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AU’s Kogod Business and Entertainment program hits the right note

Program bridges gap between business fundamentals and entertainment industry

From the Newsstands: This story appeared in The Eagle's December 2024 print edition. You can find the digital version here.

From hosting top stars like Flo Milli to representing local artists, Kogod School of Business students are breaking into the business and entertainment industry in a nationally recognized program.

The program, just 12 years old, gives students a taste of the entertainment world, with plans to expand past music. 

“What we’re hearing from employers out there is that you can quickly teach students the industry or the company, but you can’t teach them quickly the fundamentals of business,” Linda Bloss-Baum, director of Kogod’s Business and Entertainment program, said. “[In other schools], business is an afterthought, which for our program, business is actually the forethought of how we start things out. It’s the Business and Entertainment program.” 

Before the Business and Entertainment program launched, students could take classes in the College of Arts and Sciences’ music program in tandem with Kogod’s business program. 

However, John Simson, a University professor and founder of SoundExchange, said that students wanted a program that focused on the operation of the entertainment industry and the music business. 

In fall 2011, Simson taught an introductory course on the entertainment and music industries and, the following semester, one on music publishing and copyright. The popularity of the classes grew, and in spring 2012, Kogod’s dean at the time tasked him with designing a major out of his classes. 

In 2013, Simson asked one of his colleagues in the industry, Bloss-Baum, to join his team. She joined the program as an adjunct and later full-time before becoming the program director in fall 2023.

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“AU has always been my north star in Washington. For as long as my career has been in the city, it’s been kind of in relation to AU and my time there,” Bloss-Baum said.

Simson and Bloss-Baum worked together to grow the program into what it is today, creating a capstone class and prioritizing finding companies that would let students assist them for course credit.

A couple of years into the program, the capstone class partnered with Smithsonian Folkways, a record label under the Smithsonian Institute, and the National Independent Venue Association, which protects independent venues from being taken over by larger entertainment companies. 

Bloss-Baum said that having the program in the Kogod School of Business gives students a strong foundation in business.

“It was very gratifying to see what great work our students did trying to solve some of the problems that persist in the industry,” Simson said.

Aidan FitzGerald, a senior in Kogod and a Business and Entertainment major, enjoys the program’s emphasis on business, specifically citing Bloss-Baum’s Protecting the Creative Class course, which gives students a taste of both the creative and business sides of the industry.

“It’s one of those programs that are so specialized that you can get a lot of good knowledge you can easily apply in a real-world job,” FitzGerald said. 

Another popular course is Representing Talent, which began as Simson introduced guest speakers who were industry professionals, publicists, managers and record producers. Over time, the coursework grew into opportunities for students to represent local artists.

A couple of years into the program, Simson partnered with Strathmore Music Hall’s Artist in Residence program, allowing students in the Representing Talent class to create marketing plans that improve the artists’ digital presence and work to promote them.

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The class further developed into an opportunity for students to participate in planning concerts at local venues, assist in athlete endorsement opportunities and plan film premieres. In 2023, Kogod alum Gary Veloric gifted the University money for programs in the school, which included hosting a major concert in Bender Arena.

The first concert in fall 2023 during Parents’ Weekend featured rapper Flo Rida and opener Hayes Warner. The following year, Flo Milli took the stage in Bender Arena. 

Samara Slingbaum, a senior in Kogod, took Representing Talent in fall 2024 and recounted how she and her peers worked through negotiations, ticket sales and the logistics of hosting a concert. 

“It was great to see just how much planning goes into literally just one show. I have a lot of respect for agents out there because their job is very complicated,” Slingbaum said. 

Expanding beyond the music

The program is only 12 years old — young compared to its competitors — but has already gained significant recognition in the industry. Billboard recognized the program in 2023 and 2024 as a top music business program in the United States. 

Bloss-Baum hopes to expand the program beyond the music industry curriculum it currently offers. Next semester, the program will offer three new classes for sports management, sports business and entertainment hospitality to attract a wider demographic in the University community.

Last November, students attended the Artists’ Rights Symposium, which was hosted on campus. Students heard from leaders in technology, entertainment and government policy to discuss recording artists’ rights and giving artists more control over their music and royalties. 

“Not only did it expose our students to all of these people in the industry, but I think it was great for all the people to see our campus and think of us as a leader in the entertainment space,” Bloss-Baum said.

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In March, students had the chance to travel to Austin, Texas, to attend the South by Southwest Music Festival, a week-long gathering for the entertainment industry. At SXSW, students networked with industry professionals, drafted and pitched marketing materials and learned firsthand how the live music industry works.

“There’s no better way to spotlight how great our students are than to get them out there and show future employers what they’re all about,” Bloss-Baum said. 

The Business and Entertainment program also offers travel opportunities to New York City, Nashville and Los Angeles. These treks allow students to visit film studios, record labels and agencies to get a taste of entertainment hubs around the country.

“[The treks] for me, are one of the biggest pluses of the program,” FitzGerald said, who attended the New York trek twice in fall 2023 and 2024, and the Los Angeles trek in spring 2024.

“It’s great the connections we get through the treks in terms of alumni,” FitzGerald added. “Specifically with Los Angeles, you spend five days together and the relationships built between people are huge.”

Since the program’s first graduating class in 2015, over 200 students have graduated from the program. Simson said his former students have founded Second District Records in D.C., worked in marketing at Union Stage and are agents for the Creative Artists Agency in New York.

“It’s time for me to let the next generation of leaders come up,” Simson said. “It’s your job to train the next generation and when they’re ready, let them go … it’s just exciting watching them do what they do.”

arts@theeagleonline.com 

This article was edited by Jessica Ackerman, Marina Zaczkiewicz and Abby Turner. Copy editing done by Emma Brown, Sabine Kanter-Huchting, Ella Rousseau, Nicole Kariuki, Hannah Langenfeld, Ariana Kavoossi, Charlie Mennuti and Jaden Anderson.


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