EBMS Program Reflection

Are you thinking about pursuing a master’s degree in Entertainment Business at Full Sail University? Are you curious about the courses that are provided throughout a typical academic year? For the 2013 academic year, I had the privilege to attend Full Sail University to pursue a master’s degree in entertainment business. As a proud graduate of Full Sail University, I want to take this opportunity to provide you with information about what the Entertainment Business Master’s Degree program provides and touch up on some key factors that will make each class worth your short, 1-year investment.

Media Literacy and Research Methodologies

Full Sail University begins their academic year for the Entertainment Business Master’s Degree program with the online course of Media Literacy and Research Methodologies. In this course, students are encouraged to build a personal learning network that involves using Internet tools, such as RSS feeds and social medias, to learn about the activities of particular companies within a specific industry. Students will also learn about how to use the Full Sail student webpage to access resources, such as EBSCOhost and LexisNexis, to conduct research for academic purposes. Since all research papers at Full Sail University are to be written in APA format, these resources will also help simplify the APA citing requirements that are necessary for each student paper. Overall, this course serves as a light introduction to the struggles that the students will eventually face during the course of the academic year.

Executive Leadership

In order for the students to learn about what it takes to compete among their competitors in the entertainment industry, the Executive Leadership course covers key concepts of leadership through the perspectives of authors Robert Greene and John Maxwell. Between these 2 authors, students learn about the ways to lead by power or by earning one’s trust. This will be useful, as students will become knowledgeable of how different employers govern their work environment and how one should respond to such actions.

Executive Leadership also challenges the students to put their writing and verbal skills to the test. Students will be required to conduct extensive research on an influential leader and explain why this leader is influential in APA format. The students will later have to conduct a “PechaKucha” presentation on this leader in front of the class. As a warning to all first-time students that make it to this class, be prepared to work hard.

Project and Team Management

Unlike any typical college class, this course makes use of hands on activities to educate the students on effective ways to manage a team for a project. These activities requires the students to work together and build relationships with their classmates in order to accomplish specific tasks. These tasks are often in the form of activities that involve trust and careful planning. Although this course is not like any typical college course, its innovative approach to teaching helps the students develop friendship amongst each other. Throughout the remainder of the academic year, the students will continue to apply what they have learned in this course to accomplish later group activities.

Business Storytelling and Brand Development

Since students are required to develop a business plan as their final project, the Business Storytelling and Brand Development course helps each student develop a business idea that they will commit to for the remainder of the academic year. Things that are covered in this course involve developing a personal brand statement, defining the target market, developing a logo, and developing a brand story. As this will be the first time each student develops their business idea, this course will help the students narrow down their business concept into a competent business plan.

Entertainment Business Finance

The Entertainment Business Finance course serves as an introduction to finance for first time and intermediate learners. This course will not only challenge a student to consider the financials of every aspect of his or her business plan, but it will also help the student determine if his or her business idea is profitable. Things such as calculating the cost of goods sold, determining break-even, and completing a pro-forma are covered. Despite its introductory nature, extensive research is needed in order to discover product pricing and start-up costs for opening a new business. However, the best part about committing time and effort into this course is that it allows some breathing room for when you must complete the financial section of your final business plan.

Negotiation and Deal-Making

How can you manage a successful business if you are not skilled in the art of negotiation and deal-making? Full Sail has a course that is cleverly designed to provide its students with a safe work environment to help develop their negotiation skills. Led by a lawyer that regularly volunteers as a mediator in the city’s civil court, students are given scenarios that often occur in the entertainment industry. Within these scenarios, the students will have to engage in mock negotiations with each other until a mutual agreement is made. Whether you have any knowledge about the industry or not, lessons that you will learn in this course will become useful in your day to day activities. After all, Full Sail wants to always make sure that upon graduation, all of their students get the better end of the deal when it comes to signing an agreement with an employer.

Product and Artist Management

Since the entertainment industry consists of a wide range of occupations, it is only appropriate to understand the importance of managing products, artists, and businesses in your chosen field of work. One of the greatest highlights of this course involves students pairing up with their classmates in order to develop a functional live event plan to accommodate the needs of a performing artist. Students will also learn about important documents that are often used during preparations for an event and how certain documents can protect the student and the artist from certain liabilities.

Another highlight of this course deals with product managing, product development, and product pitching. It is common for individuals to become creative and develop a product idea that can generate profit. However, many are unaware of how to make their product stand out among their competitors, especially when it comes to pitching their ideas to an investor that may help them get their product into production. Students will have to research their competitions, develop their product idea, and become innovative. Best of all, the students will be able to experience what real product and artist managers do in the entertainment industry.    

Advanced Entertainment Law

Ever wanted to learn something about law and how to protect yourself when you are out working in the entertainment industry? Full Sail offers an Advanced Entertainment Law course that covers everything you need to know on how to legally run your business and how to protect yourself from potential liabilities. Students will go over what is legal and illegal, common legal terminologies, different types of contracts, legal cases, and so much more. Taught by one of the most respected lawyers in the Orlando area, students are able to learn about the most current legal issues in the entertainment industry and engage in discussion to how it relates to the course. I promise you that once you are done with this course, you may want to consider pursing a degree in law. Despite how amazing and useful this class is, it is definitely not for the weak. Be prepared to invest time into your work!

Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution

You know that you are dealing with an accredited professional when your instructor authors your course textbook. Kimberly Craft, lawyer, historian, and author of Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution, provides firsthand information to her students about the world of publishing, along with its money making value. One of the most valuable assignments that you will complete in this course involves creating a business strategy for your print media, music, or audiovisual content. In my case, I developed an Electronic Press Kit (EPK) for an artist in New Orleans. Today, this artist uses my EPK to present to venues and promoters and have successfully acquired gigs because of it. Whatever you want to accomplish through publishing or distribution, Kim Craft has all the answers. Believe it or not, this will be one of your most favorite classes by far.

Digital Marketing

As the students would have been developing their business idea during their academic year, this digital marketing course would cover the marketing section requirements of their business plan. Students will learn how to use digital marketing channels, such as social media, search engine optimization, and other advertising methods to market their business ideas to their audiences. Students will also gain general knowledge of how to measure the success of a digital marketing campaign through the use of key performance indicators (KPI). 

To give the students an opportunity to work in groups and apply what they have learned in digital marketing with real life scenarios, the instructor will invite real clients that are looking for fresh ideas on how to vamp up their marketing campaign for their businesses. For this project, my group had the opportunity to work with Bobby Sifrit, owner of Sifrit Real Estate in Jupiter, FL. For this digital marketing campaign, we evaluated his target market, his competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, and his competitive advantage within the real estate industry. We also prepared a $10,000 marketing budget for his digital marketing campaign that involved using search engine optimization, social media, digital display advertising, affiliate marketing, and email marketing to boost his company’s brand awareness. Because of this group opportunity, my group was able to network with one of the richest individuals in southern Florida. In a world where every product and service needs a voice, Full Sail’s Digital Marketing course will provide you with valuable information on how to reach the masses!

Business Plan Development

During the homestretch of this academic year, there comes a time when the students must finalize their business idea. In the Business Plan Development course, students will combine everything that they have done throughout the academic year and organize their business idea on paper while conducting extensive research on what makes their business concept competent in a specific industry. For this course, I wrote a business plan on a nightclub that will take place in New Orleans, LA. Things such as conducting an industry analysis, defining my target market, identifying my competition, discussing my marketing campaign, and determining the key operating positions for my business had to be addressed. Upon completion of this course, I was left with a REAL business plan that can be submitted and presented immediately to investors!

Final Project: Business Plan

As the final class of the Entertainment Business Master’s Degree program, the Final Project: Business Plan class will challenge the students to prepare accurate financials that project the first 3 years of operation for each student’s business plan. These financials should project the monthly marketing budgets, monthly sales budgets, monthly staff budgets, start-up costs, monthly income statements, assumptions, and the sources and uses of funds. Once all of this is accomplished, the students will receive their final project grade that is based on an 8-minute business plan presentation that is presented in front of a team of judges. Despite the amount of effort that a student must commit to his or her business plan, each student will finish this course with a sense of confidence and pride to take on the challenges that awaits them in the entertainment industry.

CONCLUSION

As a recent graduate of Full Sail University, I can honestly say that my experience there was worth the effort that I had put into it. There are no other universities in the US that can provide the real world education that Full Sail University provides. People may argue that the tuition is too high or the schedules are unreasonable. However, I think otherwise. When it comes to pursuing a degree in order to accomplish your dreams and goals, one must be mentally and physically prepared to make the necessary sacrifices in order to makes those dreams and goals a reality. Learn from the motivational speaker Eric Thomas and ask yourself if you are willing to sacrifice who youare for what you will become. If so, then pursue your dreams as if there is no tomorrow.