Billboard Names Top Music Business Schools in the World

Billboard has released its 2025 annual roundup of top music business schools globally. It features top players like Berklee, Belmont, MTSU, Loyola, NYU-Tish, and University of Rochester’s Eastman. But this year’s list goes deeper and includes affordable public universities, HBCUs, and schools outside major industry hubs.

Billboard offers detailed profiles of each school that include standout courses, facilities, internships, guest speakers, and famous alumni.

There are some notable new trends in what many of the top music business schools offer:

• Production + business under one roof: many programs bake in recording/engineering alongside contracts, A&R, marketing, data, AI.
• Real-world labs: student-run labels (VoVe, Red Oak, Blue Hawk, Green Line, ’Cane Records), venue management (e.g., Loyola’s Gasa Gasa), and large-scale festival work (BPMI Live, Stillystock).
• Dolby Atmos/immersive audio facilities popping up (Belmont, LIU Roc Nation, Delta State, Abbey Road Institute).
• Heavy guest access & pipelines: execs from majors, PROs, agencies; frequent NYC/LA industry trips; co-ops/internships that often convert to jobs.
• Equity & access: continued spotlight on HBCUs (Howard, Tennessee State); public options expanded.
• AI, data, finance: explicit coursework on AI (American), valuation/finance (NYU Steinhardt), music & data (UCLA).

Billboard’s Top Music Business Schools in the World

Alphabetical by school name with locations

• Abbey Road Institute — London
• American University — Washington, D.C.
• Auburn University — Auburn, Ala.
• Baldwin Wallace University — Berea, Ohio
• Belmont University (Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business) — Nashville, Tenn.
• Berklee College of Music — Boston, Mass.
• Berklee College of Music (Valencia Campus) — Valencia, Spain
• BIMM University (BIMM Music Institute) — London
• BRIT School, The — Croydon, England
• California Institute of the Arts (Herb Alpert School of Music) — Valencia, Calif.
• California State University, Northridge — Northridge, Calif.
• Delta State University (Delta Music Institute) — Cleveland, Miss.
• Drexel University (Westphal College of Media Arts and Design) — Philadelphia, Pa.
• Full Sail University — Winter Park, Fla.
• Hofstra University — Hempstead, N.Y.
• Howard University (The Warner Music/Blavatnik Center for Music Business) — Washington, D.C.
• Kennesaw State University (The Joel A. Katz Music and Entertainment Business Program) — Kennesaw, Ga.
• Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts — Liverpool, England
• Long Island University (The Roc Nation School of Music, Sports and Entertainment) — Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Los Angeles College of Music — Los Angeles, Calif.
• Los Angeles Film School (The Los Angeles Recording School) — Los Angeles, Calif.
• Loyola University (School of Music & Theatre Professions) — New Orleans, La.
• Middle Tennessee State University (Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment) — Murfreesboro, Tenn.
• Monmouth University — West Long Branch, N.J.
• New York University (Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development) — New York, N.Y.
• New York University (Tisch School of the Arts, Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music) — New York, N.Y.
• Northeastern University (College of Arts, Music and Design) — Boston, Mass.
• Occidental College (The John Branca Institute for Music) — Los Angeles, Calif.
• Oklahoma State University (Greenwood School of Music) — Stillwater, Okla.
• Rhodes College (Mike Curb Institute for Music) — Memphis, Tenn.
• Rowan University (College of Performing Arts) — Glassboro, N.J.
• State University of New York, Oneonta — Oneonta, N.Y.
• Syracuse University (The Bandier Program for Recording and Entertainment Industries) — Syracuse, N.Y.
• Temple University (Klein College of Media and Communication) — Philadelphia, Pa.
• Tennessee State University (Commercial Music Program) — Nashville, Tenn.
• Toronto Metropolitan University — Toronto, Ontario
• University of California Los Angeles (The Herb Alpert School of Music) — Los Angeles, Calif.
• University of Colorado, Denver (College of Arts & Media) — Denver, Colo.
• University of Georgia (Terry College of Business) — Athens, Ga.
• University of Miami (Frost School of Music) — Miami, Fla.
• University of North Alabama — Florence, Ala.
• University of North Texas (College of Music) — Denton, Texas
• University of Rochester (Eastman School of Music) — Rochester, N.Y.
• University of Southern California (Thornton School of Music) — Los Angeles, Calif.
• William Paterson University — Wayne, N.J.

Read the full detailed list of Billboard’s Top Music Business Schools in the World Billboard’s Top Music Business Schools in the World here.

Bruce Houghton