Hi,

I am seriously considering enrolling in the Professional Certificate(Music Business) Program, but I have some questions I need answered before I enroll and was hoping someone here could help me.

1. I want to learn about/get into the Music BUSINESS (particularly A&R). I think that most of the courses in this program will help me a lot, but I noticed that the "Inside the Record Industry" course seems to be geared more towards students who are in bands. I also noticed that in the syllabus there is a lesson called "Post Your Demo". Similarly, in the "Music Publishing 101" course syllabus it requires you to "Post One Song from Your Catalog". Since I don't have a demo, will I still be able to participate in those two courses? Would I lose marks for not having a demo?
Is there some kind of alternative for students like me who are not artists?

2. I may have access to some financial aide however, in order to qualify I must provide confirmation/proof that I am enrolled as a full-time student. Will Berklee Online provide confirmation of my student status as soon as I register and pay my tuition?

Thank you for any help!

Hi Cathy,

This is Kevin at Berkleemusic, I'm an advisor here! I was looking around at some of the discussion boards and saw your post. I can help you out with the questions that you had about the Music Business courses - I was actually a Music Business and Management major at Berklee myself!

The Inside the Record Industry course does require students to have a demo, but you don't necessarily need to be in the band. You could be a manager, a producer, or someone who works with the band closely for the demo you are using. The teacher sometimes can be flexible to students without demo, but to really get the most out of the course you should have a demo in hand.

For Music Publishing, you should have at least one song to share for a couple of the assignments. This song can be by you or an artist you have worked with (the teacher is pretty flexible with this as well).

Concerning financial aid, we have approved of a whole list of credit based loan programs that many of our students are using to help pay for their education here. Please click the link below to learn more about programs that we have approved for our online school. Definitely look at Sallie Mae's programs first, as we've seen them to be easier to use!

www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/financial_aid

For Berkleemusic to provide an enrollment verification for a certificate program, a student would need to pay the $150 registration fee for the certificate. This also reserves your seat in program! You can pay this online, but feel free to reach an advisor directly by phone for assistance as well. If you weren't using a financial aid provider that we have listed at the link above, you will want to email the registrar at registrar@berkleemusic.com, to make sure that we can approve of their programs.

Class starts October 1st! Please don't hesitate to get in touch with me by phone or email so that I can assist you further with your questions and with enrollment. Our advisor number and email are in the signature below!

Regards,

Kevin Carr
advisors@berkleemusic.com
617-747-2146