Entertainment Law in the Music Industry – CMUS 353

CG • Section 8WK • 07/01/2018 to 12/31/2199 • Modified 09/05/2023

Course Description

A study of entertainment law in the music industry including its origins, rationale, protections and limitations. Includes study of mechanicals, streaming, copyright, performing rights organizations, and independent artists.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

Those seeking a career in Music Business have multiple options to pursue. The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of each role and offer insights into a basic understanding of law required to be effective in each role within the music industry.

Course Assignment

Textbook Readings, Articles, Videos and Presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (3)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will complete 3 Discussions in this course. The student will post one thread of at least 200 words. The student must then post 2 replies of at least 100 words.

Music Industry Overview Mind Map Assignment

The student will create a Music Industry Mind Map which will depict the various areas discussed in the reading assignment and presentations. The Mind Map will include 1-2 sentences explaining specific roles in each area and the legal focus of each role. 

Artist Manager Short Paragraph Assignment

The student will complete a short paragraph writing assignment that will help him/her drill down into the valuable concepts and facts about the artist manager. This assignment will assist the student in considering his/her own thoughts regarding life as a artist manager and the potential of undertaking that role as a career. The assignment will be 1-2 pages in length with a 3-5 sentence paragraph answering each question.

Venue Owner Interview Assignment

In this assignment, the student will have an opportunity learn more about the role of the venue and the venue owner in the music industry as well as gain an understanding of the legal issues that must be addressed in order to protect self, property, employees, and the vendors and contractors involved in operating the business safely and successfully. The student will also think through whether being a venue owner may be an interest worthy of further exploration. The assignment should be no less than 3 pages, in addition to a title page.

Planning a Tour Assignment

This assignment will help the student gain insight into the scope of tour planning, the areas that need to be addressed, and the many jobs of the tour manager that require some sort of legal consideration. Students must have at least 3 main points in their outline and must have at least 3 action subpoints under each main point.

The Music Industry and You Assignment

This final project will provide the student the opportunity to do additional research into the area of Music Business the student is most interested in and enable the student to see a path to becoming an important and valuable contributor to the industry. The student will use Microsoft PowerPoint to create a narrated 10–20-minute slide presentation. The assignment should include no less than five citations with a Bibliography on the final slide.

Quizzes (2)

The student will complete two essay/short answer quizzes that involve key industry terminology. Each quiz will have 10 essay/short answer questions, has a time limit of one hour, and allows one attempt.