Music/Recording Industry
College of Extended Learning
835 Market Street, 6th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: 415-817-4237
Fax: 415-817-4299
Program Director: Greg Gaston
Program Coordinator: Joy Thompson joyla@sfsu.edu
Program
Certificate in Music/Recording Industry
Program Scope
The Music/Recording Industry program is designed for those who want to learn more about the music business and recording industry through a structured program of study. Musicians, producers, engineers, lawyers, agents, promoters, managers and entertainment writers can all benefit from MRI courses. The program integrates technical skills in recording, business and legal aspects, along with production elements, to provide foundations in the music business and the audio engineering field.
Faculty:
Program faculty are selected for their expertise in the technical or business aspects of the music/recording industry and for their outstanding teaching ability.
Career Outlook
The Music/Recording Industry Certificate is designed both for the student who wants an overall basic education in the business of music/recording and for the professional who is seeking to broaden an area of expertise. Course work in the program may be applied toward the certificate or individual classes may be taken to learn or update skills. Students may choose to pursue a technical audio engineering or a business emphasis or apply the academic credit earned in this program towards a degree in related subject areas. Job categories include artist management, professional songwriter, record producer, audio engineer, music publicist, music journalist, talent producer, agent, record promotion, record distribution, studio manager, music publishing, concert production and booking, legal, and touring.
Certificate in Music/Recording Industry (MRI)
Admission to Program
To be admitted to the certificate program, students should have completed 56 units of academic credit or have sufficient experience to demonstrate they can perform upper division work. Students who do not have 56 units may be accepted on probation and are encouraged to apply. Students may enroll in up to nine units before applying to a certificate program.
Writing Skills
The certificate program's course content requires good writing skills. Certificate students are asked to demonstrate their writing ability soon after admission to the certificate program to satisfy the university literacy requirement. Those who do not have the necessary writing skills are referred to a course offered regularly through the continuing education program: ENG 414, Elements of Writing.
The certificate program requires completion of 24 semester units. Nine units must be taken from a core of courses shown below, then twelve units chosen from your chosen emphasis (Audio Engineering or Music Business) and the remaining three may be chosen from the following list of elective courses.
For complete course descriptions, contact the program director.
Core Requirements
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| MRI 310 | Beginning Music Recording Workshop |
| MRI 350 | History of the Popular Music Industry |
| MRI 360 | Legal Aspects of the Music/Recording Industry |
Total for Core: 9 units
Emphasis
Choose Audio Engineering or Music Business (12 units)
Audio Engineering Emphasis
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| MRI 315 | Intermediate Music Recording Workshop |
| MRI 316 | Pro Tools 101 (1) |
| MRI 320 | Music Mixing |
| MRI 380 | Field Study in Music Recording Industry (internship course) (2-3) |
| MRI 430 | Advanced Audio Production I (Fantasy Studios) |
Music Business Emphasis
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| MRI 334 | Popular Music Marketing |
| MRI 340 | Music Artist Management |
| MRI 355 | Music Industry Career Options (2) |
| MRI 362 | Music Publishing |
| MRI 380 | Field Study in Music Recording Industry (internship course) (1-3) |
Elective Courses
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| MRI 313 | Digital DJ: Beats and Loops (1) |
| MRI 317 | Reason: Digital Audio Software (2) |
| MRI 318 | Apple Logic Pro 101 (2) |
| MRI 327 | The Role of the Record Producer (2) |
| MRI 329 | Behind the Stage (2) |
| MRI 330 | Music Business Publicity |
| MRI 333 | Independent Radio Promotion |
| MRI 336 | The Art and Business of Songwriting (2) |
| MRI 338 | Studio Training Workshop: Vocalists (2) |
| MRI 341 | Music Mastering (1) |
| MRI 346 | Record Distribution |
| MRI 348 | The Independent Record Label: A-Z |
| MRI 349 | Independent Label Operations |
| MRI 370 | Seminar in the Music/Recording Industry [Topics vary and are offered on a rotating basis.] (1-3) |
| MRI 430 | Music Artist Management |
| MRI 530 | Advanced Audio Production II (Fantasy Studio) |
| MRI 625 | Live Concert Sound (1) |
Total for Certificate: 24 units
