Is music business for me?

[swamy_g]

Hi,

I'm from India and I'm thinking of applying to the MA program in Music Business @ Steinhardt (NYU). I have over 2+ (3 years next fall) in Software development and have a Bachelors degree in computer sciene. I've always had a longing to work in the music business but I still can't figure out if I'd fit in there. Pursuing an MA grad degree would be a major deviation from my technical career and I have some apprehensions about it. I'd really like to work on digital music and Internet based music distribution & delivery. This is where I think my technical background could help me. I deeply appreciate your comments, please let me know on whatever you think. Thanks.

[USF_Rockstar]

This don't think this is something we can answer here. I suggest setting up an appointment with a career counselor. Good luck.

[swamy_g]

Thanks for the reply? Can this career counselling be done online? I checked out nyu.edu and cannot find the appropriate link. Thanks again.

[Nofia]

career counseling is generally an in-person thing, and wouldn't be something you'd get from a prospective school. You might go back to the school where you earned your BA to see if they have career counseling services, and then make an appointment to speak with someone there. If you aren't sure the music business is for you yet, then jumping into a grad program (especially an expensive one like NYU) probably isn't the way to find out. Why not try an internship first if you can find one? then at least you'll know if you have a real interest/talent for it before you invest time and money in a degree. You may actually find you don't need a graduate degree for that field so much as you need work experience.

[docstudent]

First, a few thoughts about this program: [cons] admissions don't seem very competitive (no GMAT/GRE required), tuition and living in NY is expensive, only 12/54 credits of the degree are within the business school; [pros] close proximity to several major music companies, strong emphasis on music, good overall university.

Regarding more info, their site says "Please call the Music and Performing Arts office at 212-998-5424 to schedule a phone or in-office appointment with one of our faculty advisors. You can also email musicbusiness.gradinfo@nyu.edu to ask about contacting a current student or alum, based on availability." You need to find out where their alumni have gotten jobs, talk to some of them and see if they think the degree helped them or if they would have gone a different direction, and talk with the current students listed on their website.

Ideally, identify a few companies you'd like to work for someday and find out what they look for in their hires: MA Music Business? MBA? MA Music? MS Comp Sci? etc.

In summary, spending a week or two to really investigate your options and determine what you really want and how you can achieve it will save you a lot of time and money in the long run. Best wishes!

[swamy_g]

Thanks for all your replies. I emailed them and they were quick in their response. They have answered part of my questions about internships and general career prospects. But I'm still not clear about their stand on financial support towards International applicants. I need a small favor, I'm having trouble calculating the overall cost of the program. Based on the information available here:

http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/graduate_admissions/tuition

http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/music/busines ... culum#grad

I've calculated the tuition alone to be 54 (total credits) x $1,149 (cost per credit) = $62,046

Is this the correct estimate? Please understand that from where I come we do not have this cost per credit system.

Thanks for your help.

[MAN]

Just looking at tuition, I'd say that it will cost you about $60,000 for the entire program (approximately $15,000 per semester for 4 semesters or 2 years). This figure doesn't take into account the cost of living (i.e. housing, food, health care, etc.). Also, the school can reduce the tuition costs as part of their financial aid package (if they give you one).

From what I've seen, this is a pretty average cost of tuition. If you look around you'll find some that are higher and some that are lower.

I'd say go ahead and apply to the school and see what kind of financial aid you end up getting (I'm assuming you are a great candidate and will get accepted and get aid). At that point you will have a better idea of what it will actually cost to attended. Then you can take the cost of attendance and compare it to the benefits of the education (i.e. higher pay over your career, getting a job you like, etc.).