Introduction to the
following program Reflection:
The following is a brief reflection of they key information
that was learned in the Masters of Science in Entertainment Business at Full
Sail University. There is no way that a
paragraph a piece does justice to all of the great experiences learned both at
the academic and practical level, but it is a great overview.
The following is the
Master’s Degree reflection:
Media Literacy and Research Methodologies: This course set the foundation for all of
what was coming in the following months.
A concentration area was chosen, tools on physical and digital research
were given, and a culminating research paper composed. In this class I got to research via all of
the electronic library tools and other methods, the area of music
licensing. This served as the primary
platform for the rest of the program.
Executive Leadership:
This second course in the program exposed me to 2 of the best books I
have ever read: The 48 Laws of Power,
and Developing The Leader Within You. I
got to research a local leader in my industry, and needless to say, the area of
interest chosen for the program changed a bit from music licensing to music
production. The interviews presented by
Mr. Cook, the program director were extremely inspiring.
Project and Team Management:
This was the third course. It
actually got us to work in a team-oriented project. It also introduced us to Google docs, and
Yammer (a professional Full Sail networking community). It started narrowing down a possible
inventory for the final business project and ideal, as well as a realistic
budget for it. It was very exciting to
see that most of the things I needed for my production company, I already
had. It also exposed us to other
students that had the same interests.
Business Storytelling and Brand Development: An absolute delight of a class! This class taught us how to develop a
branding strategy. It also taught us
quite a bit about other very useful PR techniques. It was in this class that the project started
to take form and color literally. I also
made a very important professional connection in this course. An international PR personality (Ariel
Hyatt), whom was introduced via the course material, accepted a LinkedIn
connection.
Entertainment Business Finance: As having an undergraduate degree in
accounting and also having professional experience in the field, this class was
a great refresher course. The class was
made very relevant and interesting by the professor. I also learned some new ways in which to perform
ratio analysis, therefore giving a better spec of the business and industry. We also got introduced to the world of crowd
funding, and various ways of funding our projects were learned.
Negotiation and Deal Making:
This course was perhaps the most challenging of the program. It was extremely technical and practical at
the same time. It taught me to hold the
emotional baggage in its very independent place when negotiating with
someone. We also got paired with other
students in order to mock a negotiating agreement.
Product and Artist Management: This course got us thinking about more
sources of revenue in the industry. My
eyes got really open to other forms of income.
In this class, I even started to play with the idea of continuing with
my book project, and another product made specifically for guitarists. Well, needless to say, it made me connect
with another industry great via the Artist House Management YouTube channel
(Robert DeFazio). The class and teacher
walked us through a live event preparation and completion. All of the prior knowledge had to be part of
the project and I got to learn a ton!
Advanced Entertainment Law:
Truly one of the most enjoyable classes for me! I heard it would be one of the most
challenging ones, and although it was, I completely aced it! The class and teacher made the class very interesting
and relevant to my industry. We chose
groups. According to such group areas,
we would complete the projects. I was
introduced here to the ITunes University and all of their resources. Very informative and empowering as far as
knowing “where” to find clearing information.
Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution: This class was a true gem! We started to research the most up to date
distribution channels available in the entertainment industry overall. Then, we got specific about our own
industries, and started a Google doc that would continuously get updated with
very much professional resources and contacts for publishing and
distribution. This class made me realize
of the common core that exists among all of the specific areas of the
entertainment industry. It also made me
realize that there are free and low cost distribution and publishing
services. The final Google doc that we
created in the music group was impressive.
I still use it, and will use it for years to come!
Digital Marketing:
This class was just so informative, that it turned overwhelming after a
while. The teacher really made it easy
to understand. It gave me a clear
glimpse at topics like SEO, Internet Marketing, etc. The final project had a pre-project attached
to it that served me for the next two courses.
I realized as well that Marketing was one of the most important factors
in my business plan.
Business Plan Development:
This class tied it all together.
The most impressive part of it and most useful, was the fact that one
got to complete the actual plan in one month.
There was a lot of writing, but a lot of learning as well. One of the most important aspects of the class
was the preparation of the financials.
All of the reports that were relevant to the business plan got prepared
here! At the end, the professor gave
feedback and projection for the business.
Very useful!
Final Project:
Business Plan: This final class
was perhaps the most comprehensive one.
All of what we had learned from the prior classes got applied and even
cited many times by the professor. It
went hand in hand with the prior class with a slight difference. Here, we actually tied all of the pieces
together and submitted the complete business plan from beginning to end in one
shot. We learned a lot about several
organizations that share specific statistical information on any industry and
this help solidify present and future research.
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