Billboard, an American music industry magazine and website famous for its music charts, ranked the MTSU Department of Recording Industry, or RIM, as one of the best music business schools in the world for the 11th consecutive year.
“Billboard’s 2025 Top Music Business Schools” highlighted the MTSU Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment, particularly the RIM, among only 42 schools worldwide.
“I think we deserve that spot,” said Masia Vicent, an MTSU senior and audio production major. “We do very well in preparing students for the real world, and I’ve been able to start my career through connections that I’ve made here.”
Billboard first featured the RIM in 2013, in recognition of the program’s “entrepreneurial turn,” according to an MTSU press release. This year, Billboard particularly highlighted the support of MTSU’s programs by Scott Borchetta, founder and CEO of Big Machine Label Group.
“I am so pleased that Billboard has once again recognized the excellence of MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry,” Beverly Keel, the SBCME Dean, said in the press release. “We are grateful to Billboard for sharing our great news with its readers.”
The Billboard article defines the framework of its ranking as being based on industry recommendations, alum information, information requested from the school and decades of reporting on the various programs.
The RIM offers several opportunities to students, such as working at the Grammy Awards, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and the Country Music Awards.
“It is an honor and rewarding to be recognized by Billboard yet again,” Michelle Conceison, the RIM chair, said in a press release. “Our faculty and staff work hard to make our students’ college journey both inspiring and realistic, preparing them for what they will experience in their future entertainment careers.”
Conceison also mentioned the development of new technology in the industry and how she believes MTSU students possess the skills to utilize it.
“The coming years will demand leaders who understand technology, creativity and ethics, especially as artificial intelligence reshapes the business,” Conceison said. “I have no doubt our students will be among the innovators defining that next era.”
RIM alums have gone on to collaborate with celebrities such as Chris Young, Julien Baker, Grammy-winning songwriter Josh Kear, Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, Lady Gaga, Wiz Khalifa, Keith Urban, Jimmy Kimmel and others.
“We graduate top performers across the music industry, across genres, at a fraction of the tuition cost of other elite programs,” Conceison said.
Vicent was not disappointed by Conceison’s promise.
“I transferred here from another school because I didn’t feel like I was getting the adequate experience that I wanted,” Vicent said. “When I came to MTSU, it was because of all the high standards people had for it, and I was not let down.”
Carlee Barnhouse, a music business major at MTSU, said she chose the college due to its successes and consistent ranking on the Billboard charts.
“I originally was looking at music business schools, and I saw that MTSU was ranked really high, especially on the Billboard, so I came here, …” Barnhouse said. “It’s really exciting to see that we’ve stayed on the list for Billboard so far.”
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Billboard names MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry as a ‘Top Music Business School’ – MTSU Sidelines
