On this page, you can find the Culminating Experience (CE) Projects for all graduate students from the Berklee College of Music master’s program Global Entertainment and Music Business (GEMB) from 2015 – present. Click on any title for more information and access to the full paper and other deliverables (if available).
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Poetic Beats: A Business Model for a South African Based Record Label and Entertainment Consultancy
Erryn Gracey
2022South Africa is known to be one of the most influential countries on the continent of Africa and is seen as a cultural hub across the continent. It reigns as the most prominent music market on the continent and is home to some of the biggest names in African music. However, over the last ten years, the scene in South Africa has declined, and opportunities are reducing. In 2011, local music made up 50% of the country’s music scene, yet in 2022 it sits at less than a quarter. This year Music Africa reported that the monthly total music revenue is €8 812 500 a month, but professional musicians earn an average of €562.5 a month. With the average cost of living in Johannesburg and Cape Town sitting at €2000 a month, musicians are not earning enough to build a sustainable career. The declining market is complex but is primarily due to poor management from collective agencies, a lack of resources, and a lack of education that allows an industry to thrive. Due to the lack of resources, artists constantly need guidance and often become a ""Jack of All Trades"". Their vast skills include working in and mastering both musicianship and performance, PR & Marketing, and production. In essence, they also become their management team and label service. While some musicians prefer to have complete autonomy over their business, many are looking for the guidance that Poetic Beats will provide. Poetic Beats is a Record Label and Entertainment Consultancy, providing artists with the resources they have been lacking and, if they so wish, a management team to handle bookings, marketing, promotions, A&R services, and specific legal affairs. Due to South Africa's unique socio-economic climate and available resources, we have a fundamental understanding that the models of music businesses need to look different from global business models. Perhaps South African musicians need a ‘one-stop-shop’ to build their careers. Below is the business model for Poetic Beats as a record label and an entertainment consultancy. By following this model, we believe we can build a business that benefits South African musicians and cements South Africa as an emerging market whose musicians can be consumed globally.
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Business Plan - Music Axlerator
Hiya Gupta
2022Music Axlerator is a an E learning website that offers educational content about the key areas of the music business with a primary focus on the Indian audience. This site os designed to provide relevant, affordable, localised and easily accessible knowledge and insights about the Indian music business to all emerging artists and aspiring music business professionals. The website offers the choice of three different online subscription models to educational content such as videos, modules, tests in 4 languages, and the option to book one on one sessions or group workshops.
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INOCON22
Maria Habbouche
2022INOCON is a conference that covers the latest cutting-edge technologies and the way they can be implemented in the music industry. It unites a wide range of international speakers, joining to teach attendees about their experiences and share their insights on the issues and solutions that could improve the life of people wishing to work in this highly dynamic industry. INOCON22 was divided into two parts that would take place across three days: the conference, on April 7th and 8th, which involved panels and guest speakers talking about a plethora of topics, and the second part being a concert on April 9th, which was the culmination of months of hard work. The main difference between this INOCON and the previous editions was that the concert would in fact be in-person for the first time, while simultaneously being livestreamed. This presented a new challenge as I needed to incite people in Valencia to attend in person instead of having them choose the livestream, which was targeted towards an international audience at this point. As the Marketing and Social Media Manager, my main tasks included content creation, managing different communication channels, maintaining audience interaction high, conducting a post-conference survey and analyzing the end-of-conference data.
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SWAP Music Publishing: Business Plan
Páton Hardy
2022This project outlines the business plan for my music publishing company that aims to focus on integrating sync and TikTok to find new and creative ways to generate revenue, achieve sync placements, and utilize TikTok as a means for promotion. Viral songs on TikTok often translate over into film and television, while songs appearing in film and television achieve much of their popularity through TikTok virality. In building this business plan, I wanted to incorporate TikTok development as an arm of the company that helps artists come up with unique and creative ways to use the platform as a stepping stone for success in the sync world, whether that be coming up with compelling trends or collaborating with other artists and songwriters on the platform. While carrying out the services of a traditional publishing company, we offer creative admin deals that give artists flexibility and range while allowing us to be hands-on in the creative and promotional process as a publishing entity. In this business plan I have outlined key points of distinction between my publishing company and others, an in-depth look at our core functions and values, evidence into the growth and expansion of the independent music publishing sector, along with detailed financial projections for the company.
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INOCON '22 - Technical Manager
Tarajee Karriem
2022INOCON is a yearly conference focusing on the intersection of music and technology. The conference is a means of connecting the Berklee student body to industry professionals and for the general public to participate in cutting-edge conversations. INOCON began as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The conference was a fully online event that hosted a variety of industry experts discussing the future of the music industry and musical acts from the Berklee Valencia community. It has since been a part of the Berklee Valencia framework as a means for students to understand and execute a long-form project. INOCON ‘22 was the 3rd edition of the conference. As Technical Manager, I was tasked with aiding the team with technical support and being the bridge between the INOCON Team and Berklee Valencia Technology Team. The primary focus of my role was to facilitate the live stream, manage the Post Production Team, set and create audiovisual standards, and build and maintain the INOCON website. By taking on this role, I challenged myself to develop my skills as a communicator, web developer, and managerial organizer.
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Metalive
Antonia Katcharov
2022The following Business Plan outlines the details of the next 5 years of operation for MetaLive; a Limited Liability company that focuses on the development and publishing of a video game that will host virtual concerts and other events in a virtual world, where the players can interact with their friends and participate to activities together. When Covid 19 put a halt on any kind of social interactions, millions of concerts were cancelled. The Live music sector of the music industry was badly hit, and one of the major income streams for the music industry slowly disappeared, heavily damaging the state of the industry. Artists saw 70% of their revenues disappear due to the cancellation of their shows and faced serious limitations in the way they could interact and connect with their fans. To find an alternative to performances and reduce the damages done to the industry, companies started innovating and thanks to the recent technology advancements, artists found news ways to perform and stay relevant through new kinds of performances: in-game performances. The pandemic helped the discovery and development of these new types of performances, that have the potential to offer an incredible augmented and immersive experience to the audience and the possibility for artists to welcome their fans in a virtual world created and built to their image. Despite the many conversations on the topic, in-game performances are not an alternative to real live performances and should not be treated as such. They come with new benefits and offer a completely different kind of experience to the audience. While these innovations are still “new”, it is important to stay ahead of the curve and keep exploring these new opportunities. Many different companies have started investing in live streaming and/or new VR technologies to create new experiences for fans during the pandemic (Tomorrowland, Coachella 360, The wave XR, Fortnite, etc…). The ones that already had concerts in the metaverse have had viewership numbers in the millions. However, most of them only occasionally hold concerts and only provide these opportunities to big artists. Till today, “small” artists do not have access to the metaverse to perform. For that reason, I am building MetaLive’s business plan. MetaLive’s goal is to build the bridge between these small artists and the metaverse to give them new tools to develop their brand, showcase their music and connect with their fans in an innovative way.
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Analysis of Spotify’s Podcast Play: Identifying the Opportunities and Challenges in Growing the Podcast Format
Nathaniel Klause
2022With podcast advertising revenue out-growing forecasts and media platforms creating strategies and teams around the audio format, it is evident that an increasing amount of attention is on podcast markets and creators. The recent developments in podcasts over the past four years indicate the belief in the future value of the format. Audio platforms and streaming services have recognized the potential of podcasts as a way to capture more time spent on their services and ad revenue from their content. Although podcasts are leading the hype around audio streaming services and are playing a part in driving an audio renaissance, audience sizes are still not meeting expectations. Audio streaming platforms, led by Spotify, have addressed this issue by implementing various new audio features and partnerships. However, the challenge remains of drawing new listeners and keeping them engaged with the format by encouraging them to find and listen to new shows.
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INOCON 2022
Ankita Elizabeth Mathew
2022Project Summary As the Production Manager of INOCON, I will be the primary in charge of organizing the performances during the conference and the live concert at the end of the conference. In addition to being the person who will organize the talent search and selection, in coordination with the different stakeholders at the school, I will also take care of the production needs of the acts. Apart from my primary responsibilities, I will also work with the core team to put together the vision and general structure to INOCON 2022. This would include giving my input on all aspects of the whole conference.
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Disability Inclusion: A Look Into Where the Music Industry Currently Stands and Where It Can Improve
Valerie Maybaum
2022The purpose of this paper is to examine the lack of disability inclusion within the United States music industry. In 2022, there has been an uptick in disability awareness and inclusion within the US music industry; however, it is lagging behind what other countries and industries are doing in this space. We examine the current state of disability inclusion along with what companies that are associated with the US music industry can do to improve. The research is focused on the three pillars of Awareness, Attitude, and Accessibility; referred to as the “Three A’s.” While there are a number of other factors that might also be considered pillars in disability inclusion, these three will be looked at in-depth to determine how awareness can be raised, attitudes can be changed, and accessibility can be prioritized in order to have a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive industry. Through a series of interviews and review of existing literature, along with survey data, the research will help further identify what the US music industry can do to progress and become a more diverse and inclusive industry for both those working in the industry and consumers.
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Kumo Records: The first meta culture record label
Emma Neveux
2022My business plan outlines the details of the launch of the independent record label: Kumo Records. This company is an SARL that provides musical artist the opportunity to create and explore new music genres, build projects that embed more than one creative medium, connect with creatives around the world as well as engage and collaborate in innovative ways with their fans on a global scale. Our objective as a record label is to curate new sounds by targeting unique emerging artists internationally and create a common sphere between the audience the artists themselves through the advent of Web3. It presents a detailed plan of the company environment, market analysis, financial projections and plan of action for Kumo Records.
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Zusembler: International Music Management Consulting
Carlyssa Reilly
2022Zusembler is an international artist consulting agency with the core mission of bringing the right people together to assist in exporting independent artists from the US into new territories. With headquarters located in Berlin, Germany, Zusembler acts as a bridge connecting US artists to a hub in the European music market. The objective of this company is to empower rising artists to grow their international audience while simultaneously educating their teams on specific tactics to practice when outside of the US. The following plan outlines the specifics of Zusembler from its core beliefs and target audience to the predicted income and pricing policy. This business plan includes an operational case study with an American artist, Jack Van Cleaf, and incorporates plans for focusing on territories in Europe, starting specifically in France, Holland, Germany, and Ireland. By working on this practice subject, Zusembler has been able to refine its offers for clientele while gaining credibility within the artist community. Within the next 5 years, Zusembler has the potential to see immense growth as more artists begin to expand beyond their traditional borders.
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To what extent can data de-risk A&R signings? An A&R speculative framework of TikTok-based signings in 2022
Serena Safieddine Tazi
2022This project aims to establish the scope in which social media data plays a considerable role in A&R signings in 2022, from the discovery to the management of new talent; and evaluate the risks associated with said signings. The study dissects the paradigm shift in artist discovery following the digital transformation of the music industry and predominance of social media, within the context of the attention economy. The re-definition of what is seen as ‘talent’ in 2022 is therefore introduced and the importance of virality in data-based signings is discussed; in addition to an evaluation of the role of data in offering record contracts (data collected across all social media and streaming platforms). A specific focus is given to TikTok metrics, as a highly relevant social media platform within the attention economy, and a source of considerable major record deals since 2020. The risks associated with signings resulting from going viral on Tiktok are covered, aiming to grasp the success rate of specific artists and assessing talent originality. Hence the research question of this study: To what extent can Data de-risk A&R signings? Based on 13 interviewees from the UK, US and Canada and a quantitative analysis of TikTok-based major signings in 2020, this paper introduces an A&R speculative Framework, aiming to assess the risks associated with the signings based solely on TikTok virality. It presents a music-factors vs a data-factors based analysis, to better grasp the decisions behind the multi-millions dollars record deals. The results conclude that although virality offers short-term visibility on both social media and funnels to DSPs, it does not constitute a strong enough argument for return on investment of multi-million dollar desks. Indeed, out of all the artists analyzed in this study, the only ones managing to keep consistent streaming numbers are the ones who display strong music-factors, and respond to a more traditional approach of A&R. Therefore, data helps in filtering the thousands of songs released everyday, and in calculating the risks associated with a new signing in the short term, but does not de-risk nor predict the long term potential of an artist.
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Smarter Distribution, Effective Outreach
Juan Camilo Sarassa Vargas
2022This project lays out the work done this year as the Head of Distribution, Production and New Business carried out this year. The project centers around how this position impacted Disrupción Records’ operation and how the different processes were carried out. Disrupción Records is Berklee Valencia’s student run record label, providing record label services to emerging artists in an artist-friendly manner. From its inception in 2015, Disrupción has amassed more than 70 releases, and will continue to be one of the most successful student-run labels around the world. During this operational process, there were a number of steps taken to ensure a successful result. From creating guidelines documents to delivery calendars, the production process was a pivotal part of this role. Later, I was tasked with manually managing the delivery to The Orchard, our distribution party and troubleshooting any release issues that we may have. This project is still ongoing and will be until about October of 2022, but I’m glad to say that the groundwork laid out for the next Executive Team will be strong and useful.
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Gender Diversity in the Music Industry - How is the Music Industry dealing with Gender Disparity?
Raquel Serra
2022The purpose of this research is to investigate reasons behind gender disparity in the music industry and the efforts being done to counter it. This study will approach the wider structures of gender stereotypes and occupational segregation in society, and dive in specifically in the music industry’s gender gaps to understand masculine hegemony in the sector, relying both on literature and quantitative data collected in the recent past in Europe, the UK and the USA. The paper will also investigate historical feminist resistance methods for participation and space-claiming, such as the Riot Grrrl scene and the creation of girls-only spaces, followed by an overview of the historical exclusion of genderqueer individuals from these scenes. The literature review is supported by interviews with music industry experts in the subject of diversity, equity and inclusion.
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Sessioms
Christian Sessoms
2022My project is Sessioms, a one stop booking platform that allows you to get all of your musical needs, a place that’s consistent in quality. Every industry is getting acclimated to the digital age but it always seems that the music industry is behind, I want to propose a way to scale word of mouth. Word of mouth is a strong method of networking, this is why every skill of the freelance creatives will need to be verified. This verification will be done through an automated tracking system for each creative who applies. Unlike our competitors we won’t limit ourselves to one side of the industry this is a music all platform all you need to join is to be qualified, and to really be passionate about your career. This project is not feasible because of the risks that are beyond a person’s skill level; things like professionalism and compatibility. These are risks that can ruin the brand of the platform. This company is not solving an issue but more so offering an alternative option to the way the industry operates but my data proved that most people are satisfied with their network system that’s in place now.
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Disrupción Records: Head of Marketing and Branding
Alexa Silverman
2022This Culminating Experience defense discusses the scope of the work of my role as the Head of Marketing and Branding for Disrupción records, Berklee Valencia’s student run record label. This year the label took a Community Based Marketing approach, this CE discussed the impact this strategy had on the label, our imprints, and our artists.
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Way Up High Business Plan
Samuel Skold
2022The following business plan outlines my company Way Up High, which is an inclusive entertainment company devoted to uplifting queer artists in Upstate South Carolina. The different branches of the company will include the independent record label and the management/A&R consultancy for new artists. Serving the whole Upstate region of South Carolina, it will be based in my home in Greenville, South Carolina where there is also a professional home recording studio. Our objective as a company is to serve an underrepresented population in the music industry and give opportunities to musicians that haven’t had the chance to due to their identity or economic status. We want to create a community of like-minded individuals and uplift them, their stories, and their music, jumpstarting their careers as musicians while increasing their revenue streams. While we will of course welcome allies of the LGBTQ+ community to be signed to the label and be our clients, we will have a focus of searching for queer artists to help with the industry imbalance.
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Digital Transformation in Live Music: Technology, Data, and the Modern Music Venue
Adam Smith
2022Technology is changing the live music industry faster than ever. The past decade has seen an immense increase in innovation in the live events technology sector, but music venues and festivals have unique set of challenges to integrating these technologies. This research paper attempts to understand and analyze these challenges by applying digital transformation frameworks to the results of interviews with industry experts. Using these results and analysis as a guide, emerging solutions and trends are highlighted, and a digital maturity model for the modern music venue is proposed and discussed.
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Do You Copy? How D.I.Y. Songwriters Decipher Copyright in the Digital Age
Ava Swanson
2022This study emerges from the era of the Music Modernization Act (2018), a sociopolitical moment which sees the United States government and the music industry at large collaborating to update music copyright procedures to meet the demands of the digital age. The research itself was contracted by the United States Copyright Office in collaboration with Berklee Valencia as a means of improving the Copyright Office’s outreach to the American independent music scene. The purpose of the research was to explore what DIY musicians (mis)understand about copyright, the Music Modernization Act, and the newly-established Mechanical Licensing Collective. To address the research questions, a hybrid of qualitative focus groups and quantitative survey techniques were utilized. The results demonstrate a fundamental lack of understanding about copyright amongst independent musicians due to structural barriers. Additionally, unhelpful attitudes and widespread misinformation further alienate these creators from the copyright process. However, the research findings posit solutions like barrier reduction and cultural shifts to enable DIY musicians to access the copyright space. More research is required to further determine how to engage independent artists in copyright, and the current research lays a framework for how to move forward in that process.
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Disrupción Records Head of Legal and Business Affairs
Anne van der Erve
2022As my culminating experience project, I had the opportunity to take on the role of Head of Legal and Business Affairs at Disrupción Records. Legally, I have supported our label and imprints by drafting and revising different agreements, creating supportive materials such as deal memos and a licensing revenue splits sheet, taking care of termination requests and any legal issues, and overseeing and guiding artists’ negotiations and signings. Financially, I have contributed through financial reporting, budgeting and overseeing our financial arrangements and spending.
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Nikko Records Showcase Event
Stepan Voracek
2022This paper described the process of organizing a live event on behalf of Disrupcion Records’ imprint, Nikko Records with 3 DJs, 1 virtual artist (Hatsune Miku)and a video mapping in Valencia, Spain. First, I aimed to describe what the meaning behind the project was as well as what ancillary goals this project had. Then, by going over each step of the process I described the details about booking the venue, picking the artists and collaborating with foreign companies. Furthermore, I go over the promotion efforts that were made, the challenges I had to face and finally the outcomes and results. With this project I tried to broaden my horizons in booking acts I had no experience working with in a completely new environment and tried to bring people to listen to new types of music they may not have been familiar with. I believe this project will show future students the challenges of creating a live event from scratch with limited resources in a foreign country.
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Paid the Cost to be the Boss: Reflections on Leading Berklee’s Disrupción Records
Julianne Wilson
2022As my Culminating Experience, I acted as CEO / Label Manager of the student label Disrupción Records. In this role, I had the privilege and opportunity to oversee a team of seventeen students and six imprints, and to facilitate the release of over thirty tracks from twelve artists hailing from eight different countries. With the support of Disrupción’s executive team, the Berklee professors and administration, and the record practicum family, we were able to create a robust and eclectic community of powerhouse musicians and curious music business professionals and to provide plenty of space for trial and error.
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The state of cross-border music collaborations between Chinese and international artists
Yuanjun Yu
2022Since China’s entry into the top 10 recorded music markets around the world in 2017, a number of high-profile cross-border collaborations have occurred amongst established artists across mainland China and the international market. This research paper aims to explore and understand recorded music collaborations between Chinese and international artists from 2017 onward using a mixed approach of content analyses, interviews, and case studies. While many recent collaborations have been done to promote international artists in China, certain players in the cross-cultural space are pushing towards more balanced collaborations that will also bring Chinese artists international recognition. Ultimately, collaborations between artists from within and outside of China serve to expand the collaborators’ fan bases in new territories and acts as a medium for cultural exchange.
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INOCON
Tesi Zito
2022INOCON is a music and technology conference that brings together young professionals and industry leaders. It is a hub that generates meaningful conversations around innovation and explores cutting edge technologies that impact the future of music businesses. It also provides a platform for Berklee artists to showcase divergent music performances for attendees around the world. This event began in July 2020 and kicked off Berklee’s first online conference, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was organized conjointly by GEMB and MPTI programs and had two main goals: to produce a high-quality virtual experience that provides practical, forward-thinking knowledge and to give artists an opportunity to grow their careers by showcasing innovative solutions in the music industry through performances. Two years later, our team solely represents the GEMB program, and we have two new challenges to carry out: to execute Berklee’s first hybrid conference and to increase INOCON’s brand recognition and awareness. This year, INOCON22 took place between April 7th, 8th, and 9th. It consisted of two online conference days filled with 12 panels and an INOCONcert series (15-20 minute pre-recorded performances done by Berklee students). The final day was entirely dedicated to INOCONcert, our very first edition of a hybrid concert made up of Berklee students performing at the Centro del Carmen de Cultura Contemporánea Centro (the CCCC) in Valencia, Spain.
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Firqa
Mounya Abou Rahal
2021Throughout my year as a Music Business student at Berklee, I came to reflect on my own personal journey as a musician from Lebanon. I started playing classical piano at a music conservatory at a young age. After a few years, I did not have time to continue on, due to academic studies, so I decided to quit. This was the case for many of my friends. Having my education taken at a private American school in Beirut, Lebanon, I was fortunate enough to participate in a mandatory music course throughout my fifteen years as a student. After researching music education in the Middle East and North Africa, I concluded that this is the case for numerous private schools in Arab countries but not for public schools. This is a shame because there is talent in the region, but no music education access to it. Firqa is a digital platform - and an aggregator - that provides content for music education in the Middle East and North Africa. With technologies such as Virtual and Augmented Realities, courses related to music offer a fun and interactive way of learning to students and to anyone interested in learning about it. Firqa partners with music industry professionals and platforms who excel in providing content related to music. Firqa then aggregates music education related content on its platform and gives back a percentage of its shares to its partners. Firqa is distributed for free public schools in Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa first. It is also available for use to individuals who are willing to subscribe to it in order to participate and gain access to the courses.