Billboard recently recognized Kennesaw State’s Music and Entertainment Business program as one of the top music business schools in 2018.
KSU was featured in a Billboard article as one of the top 15 schools across the country with the best music business programs. The article describes the MEBUS program at KSU, including the companies students intern for and the different opportunities to study abroad.
“It’s a huge honor to be mentioned in conjunction with prominent schools like Belmont or Berklee that have been in existence longer than we have,” MEBUS Director Keith Perissi said. “It’s all validation of what we’ve been working very hard to achieve.”
The MEBUS program is a 24-hour credit program with joint courses between the Coles College of Business and the College of the arts. As part of the program, students must complete three externships to receive their certificates. KSU students have the opportunity to work with well-known entertainment companies such as Sony Music, Live Nation and Coca-Cola Studios.
Students in the program are taught by experts in the industry, including screenwriter Rhonda Baraka, television producer Dale Goldberg and actor Beth Keener, who has appeared in multiple television series including “The Vampire Diaries” and “The Walking Dead.”
“The MEBUS program offers what I never had the opportunity of receiving — an education from professionals actually working in the entertainment field,” Keener said. “My hope is to help these students succeed by teaching them through my lessons, my hardships and my triumphs so that they can excel more quickly than I did.”
The MEBUS program also offers an annual study abroad program in London. While traveling, students have the opportunity to visit different UK entertainment companies and spend a full day touring the world headquarters of Sony Entertainment.
KSU alumna Samantha Zieber created a yearly scholarship for the MEBUS London education abroad program, according to KSU News.
“Through my externship, I met and networked with industry professionals and attended industry events, which gave me the platform to transfer contacts into job opportunities,” Zieber said. “Since my experience at MEBUS, I’ve had full-time jobs at Greenberg Traurig and now Carnival Cruise Line.”
The MEBUS program was started by entertainment attorney Joel A. Katz in 2010 with the help of Perissi. Katz has represented many prominent artists such as Tim McGraw, Justin Timberlake and Faith Hill among many others, according to GreenbergTraurig Law’s website. Katz was also named Lawyer of the year by Billboard in 2017.
Both Perissi and MEBUS Associate Director Danny Howes have many years of experience in the entertainment industry. Perissi has over 20 years of experience and has remained active in Atlanta’s thriving entertainment industry. Howes, a former music director, tour manager and guitarist, has over 30 years of experience, according to the MEBUS website.
The MEBUS program was started to “provide the foundation of practical experiences, on-the-job training, and exploration of career opportunities in the music and entertainment industry,” according to its website.
“We are really passionate about helping hard-working students find their positions in the industry,” Perissi said. “I’ve never won a Grammy, but I feel like I’ve won a Grammy every time I get one of our students hired into their dream job.”
Billboard’s ranking also included schools such as Berklee College of Music, Los Angeles College of Music and Belmont University.
