Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music

The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music is the first of its kind to provide professional business and artistic training toward a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree for aspiring creative entrepreneurs in the music industry. The Recorded Music B.F.A. undergraduate program is designed to provide professional training for students who aim to succeed as creative entrepreneurs in the music industry. A creative entrepreneur is a driven, passionate individual who starts and runs an innovative business enterprise.

Students who enroll in Recorded Music have a wide range of aspirations. Some aspire to become CEOs of record labels. Others aspire to become innovative record producers who helm successful production companies. Some students are performing artists or music critics who want to develop their business acumen so that they might build a successful brand. In every case, our mission is to provide students with the necessary skills - business, creative, intellectual and social - so that they might succeed as leaders in an evolving music industry. We encourage students to develop innovative musical ideas and envision new music business models. We also encourage students to work collaboratively and to cultivate both intellectual rigor and a willingness to experiment artistically. 

Chief Advisor to the Department

Clive Davis has acquired a legendary reputation for spotting and developing new musical talent in the course of his 35 years in the recorded music industry. Successively head of Columbia Records, Arista, and, most recently, J Records, Mr. Davis has signed and nurtured such performers as Janice Joplin; Blood, Sweat and Tears; Santana; Aretha Franklin; Billy Joel; Bruce Springsteen; Pink Floyd; Aerosmith; Whitney Houston; and Alicia Keys. He won a Grammy Trustee Award in 2000 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

Mr. Davis has long been an advocate of high professional standards in the recorded music industry and has taken a keen personal interest in the establishment of a program in recorded music at the Tisch School of the Arts. In September 2003, the Tisch School of the Arts proudly inaugurated the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music.

"I've felt for many years that serious, career-minded students of recorded music should have their own school, just as film aspirants have had and benefited from for decades. New York is the CENTER of the world's music whether it be rock, hip hop, pop, theatre, classical, or jazz, and the Tisch School is the creative pulse of young people everywhere. It is a dream for me to unite with the Tisch School to launch this concept, and it is thrilling to see this dream come true."

Clive Davis, Chief Creative Officer, Sony BMG