In this capstone course for music industry students, we explore contemporary analyses and issues with an eye toward critically assessing and engaging the music industries. Each student brings to the classroom a unique set of skills and experiences, including those grounded in coursework and experiential learning (such as co-ops, internships, research, service learning, study abroad, and other activities). During seminar, we learn together as a class from these individualized experiences and sets of expertise—the sum of our knowledge, in essence, is greater than its individual parts.

This course introduces students to the study of popular music in the United States from the end of World War II to the present day. Instead of presenting a survey of popular music during this period, we consider a handful of selected topics, themes, and genres during these years. Sacrificing historical breadth for analytical depth enables us to dive deeply into specific examples, considering in detail a range of factors that influence popular music’s development and transformation: ethnic and gender identities, music industry practices, race relations, social and political movements, and technological innovations. Students gain a broad overview of the field of popular music studies—with particular attention given to recently-published research—and the field’s methodologies and materials.

This directed study is designed specifically for graduate students in the Masters of Science in Music Industry Leadership program who are working on co-op. The course content and activities will help you reflect on the ways in which you are learning, the attitudes and behaviors that influence how you approach professional challenges, the motivators that influence your decision-making, and how this experience relates to your overall career goals. Your overall objective is to gain a deeper and broader understanding of your role’s importance within the music industry. By doing so, you will begin to see interactions and intersections with other professional areas, your academic work, and your prior background and professional work experience.

Technology has been central to the production, distribution, and consumption of music throughout the history of the contemporary music industry. Electronic instruments and recording technologies expand the creative possibilities for artists; media—both in their broadcast and commodity forms—provide opportunities and challenges to music publishers, labels, and distributors; creative and business synergies are found by partnering with other culture industries; and interactive technologies disrupt the top-down industrial paradigm. This course examines the history and socio-cultural contexts of several specific technological developments in the music industry.