For an 11th year, Middle Tennessee State University’s Department of Recording Industry was named among the best music business schools by Billboard.
The recently released article, “Billboard’s 2025 Top Music Business Schools,” highlighted the new name of the Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment, where the Recording Industry is housed, recognizing the Big Machine Label Group founder and CEO’s support of MTSU’s programs.
“It is an honor and rewarding to be recognized by Billboard yet again. Our faculty and staff work hard to make our students’ college journey both inspiring and realistic, preparing them for what they will experience in their future entertainment careers,” Department of Recording Industry chair Michelle Conceison said. “Our music business, audio production and commercial songwriting students are favored by internship providers and employers across the industry because they arrive on the job knowledgeable in their field and ready to deliver,”
The article also noted the hands-on opportunities students gain by working at high-profile events, such as the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, the Grammy Awards, and the Country Music Awards, among other experiences.
“To prepare our students for success, we have to stay on the leading edge of an industry that’s evolving faster than ever,” said recording industry associate professor Tammy Donham. “The music world our students will enter is not the one we grew up in, and it won’t be the same five years from now. We challenge them to think ahead, to anticipate where the jobs and opportunities will be, and to approach change with curiosity and insight.”
She continued, “The coming years will demand leaders who understand technology, creativity, and ethics, especially as artificial intelligence reshapes the business, and I have no doubt our students will be among the innovators defining that next era.”
MTSU has been on Billboard’s list of the best music business schools since 2013, receiving recognition that first year for the recording industry program’s entrepreneurial turn.
“I am so pleased that Billboard has once again recognized the excellence of MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry, which is world-renowned for the education it provides in audio production, music business, and commercial songwriting,” said Dean Beverly Keel, who previously chaired the department. “We provide real-world, hands-on experience that complements our classroom instruction to prepare students for the ever-changing entertainment industry.
“Our faculty remain heavily involved in the music business areas in which they teach so that our students can be immersed in the latest industry changes, trends, and best practices. We are so grateful to Billboard for sharing our great news with its readers.”
This year’s list, posted alphabetically, included just over 40 schools worldwide.
According to the article, “Billboard chooses its top music business schools based on industry recommendations, alumni information provided by honorees from our multiple power lists, information requested from each school and nearly a decade of reporting on these programs.”
About MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry
Since awarding its first degree in 1974, MTSU’s Recording Industry Department has graduated more than 7,500 industry-ready alums and has produced top songwriters, producers, musicians and more.
“We have one of the most unique programs because we prepare students for all the parts of the music industry across all genres. If you’re at a music industry event, somewhere in that room, there’s someone from MTSU working there,” Conceison said.
Students have collaborated with top celebrities, including Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, Keith Urban, Jimmy Kimmel, and Kane Brown, among others. Some famous names who studied at MTSU include country artist Chris Young, songwriter and producer Tay Keith, Christian artists Brandon Heath and Lecrae, country artist Hillary Scott of Lady A, rap artist and songwriter Daisha McBride, boygenius member Julien Baker, and Grammy-winning songwriter Josh Kear, among others.
Alums have also written songs for Alan Jackson, George Strait, Kacey Musgraves, Lady Gaga, Usher, Wiz Khalifa and more. Multiple alumni have achieved success in audio engineering and production within the industry, with notable examples including Brandon Bell, Jason Hall, Jimmy Mansfield, and Connor Back, who have been recognized by the Grammy Awards for their technical contributions in recent years.
“We are turning out the most highly valued employees in the music business, and people know when they see MTSU on your resume that you will be well-trained, well-educated and a dependable industry member,” Conceison said. “We graduate top performers across the music industry, across genres, at a fraction of the tuition cost of other elite programs.”
MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry program offers three concentrations: audio production, commercial songwriting and music business. Graduate programs include an MFA in recording arts and technologies and an MBA in business administration with a music business concentration.
A master’s in legal studies with an entertainment law concentration is set to launch next summer and will be offered in partnership with the Nashville School of Law.
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