Music business education in Canada: A census and developmental template

Business training programs exist at many post-secondary institutions, but those directed specifically at musicians are relatively rare. The creation of formal educational offerings in business for musicians is a recent phenomenon when compared to subjects such as performance, musicology, and pedagogy. This document focused on the situation facing musicians in Canada, with a particular emphasis on post-secondary educational offerings, because there is currently no research available regarding the number of programs or specific content in this Canadian context. The purposes of this study were twofold: (1) to catalog the current music business course offerings available at the post-secondary level in Canada, and; (2) to create a benchmark and template for use in creating or revising music business courses such that they are tailored to specific institutional and individual needs. Course offerings in music business were determined through analysis of total music course offerings at each of Canada's 77 post-secondary institutions with a music department or equivalent. Eighteen schools were determined to offer music business courses, with four others offering music business programs that combined discrete music and business courses. The data provided by each school were analyzed in a qualitative, verbal manner to identify common features and gaps in current offerings. A template was then proposed to aid institutions in creating, adapting, or marketing music business courses or programs.