Loyola New Orleans College of Music and Media Makes Billboard’s Top 20
(April 27, 2020) College of Music and Media is named among Billboard magazine’s “Top Music Business Schools” for 2020 – on newsstands this week. The elite list places Loyola New Orleans in excellent company, alongside music education greats including Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Belmont University’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment, and the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. These universities are training the next generation of music industry leaders.
“We’re so excited. We’ve been doing great work for a long time, so it’s wonderful to be recognized for the incredible work our faculty and students do,” said Kern Maass, dean of the College of Music and Media. “Our relatively new Popular and Commercial Music program and new Urban and Electronic Music Production degree are growing fast and this recognition helps validate that trajectory. This news will bring more light to the innovative and exciting work we are doing.”
As celebrates 100 years of cultural and creative educational leadership in New Orleans, more than one-third of undergraduates are students in the College of Music and Media, where three professional schools serve as the educational anchor for New Orleans’ vibrant cultural economy.
The School of Music Industry, where most music business education takes place, operates within the College alongside the university’s acclaimed School of Communication and Design and School of Music and Theatre Arts − creating a wealth of opportunities for cross-collaboration and storytelling of all kinds, including marketing and brand storytelling.
At Loyola New Orleans, professional instrumentalists, vocalists, industry executives, recording engineers and producers are trained in a rich academic environment where students can roam the halls and learn from industry professionals, Grammy Award winners and internationally renowned musicians. Loyola on average, through its faculty, staff, students, and alumni, represents 50-plus acts at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival each year.
“We think about all of our School of Music Industry degrees as creative entrepreneurship degrees,” says Dr. Jeff Albert, director of the School of Music Industry. “We are helping our students develop the skills to solve problems and lead sustainable lives as performers, producers, engineers, and members of the teams that make the music industry happen.”
“We’re proud to offer laser-focused training on current topics in the music industry, while still maintaining our values-centric mission in an environment that puts students first,” says Kate Duncan, associate director of the School of Music Industry. “We ask students to think and act like professionals from day-one of their college career and then provide the facilities, real-world touchpoints, and collaborative space needed to build their professional lives around their musical passion.”
Recent alumni of the School of Music Industry include world-renowned hip-hop artist Gerald “G-Eazy” Gillum, ‘11, renowned hip-hop producer Christoph Andersson ‘14, and Carter Lang, ’14, who produced Post-Malone’s twice-Grammy nominated “Sunflower,” which in 2019 was named the No. 1 downloaded song in the world by Global Spotify and spent 33 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100, tying for the record of most time spent in Hot 100’s Top 10.
In 2018, four young alumni were simultaneously named to Billboard’s “40-Under-40” list: G-Eazy; his manager, music executive Matt Bauerschmidt, ‘11; Rosa Asciolla ‘14, head of Artist & Label Marketing in North America for Spotify; and executive producer Jamil “Big Juice” Davis.
In 2017, G-Eazy, who has also been named to Fortune’s 40-Under-40 list, and renowned hip hop producer Christoph Andersson, ‘14 also made Forbes “30-Under-30” list.
These are just a few of Loyola’s acclaimed alumni making waves in the music and entertainment industries.
Students in the School of Music Industry can learn the ins and outs of the music industry and talent management, marketing and entrepreneurship with Billy O’Connell; study songwriting with Jim McCormick, a prolific staff songwriter at BMG/Chrysalis who works alongside the best in country music and in 2012 had two No. 1 songs on Billboard’s country music chart; absorb hip-hop culture and study performance with Mia X; or study film scoring with composer Jay Weigel, a distinguished composer, producer, conductor, director, and music arranger who has worked in the film and music industry for more than 30 years and seen his work appear in more than 50 films.
The faculty in the College of Music and Media together have more than 50 Grammy nominations, six Grammy awards, several Emmy awards and nominations and twoSundance awards.