Entertaining Opportunities

Christian music industry giants were on campus in late August for a dedication ceremony marking the official opening of the new Curb Learning Lab for Music & Entertainment Marketing at Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business. The Lab, equipped with flexible classroom space, soundproof conference rooms and a fully functioning call center, provides a place for crossdisciplinary study of music and entertainment marketing. Faculty from theater, marketing and film lead courses that help students with a passion for the arts and entertainment prepare for the revenue-producing side of the field.
"Broad-based music or entertainment business academic programs exist at other institutions. However, Baylor's Music & Entertainment Marketing program is the only complete academic major in the country specializing in the marketing of music and entertainment," said Dr. Terry Maness, BA '71, MS '72, dean of the Hankamer School of Business. "This new facility enables us to realize our teaching philosophy, which emphasizes hands-on training and experience with prominent sports and entertainment clients in the marketing and selling of entertainment."
The Curb Learning Lab for Music & Entertainment Marketing was made possible due to the enthusiastic generosity of Mike Curb. In addition to being a well-known philanthropist, and former lieutenant governor of California, Curb is a man of multifaceted skills and interests including songwriting, producing, entrepreneurship, politics, and even motor sports. One of his most notable achievements is the founding of Curb Records, which has revolutionized many genres of music including Christian and Gospel.
"The Mike Curb Family Foundation is involved in a number of music business and entertainment colleges and programs," said Curb. "The reason we are particularly excited about the Curb Learning Lab at Baylor is because of the emphasis on the marketing of music and entertainment, including sports marketing, which is very similar to music marketing and is a very significant opportunity for the next generation."
In addition to Curb, other industry moguls who took part in the dedication activities were Terry Hemmings, President and CEO of Provident Music Group, a division of Sony BMG Music Entertainment and one of Christian music's Big Three; and Mark Funderburg, President of Word Distribution, which oversees distribution of Word Records, Curb Records, Big Idea (VeggieTales), Slanted Music, Fervent Records, Word Music, 20th Century Fox, Universal Home Video and other key labels.