12 Weeks
Level 5 (Proof of a Bachelor's Degree Required)
3-Credit Tuition
$2,817Non-Credit Tuition
$2,615In The Business of Music Marketing, you will gain a professional-level knowledge of cutting edge marketing techniques essential for any music-centric business. Starting with evergreen marketing best practices, you will learn specific approaches for building an engaged community, applying different forms of media for visibility, and utilizing professional marketing tools to plan, execute, and report back on results. Learn how to plan and support a product release, create and execute an integrated marketing campaign, and explore ways to create and run a successful music business. You will master marketing philosophy and gain critical knowledge and skills for both music product and marketing.
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Synthesize web analytics to develop the niche of an artist or music product and target the relevant audience
- Create an effective product and pricing strategy, along with a supporting business plan
- Create a professional music marketing plan
- Analyze marketing segments available to musicians and music products, with a particular focus on online-related initiatives
- Develop sophisticated approaches to marketing and selling music and music-related products online, including implementing web optimization strategies
- Apply the essential pillars of successful music marketing campaigns
Implement effective messaging, branding, and communication for artists or music-related companies
Syllabus
Lesson 1: Setting the Stage
- What Is Music Marketing?
- Essential Framework to Creating a Successful Marketing Campaign
- The Breadth and Scope of Music Marketing
- Product Trends in Music Business and Associated Marketing Opportunities
- Inside the Business of Music Marketing: Kevin Breuner
- Your Music Marketing Tool Kit
- Assignment 1: Music Marketing Campaign Analysis and Comparison
Lesson 2: Branding
- Branding Overview
- An Analytical Approach to Defining Brand: Market and Brand Research
- Inside the Business of Music Marketing: Jeff Jampol
- Brand Stewardship and Brand Marketing
- Brand and Behavioral Science
- Assignment 2: Brand vs. Time
Lesson 3: Integrated Marketing Communication Campaigns: Introduction and Owned Media
- Marketing Trifecta: Owned, Paid, and Earned Media
- Integrated Marketing: Convergence of Owned, Paid, and Earned Media
- Owned Media: Web
- Owned Media: Social
- Owned Media: Blog
- Assignment 3: Owned Media Research and Analysis
Lesson 4: Integrated Marketing Communication Campaigns: Paid and Earned Media
- Paid Media: Google and YouTube, Paid Social, and Appropriate Third-Party Outlets
- Earned Media: Press and Communication
- Inside the Business of Music Marketing: Russell Ward
- Earned Media: Social, Word of Mouth, and Buzz Marketing Campaigns
- Paid Endeavors Driving Earned Results
- Additional Forms of Initiating and Nurturing Earned Media
- Assignment 4: Owned, Paid, and Earned Media: Best Practices
Lesson 5: Music Marketing Tools and Technology
- The Medium Is the Message: An Integrated Approach to Music Marketing and Commerce Tools
- Successful Approaches to Creating Your Marketing Stack
- Website Development, E-Commerce, and Web Analytics Tools and Approach
- Marketing Communication Tools: Social and Email
- Inside the Business of Music Marketing: Michael Fiebach
- Case Study: DJ Shadow - The Mountain Will Fall Album Release
- Assignment 5: Music Marketing Technology Stack
Lesson 6: Building and Engaging your Community
- Community and Communication: Foundation and Approach
- Community Engagement and Expansion: Referral and Word of Mouth
- The Nitty Gritty of Acquisition
- Email Acquisition
- Social Acquisition
- Assignment 6: Acquisition Deep Dive
Lesson 7: Go-To-Market Strategy
- Market Research
- Unit Economics
- Determining Revenue and Costs for Unit Economics
- Unit Economics in Action
- Inside the Business of Music Marketing: Christopher O’Donnell
- Further Unit Economics Considerations
- Freemium: An Alternative Approach to Pricing
- Assignment 7: Music Business Finances, Research, and Analysis
Lesson 8: The Intersection of Marketing and Sales
- Overview and Organization of Sales and Marketing
- Organizing and Building Your Sales Team
- Sales Techniques
- Inside the Business of Music Marketing: Lou Orfanos
- The Intersection of Marketing and Sales Technology: KPIs, Tracking, Reporting, and Communication
- Marketing Automation Software and Your Sales Team
- Assignment 8: Developing a Sales Structure and Approach
Lesson 9: Marketing Data Analysis and Reporting
- Why Data? Overview and Approach
- Why Data and Marketing?
- Data Analysis Framework and Process: Collection and Cleaning of Data
- Inside the Business of Music Marketing: Liv Buli
- Marketing Data Tracking and Utilization
- Data Visualization
- Assignment 9: Marketing Data Analysis
Lesson 10: Starting a Music-Focused Business
- The Basics
- Validating Your Idea
- Market Research and Analysis
- Your Business Infrastructure
- The Business Plan
- Inside the Business of Music Marketing: Dave Balter
- Assignment 10: Create a Business Plan
Lesson 11: Presenting Your Marketing Ideas and Results of Your Efforts
- When, What, and How to Present
- Providing Updates on Your Results
- Anatomy of a Marketing Plan
- Marketing Plan Details
- Public Speaking
- Assignment 11: Create a Marketing Plan
Lesson 12: Pulling It All Together: The Business of Music Marketing Case Studies
- David Macias from Thirty Tigers: Diversification of Efforts
- Chris Wrenn from Bridge Nine Records: Guerilla Marketing
- Kate Schutt, Songwriter, Producer, and Musician: Connecting with People
- Kiran Ghandi aka Madame Ghandi: Turning Art into Business
Requirements
Ready to submit an unofficial copy of your transcript?
Submit TranscriptPrerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements
Prerequisite Courses, Knowledge, and/or Skills
This course does not have any prerequisites.
Textbook(s)
- Recommended: Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky (Penguin Books, 2009)
- Recommended: Permission Marketing by Seth Godin (Simon & Schuster UK, 2007)
Student Deals
After enrolling, be sure to check out our Student Deals page for various offers on software, hardware, and more. Please contact support@online.berklee.edu with any questions.
General Course Requirements
Below are the minimum requirements to access the course environment and participate in Live Classes. Please make sure to also check the Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements section above, and ensure your computer meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements for all software needed for your course.
Mac Users
PC Users
All Users
- Latest version of Google Chrome
- Zoom meeting software
- Webcam
- Speakers or headphones
- External or internal microphone
- Broadband Internet connection
Instructors
Author
Mike King is currently the Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing at Interlochen Center of the Arts. Mike’s career has been devoted to the arts and arts education. His first professional position was at Rykodisc where he oversaw marketing efforts for label artists including Mickey Hart, Andrew Bird, Morphine, Bill Hicks, The Slip, Kelly Joe Phelps, and Frank Zappa. Mike also spent time at Rounder Records and at Chris Blackwell’s Palm Pictures.
Mike spent 19 years at Berklee College of Music in Boston, culminating in the roles of Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing at Berklee and Chief Marketing Officer at Berklee Online.
Mike is an educator who has taught music business and marketing courses for Berklee Online and Northeastern University, and has authored courses for Berklee Online. His book, Music Marketing: Press, Promotion, Distribution, and Retail, was published by Berklee Press. Mike has also been recognized as the Best Music Business Teacher by the National Association of Record Industry Professionals (NARIP).
He has written for Making Music magazine, International Musician, Hypebot, and American Songwriter, and has been quoted in The New York Times, Huffington Post, Billboard, The Boston Globe, APM Marketplace, Wired, and The Chicago Tribune. He has also presented at MIDEM, SXSW, NAMM, NARM, and more.
Mike has served on the board of the Boch Center in Boston, and has been an advisor to several companies, including Ledger in Paris, Île-de-France, France. Read Less
Instructor
Chandler Coyle is a music business teacher, industry consultant, connector, and an integral part of all his artist clients' teams. Chandler spends his days helping artists with all aspects of digital strategy to help his clients and students find more fans, make more money, and get to spend more time on their music. Chandler has been online since 1989 and coded his first webpage in 1994. Since 2012 Chandler has been teaching both undergraduate and graduate-level music business courses for Berklee College of Music's online extension Berklee Online. In addition to his teaching and freelance consulting efforts, Chandler also provides digital expertise to the fan engagement agency Music Geek Services founded by his brother and direct-to-fan expert Jay Coyle. Chandler has given talks and appeared on panels at SXSW, CD Baby’s DIY Musician Conference, the Berklee Onsite Conference, and Chicago’s LakeFX.
What's Next?
When taken for credit, The Business of Music Marketing can be applied towards the completion of these related programs:
Related Certificate Programs
Related Degree Majors
Questions?
Contact our Academic Advisors by phone at 1-866-BERKLEE (U.S.), 1-617-747-2146 (INT'L), or by email at advisors@online.berklee.edu.
