American University announced today that the Business and Entertainment Program at its Kogod School of Business has been named to Billboard's 2023 Top Music Business Schools List, which recognizes the best entertainment programs across the country.
The Business and Entertainment (BAE) Program at Kogod was launched in 2013 by entertainment industry veteran John Simson. In addition to a wide variety of classes on business and entertainment, the program prioritizes experiential learning, which involves trips to entertainment hubs such as New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, and SXSW in Austin. As part of these trips, students have the opportunity to gain firsthand insight into their future careers by visiting film studios, record labels, management companies, agencies, promoters, business managers, streaming services, and more. Since its first graduating class in 2015, the BAE Program has graduated more than 200 students who have gone on to work at the highest levels of the entertainment industry around the world. For example, this year, BAE Program graduate Zack Borson, now an agent at Creative Artists Agency, was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 in Music.
The BAE Program was founded by Professor John Simson, who has decades of experience in the music and entertainment industry as a recording artist, manager, and lawyer. A leader in the battle for artists' rights and their ability to be paid for their work online, Simson was the Founder and Executive Director of SoundExchange, which has collected and distributed over $10B in royalties from internet and satellite radio services on behalf of recording artists and record labels. He also received an Emmy nomination for his music supervision of the PBS series, "American Roots Music."