Music Business School
The mission of Dark Horse Institute is to provide students with an accelerated, affordable and experiential learning environment designed to prepare them for a career in audio engineering, production, and the music business.
Our hands-on, mentor-based programs pair students with working industry professionals in real-world scenarios with recording studio resources, gear, and so much more.
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Music Business Program (Campus):
At Dark Horse Institute our 15-week certificate program is taught by Music Industry Professionals with more than 30 years of experience in the trenches and who know what you need to know. You’ll learn about artist management, record deals, touring, and publishing plus, all of the key contracts you need to understand to work with artists or to launch your own career as Producer, Songwriter, Recording Artist and Touring Professional.
Like our Audio Engineering program, Dark Horse Music Business is taught in an immersive, real-world setting to help you enter the world of Music Business with a competitive edge. In just three months, you’ll be ready to either land a job or start your own entertainment company, plus you’ll leave here with a portfolio of projects that prove to potential employers that you’ve got both the know-how and the hands-on experience to succeed.
The Music Business Program is a 15-week, 375-hour program divided into 12 courses plus practicum.
Note: A laptop computer with Microsoft Office is required for the program.
Music Business Program (Online):
Our unique certificate program is a combination of high-quality pre-produced lessons and live mentorship with an industry veteran instructor. It’s a flexible deep dive into how the entertainment industry really operates and a perfect fit for busy schedules.
Our 20-week online course follows the journey of an artist and their team from obscurity through negotiating deals at the highest levels. We explore marketing, social media, branding, building a team, contracts, merchandising, and touring. We explore DIY, Indie, and Major Record Labels, as well as the worlds of publishing, distribution, and Motion Picture Sync.
The course is loaded with unique work-around-your-schedule lessons. When combined with twice weekly two-hour Live Online classes with an industry veteran instructor and mentor, the Music Business Online course will help you enter the industry with a competitive edge. When it comes to getting an education in the Music Business, there are surprisingly few options that are both practical and affordable. We don’t believe in weighing you down with potentially crushing student loan debt or wasting your time with courses that will never be of any practical use in your career.
The Music Business Online Program is a 20-week, 300-hour program divided into 20 modules plus multiple real-world projects.
Note: A laptop computer with Microsoft Office is required for the program.
Join the Music Industry
Like our other courses, our online music business program is taught in a real-world, no-nonsense, immersive setting to help you enter the entertainment industry with a competitive edge. When it comes to getting an education in the Music Business, there are surprisingly few options that are both practical and affordable. Dark Horse Institute is that option!
Dark Horse Music Group
Our Music Business program offers students the unique opportunity to manage new bands through our own indie Label. Dark Horse Music Group is is based in Nashville, the heart of the music industry. This cooperative is run exclusively by students where you will gain hands-on experience representing the diverse local music community.
Career Opportunities
That's the bottom line. When you combine your business education with an entrepreneurial mindset there are no limits to your career opportunities. Artist Management, Booking & Touring, A&R, Digital Marketing & Distribution, Music Publishing, Entertainment Law & Finance and many, many more...
Pitch Perfect
Our Music Business programs will take you behind the scenes where your class will PITCH an artist to the head of a major record label and the A & R Department.
Nothing is more important than receiving hands-on, real-world experience. Using all the tools available, you will scout out talent which has the potential to take it all the way.
Dark Horse Music Group
In our programs, you’ll work with Dark Horse Music Group, a student-run recording, marketing and project management company. Using digital marketing platforms, you’ll scout and sign indie bands, and prepare them for the production of 6-song EPs recorded by our audio engineering students on-site in Franklin, TN, just outside of Nashville. You’ll also develop the web and social media marketing tools that are essential to launching a career.
You'll find our GRADUATES working with some of the most celebrated artists in the world.
Dark Horse Institute is authorized for operation as a postsecondary education institution by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. In order to view detailed job placement and graduation information on the programs offered by Dark Horse Institute, please visit http://tn.gov/thec/topic/authorized-institutions-data and click on the Authorized Institutions Data.