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Commercial Music: Business A.A. Degree

Full Time

This program roadmap represents one possible pathway to complete the program. Please see a counselor to create an education plan that is customized to meet your needs. This roadmap is not a guarantee of course availability or financial aid applicability.

Catalog:: 2025-26
GE Pattern:: local AA/AS
Total Units:: 60

First Year

Semester 1

15 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	GE AREA
Req	BUS 300 Introduction to Business	3	L4
Req	MUFHL 321 Basic Musicianship	3	L3
Req	MUSM 311 Introduction to Music Business	3
GE	ENGL C1000 Academic Reading and Writing or	3	L1A
GE	ENGL C1000H ^H Academic Reading and Writing - Honors	3	L1A
GE	any Area L7A (Physical Education) course	1	L7A
GE	any Area L7B (Life Development Skills) course	2	L7B

Semester 2

15 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	Prerequisites	GE AREA
Req	BUS 350 Small Business Management/Entrepreneurship	3
Req	MUSM 312 Advanced Music Business	3
Req	MUSM 120 Contemporary Songwriting I	3	MUFHL 321
RE	BUS 210 The Business Plan	1
RE	BUS 214 Financing a Small Business	1
RE	BUS 216 Essential Records for the Small Business	1
GE	MATH 300 Introduction to Mathematical Ideas	3		L2

Second Year

Semester 3

15 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	GE AREA
Req	BUS 340 Business Law	3
Req	MUSM 313 The Business of Music Management	3
GE	any Area L1B (Oral Communication & Critical Thinking) course	3	L1B
Elec	any elective course	3
Elec	any elective course	3

Semester 4

15 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	GE AREA
Req	MUSM 314 The Business of Music Marketing	3
Req	MUFHL 330 World Music	3
GE	any Area L5 (Natural Sciences) course	3	L5
GE	any Area L6 (Ethnic Studies) course	3	L6
Elec	any elective course	3

^H honors courses

Explanation of Categories
Req	Required Core	A course that is required for this program
GE	General Education	A course that fulfills a specific general education requirement for a degree, which can be replaced with another course that meets the same requirement
RE	Restricted Elective	A course selected from a list of elective courses specified for this program in the course list in the catalog, which can be replaced with another course from the same list
Elec	Degree Elective	A degree-applicable course that is part of a degree roadmap to ensure that there is a total of at least 60 units, which is a requirement for an associate degree

Career path

Career Options:

ARC’s Commercial Music: Business program explores the inner workings of the music industry in areas such as publishing, entertainment, distribution, and music law.

Typical career options include:

booking agent
personal manager
business manager
concert promotion
studio owner/manager
music legal services
publicity writer/public relations
tour manager
music retail
music publishing and distribution
music licensing

Advising Notes:

Students should meet with a counselor and the Commercial Music program director to ensure they are following an education plan that takes their needs and goals into consideration.
This degree can be completed using either the local AA/AS general education (GE) pattern or the Cal-GETC transfer GE pattern. See a counselor to determine which pattern is best for you based on your academic goals.
Students can substitute ESLW 340 for ENGL C1000/C1000H (formerly known as ENGWR 300/480).
Elective Courses: any elective courses numbered 100-499, or having a 4-digit number starting with C.

Scheduling Notes:

MUSM 313 is offered in the fall.
BUS 212, 218, and 224 are offered in the fall.
MUSM 312 and 314 are offered in the spring.

Other Notes:

Students can use this degree, with additional coursework, to prepare to transfer to earn bachelor’s degrees in Music Industry Studies, Entertainment Management, Music Business/ Management/Marketing, and other related fields.

Published April 12, 2025

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