtain a Music Business designation of any kind without extensive study and practice on their instrument.

You may choose either classical or jazz lessons for your major-instrument study. Your audition content will vary accordingly. For further information about classical auditions to enter the B.A., visit www.vcumusic.org. For jazz audition requirements, visit www.vcujazz.org/programs/auditions.html. The "Ensemble Auditions" content is what we also do for auditions to enter the Jazz Program (minus the final item, the prepared rhythmic reading, which is only used for ensemble auditions).

Details of the degree program are outlined in the VCU Music Business Handbook downloadable from this page. Key elements are described below.

VCU offers a unique combination of opportunities to experience and learn the Music Business in a city that has a music business. Come study Music Business where it happens: with faculty and guests who are immersed in it, with the industry surrounding it, and with the students who are pursuing it!