Vanderbilt Goes Country

(page 2 of 2)

Tim DuBois

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What requirements will you have for the class?

The deliverables are going to be a couple of papers and group projects. I don't know yet about a test. I'm still working on that.

Will this be a traditional business course?

I think it's going to be more nontraditional. Over the course of two modules, I have about 10 people I'm targeting as guest speakers. This should give us some interesting interaction with the students, who can talk with some of the decision-makers and people who are very much involved in the changes occurring in the music industry today.

What kind of reaction have you gotten from students?

I was told we have significant interest, and I have been contacted by several of the students. I just opened my office. There are a couple of organizations within the Owen school that are interested in the entertainment industry and music in particular. Some of those students have reached out to me, and I feel like we're going to be well received.

Do you plan to bring in music industry recruiters?

It's too early to tell. The music industry does not traditionally look at résumés and academic credentials in a way that other industries do. The entertainment industry works on what a lot of people call the William Morris system, which is basically to get as much education as you can, get a job in the mailroom, and go from there. As technology has become more important in the business, that has changed a little bit. You certainly have the finance and technology areas [of the business], where résumés are considered. But it's not that way in the music industry as a whole.

What are your hopes for the course?

I'm excited to have the opportunity to reassociate myself with Owen. I think this is a wonderful location for a program that looks at the entertainment industry and the changes it faces as we move into this digital age. I hope we can build a program that gives students an understanding of the basic business model as it exists and also prepares them to be a part of the change that is inevitable in this industry over the next few years.

What kind of professor will you be?

I have taught before. I enjoy teaching. Teaching is in my blood. I come from a family of teachers and professors, and I think that I'm very comfortable in front of a class. I pride myself on keeping people interested and involved and walking away from a class feeling as though they got a lot of benefit out of the time and effort they put into it. We're going to have a front row seat to history. It's a great time to have a business background and an understanding of the media business.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the music industry, in Nashville in particular?

Nashville has been a bit insulated because our major consumers are a little slow to pick up on the new technologies. You don't have as many people who are legally or illegally downloading things off the Internet. That's changing, because more and more people have broadband access and are becoming comfortable with the new technologies that are available. As a result, we get a little look ahead to see what's happening. It's not that we have the ability to change it. But we do see it coming. We see it before we feel it.

I don't think the challenges we face are any different from any other music center. We just have a more cooperative atmosphere in our world. We are a music center, and we have a lot of great rock bands that work out of here. The contemporary Christian music and country music industries are headquartered in Nashville. We have world-class engineers, producers, and executives who make this a very rich community.