The Curriculum
Everything you need to know
Books
All You Need to Know About the Music Business
Donald S. Passman
If you read one book before entering this industry, make it this one. Dubbed the industry bible by the Los Angeles Times, Passman's guide has been the definitive resource for everyone in the music business across thirty years and over half a million copies sold. Start here.
Buy on Amazon →The Spotify Play
Sven Carlsson & Jonas Leijonhufvud
The inside story of how Daniel Ek built Spotify into the world's dominant music streaming platform — beating Apple, Google, and Amazon in the process. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how the streaming era reshaped the music industry, what it took to get the major labels to sign on, and how one company rewrote the rules of how music is distributed and monetized. If streaming is the business model, this is how it was won.
Buy on Amazon →
Powerhouse
James Andrew Miller
The definitive oral history of Creative Artists Agency — the talent agency that rewrote the rules of Hollywood and the entertainment business. Built by five agents who left William Morris in 1975, CAA went on to represent the biggest names in film, television, music, and sports while reshaping how deals get made across the entire industry. If you want to understand how power, relationships, and leverage actually work in entertainment, this is the book. Required reading for anyone headed into talent representation, management, or the business side of media.
Buy on Amazon →
Hit Men
Fredric Dannen
A raw, investigative deep-dive into the power brokers who ran the American music industry during its wildest decades — the payola, the backroom deals, the egos, and the organized crime connections. Dannen traces the rise of the major labels from Tin Pan Alley to the CD era, exposing how hits were made and who really controlled the charts. Ranked second on Billboard's list of the 100 Greatest Music Books of All Time. If you want to understand where the industry's power structures came from, start here.
Buy on Amazon →
How Music Works
David Byrne
Talking Heads founder David Byrne breaks down music from every angle — its history, its business, its technology, and its culture. From how recording technology changed the way we create and consume music, to how venues shape the sounds that get made in them, to the economics of the modern music industry, Byrne covers it all with the perspective of someone who has lived it. Part autobiography, part music theory, part industry manual — and one of the most illuminating books ever written about what music actually is and how it functions in the world.
Buy on Amazon →
The Master Switch
Tim Wu
Columbia Law professor Tim Wu traces the history of every major information industry — telephone, radio, film, television, and the internet — and reveals a consistent pattern: every open, chaotic medium eventually gets captured by a monopoly. The question he asks is whether the internet will follow the same fate. For anyone in music or entertainment who wants to understand the structural forces shaping streaming, platform power, and the future of media distribution, this book is the framework. Wu coined the term 'net neutrality' — and this is where he explains why it matters.
Buy on Amazon →Podcasts
Essential listening for anyone serious about the industry
The New Music Business with Ari Herstand
Ari Herstand
Music Business
The best all-around music business podcast. Webby Award winner, named #1 music industry podcast by Spotify. Herstand deconstructs the brightest minds in the music industry — executives, managers, lawyers, founders, and independent artists — digging into the tools and strategies that actually work. Covers music rights, streaming, touring, AI, publishing, and management. Practical, actionable, and no fluff. Start here.
Music Business Worldwide Podcast
Tim Ingham
Industry Insider
The closest thing to an insider podcast for the global music industry. MBW founder Tim Ingham interviews CEOs, label executives, and the architects of major music deals — covering catalog acquisitions, streaming economics, music M&A, and investment trends. If you want to work at an agency, private equity firm, or anywhere in entertainment investing, this is essential listening.
And The Writer Is... with Ross Golan
Ross Golan
Publishing & Songwriting
The definitive podcast on songwriting and music publishing. Every week Ross Golan sits down with hit songwriters to go behind closed doors on how the music actually gets made — publishing deals, A&R, label relationships, and the creative process. Guests include Jack Antonoff, FINNEAS, Niall Horan, and hundreds more. Essential for anyone interested in publishing, A&R, or the creative side of the business.
Trapital
Dan Runcie
Strategy & Culture
One of the best business podcasts covering music, media, tech, and the creator economy. Dan Runcie breaks down the strategy behind the biggest moves in music and entertainment — streaming economics, live business, catalog deals, AI, and hip-hop as a business model. Especially valuable if you want to work at WME, CAA, Spotify, or in entertainment investing. Think of it as an MBA for the culture.
The Town with Matt Belloni
Matt Belloni
Entertainment Business
Arguably the best entertainment business podcast running right now. Puck founding partner Matt Belloni takes you inside Hollywood — agencies, streaming wars, sports, music, executive moves, and the deals that shape the industry. Multiple episodes per week, all with major executives, dealmakers, and journalists. If you want a career in entertainment business broadly, this is almost required listening.