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New undergraduate program focuses on music industry

Music Industry

West Virginia University is expanding its offerings geared at preparing students for the music industry. The WVU Faculty Senate approved a new Bachelor of Arts in the field at its May 9 meeting.

“The music industry is a vibrant, multi-billion dollar global industry, vast in scope and reach, offering a product that is deeply ingrained into the fabric of every country and culture, across social strata,” said Darko Velichkovski, director of WVU’s music industry program at the College of Creative Arts.

“It offers extensive professional opportunities to those who are trained, knowledgeable, and versed in its systems, methods, and practices,” he added. “This new Bachelor of Arts will directly address these competencies and professional opportunities for WVU students.”

The major will provide a strategic course of study for students interested in pursuing music industry as a primary field of study. The curriculum will equip students with the fundamental analytical, regulatory, and creative knowledge and skills needed in the music industry.

As the only undergraduate program of its kind in the state, the major will allow West Virginians interested in pursuing academic studies in the music industry to stay in state for their higher education rather than leaving for out-of-state programs.

“This new Bachelor of Arts program with the focus on the music industry is a natural and needed addition to our Music Industry Program, which will complete the existing offerings in the music industry field here at WVU – Master of Arts degree, graduate certificate, undergraduate minor, and our student-run record label, Mon Hills Records”, Velichkovski said.

The Bachelor of Arts program graduates will be equipped to pursue opportunities in fields like music publishing, music journalism, licensing, and promotions. They’ll also develop the aptitudes needed for fields like audio production, design, and broadcasting. In addition, the curriculum supports careers on the management end of the music industry, such as artist representation, touring, royalties, and other key sectors of the music industry.

“There are 71 publically traded companies on the New York Stock Exchange that are part of the music industry, and tens of thousands across the country operating in all the industry sectors like recording, publishing, live, and broadcasting,” Velichkovski said. “There are over 4,000 artists signed to major record labels like Universal, Warner, and Sony, and those labels invest over $5 billion annually in the artists’ development and management, requiring thousands of music industry professionals.”

For more information on the major, please contact James Froemel, coordinator of undergraduate admissions at 304-293-4339 or james.froemel@mail.wvu.edu.