Recording Industry, Commercial Songwriting Concentration, B.S.

Admission to Candidacy

Students are required to be admitted to candidacy to earn a degree as Recording Industry majors in the College of Mass Communication and as a prerequisite to enrollment in most upper-division courses within the college. To apply for candidacy, a student must have

1. completed all academic enrichment requirements;
2. completed all high school deficiencies;
3. completed 45 hours (not to include academic enrichment courses);
4. completed the math requirement (College Algebra or higher level math) with a minimum 2.00 (C) grade;
5. completed candidacy courses (JOUR 1020 /EMC 1020 /RIM 1020 ; RIM 3000 , RIM 3010 , RIM 3600 ) with a minimum 2.00 (C) grade in each;
6. maintained good standing (not on probation).

The department will open a limited number of candidacy slots in the concentrations each year. Candidacy will be granted three times per year, after the end of the Fall and Spring Semesters and Summer Term. Students may choose a dual concentration. Changing concentrations will require a reapplication to candidacy. Eighty-five percent of available slots in each concentration will be awarded based on the candidacy formula score. The candidacy formula can be found the department website, http://recordingindustry.mtsu.edu/current.html.

Fifteen percent of available slots in each concentration will be awarded based on a faculty committee recommendation on an appeal application. Appeal applications will be accepted after formula slots have been announced early in the Fall and Spring Semester and Summer Term. Appeal recommendations will be based on exceptional circumstances and/or exceptional talent and/or diversity considerations.

Applications for admission to candidacy are available at the Recording Industry Department office and should be submitted by students during the semester in which they will have completed the foregoing requirements.

Students may not take other RIM courses, with the exception of the candidacy requirements, RIM 1230  and RIM 3650 , until they have successfully completed admission to candidacy.

Required Courses (18 hours)

• EMC 1020 - American Media and Social Institutions 3 credit hours OR
• JOUR 1020 - American Media and Social Institutions 3 credit hours OR
• RIM 1020 - American Media and Social Institutions 3 credit hours

• (Counts as Social/Behavioral Sciences requirement)

•  

• RIM 3000 - History of the Recording Industry 3 credit hours

•  

• RIM 3010 - Audio Fundamentals 3 credit hours OR
• RIM 3011 - Survey of Audio Technology 3 credit hours

•  

• RIM 3600 - Survey of the Recording Industry 3 credit hours
• RIM 3700 - Copyright Law 3 credit hours
• RIM 4700 - Contracts and Legal Issues 3 credit hours

Sub‑core (15 hours)

• RIM 1230 - Musicianship for Engineers 3 credit hours
• RIM 3020 - Commercial Songwriting 3 credit hours
• RIM 3900 - Music Publishing 3 credit hours
• RIM 4020 - Advanced Songwriting 3 credit hours

Electives (15 hours)

• RIM 3100 - Music as Popular Culture 3 credit hours
• RIM 3200 - History of Country Music 3 credit hours
• RIM 3450 - Advanced Musicianship for Engineers 3 credit hours
• RIM 3500 - Lecture Series 1 credit hour
• RIM 3580 - RIM Practicum 1 to 3 credit hours *
• RIM 3720 - Artist Management 3 credit hours
• RIM 4000 - Recording Industry Internship: Business 1 to 6 credit hours *
• RIM 4010 - Recording Industry Internship: Technology 1 to 6 credit hours *
• RIM 4190 - Introduction to MIDI and Sound Synthesis 3 credit hours
• RIM 4200 - Digital Audio Technology 3 credit hours
• RIM 4210 - Personal Desktop Music Production 3 credit hours
• RIM 4320 - Concert Promotion and Touring 3 credit hours
• RIM 4400 - Recording Studio Techniques 3 credit hours
• RIM 4440 - Critical Listening 3 credit hours
• RIM 4510 - Study Abroad 1 to 3 credit hours
• RIM 4800 - Understanding the Nashville Music Business-Past and Future 3 credit hours
• RIM 4810 - Topics in Recording Industry 1 to 3 credit hours

• Only 6 hours of RIM 4810 can be used to count in elective area.

• RIM 4840 - Music Publishing Administration 3 credit hours
• RIM 4900 - Individual Problems in the Recording Industry 1 to 3 credit hours

NOTE:

*No more than 6 hours total are allowed toward the major from any combination of RIM 3580 , RIM 4000 , or RIM 4010 .

Commercial Songwriting concentration students may take up to 6 semester hours of their electives from the other concentrations in Recording Industry.

General Education Requirements

For General Education Mathematics, Recording Industry majors must take one of the following courses. MATH 1010  will not meet this requirement.

• MATH 1710 - College Algebra 3 credit hours

• OR

• MATH 1530 - Applied Statistics 3 credit hours OR
• MATH 1630 - College Mathematics for Managerial, Social, and Life Sciences 3 credit hours OR
• MATH 1720 - Plane Trigonometry 3 credit hours OR
• MATH 1730 - Pre-Calculus 4 credit hours OR

Computer Literacy Requirement

To meet the computer literacy requirement, Recording Industry majors should take one of the following courses or minor in Computer Science. CSCI 1000  will not meet this requirement.

• CSCI 1150 - Computer Orientation  3 credit hours
• INFS 2200 - Introduction to Microcomputing  3 credit hours (required for Business Administration minors)

Minors for Recording Industry Majors

All Recording Industry majors are required to complete one minor.

Commercial Songwriting concentration students must pick one minor from among Entrepreneurship , Writing , or Music .

Recommended Curriculum

Curricular listings include General Education  requirements in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences categories.

Following is a suggested pattern of study for the first two years. Students should see their advisors to develop their individual schedules. Certain prerequisites and sequences in particular major concentrations and minors require special attention.