Music Business and Industry

Course Description

MUM2603 — Music Business and Industry is a college-credit lecture course in Florida's Music Business and Commercial Music A.S. degree programs. The "MUM" prefix denotes Music Management/Music Business. The course covers the contemporary music industry: structure of the music business; copyright and intellectual property; recording and publishing; live performance; artist management; record labels; streaming and digital distribution; music marketing; touring logistics; current music industry economics and trends.

This course is offered at Florida public colleges with music business programs, including Valencia College, Miami Dade College, Polk State College, Eastern Florida State College, and other institutions. Florida's substantial music and entertainment industry — including Miami's recording and Latin music scenes, Orlando's theme park music industry, Nashville-adjacent country music tours through Florida, and the state's vibrant live music venues — provides relevant context.

Learning Outcomes

Required Outcomes

Upon successful completion of MUM2603, students will be able to:

• Describe the structure of the music industry: major labels (Universal, Sony, Warner); independent labels; publishers; PROs (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC); distributors; streaming services; live music venues; agents; managers.
• Apply music copyright fundamentals: U.S. Copyright Act; what's protected; ownership; transfer; fair use; mechanical, performance, synchronization, and master use rights.
• Apply music publishing: songwriter and publisher splits; co-publishing; administration; mechanical royalty rates (statutory mechanical rate); performance royalties.
• Apply recording artist contracts: typical deal structures; recoupable advances; royalty rates; controlled compositions; "360 deals"; independent vs. major label considerations.
• Apply live performance and touring: booking; agent and manager roles; venue contracts; rider negotiations; tour budgeting.
• Apply music marketing and digital strategy: streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music); playlisting; social media; data analytics; direct-to-fan strategies.
• Apply artist management: artist development; brand strategy; team building; financial management; long-term career planning.
• Describe current industry economics: streaming revenue distribution; per-stream rates; recording industry consolidation; live music market; Latin music's growing share of U.S. market.

Major Topics

Required Topics

• Music Industry Structure: Labels (major and indie); publishers; PROs; distributors; streaming platforms; live music ecosystem; agents and managers; entertainment attorneys.
• Music Copyright: U.S. Copyright Act; what's copyrightable; duration; ownership and transfer; fair use; the music copyright income streams (mechanical, performance, sync, master use).
• Music Publishing: Songwriter and publisher splits; PRO collection; mechanical royalties; sync licenses; co-publishing deals; administration deals; sub-publishing.
• Recording Contracts: Major label deals; indie deals; "360 deals"; recoupable advances; royalty rates; controlled compositions; the unrecouped artist problem; recent industry shifts.
• Live Performance and Touring: Booking process; agency model; venue contracts; technical and hospitality riders; tour budgeting and routing; merchandising.
• Digital and Streaming: Streaming services landscape; per-stream rates; playlist economy; social media and TikTok-driven discovery; direct-to-fan platforms; NFT and Web3 experiments.
• Artist Management: Manager-artist agreement; commissions; artist development; team coordination; long-term planning.
• Industry Economics: Streaming revenue distribution; market share by genre; Latin music growth; live music as primary revenue for many artists; music industry by the numbers (RIAA, IFPI annual reports).
• Florida Music Industry: Miami recording and Latin music scenes; Orlando theme park music industry; Florida festival market; Florida music venues; Florida music industry employers.

Resources & Tools

• Industry texts: Donald Passman All You Need to Know About the Music Business (Free Press) — the standard reference; Steve Gordon The Future of the Music Business; M. William Krasilovsky This Business of Music
• RIAA, IFPI, NMPA industry reports
• Music Modernization Act and current legislation
• Industry publications: Billboard, Variety, Music Business Worldwide

Career Pathways

MUM2603 supports careers across Florida's substantial music and entertainment industry:

• Artist Manager / Tour Manager for emerging and established artists.
• Music Publisher / Publishing Administrator at music publishing companies.
• Booking Agent at booking agencies and tours.
• Record Label Coordinator / A&R at major and independent labels.
• Music Marketing Specialist at labels, streaming services, and music marketing firms.
• Live Event Coordinator at Florida venues and festivals (Miami music week, Bonnaroo-adjacent tours, Florida festival circuit, theme park entertainment divisions).
• Continuation toward bachelor's degrees in Music Business at Florida institutions and entertainment industry careers.

Special Information

Course Format

Typically 3 credits, 45 contact hours (lecture; some sections offered online).

Florida Music Industry Context

Florida hosts major segments of the U.S. music industry: Latin music (Miami is a global capital for Spanish-language music recording, with Sony Music Latin and other major operations); theme park music (Disney, Universal employ thousands of musicians and music industry professionals); festival market; large live music venues (Hard Rock Live, Amalie Arena, Hertz Arena). Florida's music industry employment is substantial and diverse.

Industry Currency

The music industry continues rapid transformation due to streaming economics, social media platforms, generative AI, and changing consumer behavior. Coursework references current industry developments and recent legislation (Music Modernization Act of 2018; ongoing copyright reform).