Once again, Billboard magazine has lauded the Music Industry Program at the Frost School of Music as one of the top music business schools in the country. “Here’s where to find the next generation of executives,” the music and entertainment magazine said in its Fall issue – praising Frost’s program for its recent launch of a new B.A. degree for non-performers, range of courses, connections to Miami’s thriving Latin music industry, and more.
This is far from the first time Billboard has honored Frost’s Music Industry program (MIND). Frost has earned the award all nine times that the list has been published since it was first launched in 2011, the year Serona Elton became the program's director. But Elton says they never take the accolade for granted.
“We’re truly grateful for the recognition,” Elton said. “New programs are started all the time, and existing programs are always working to be better. We view it as a great honor, one we have to work hard to maintain.”
The Billboard honor comes on the heels of Elton winning the first-ever Music Business Educator of the Year award from the Music Business Association (better known as MusicBiz) in May.
Elton has a highly successful industry career, rising to V.P. positions at Warner Music Group and EMI, and is currently the Head of Educational Partnerships for The Mechanical Licensing Collective, a new and critically important organization created by the Music Modernization Act of 2018. She earned an M.M. in MIND in 1995 and joined Frost as an assistant professor in 2006; a licensed attorney, she has held leadership roles in numerous music industry professional and education organizations, and took over authorship of the leading music industry textbook, Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, beginning with the 13th edition.
Her experience enables her to understand what aspiring executives can get from an academic program, that they won’t find in the field.
“We set students up for a successful career, not just a first job,” Elton said. “If you just dive in to a job… you don’t usually see how to shape the future. In our courses, you get a combination of past, present, and future and learn how all the different sectors of the music business eco-system interact with each other.”
A significant addition to the MIND program this year is the new B.A. in Music Industry, which opens the program to those who can’t sing or play an instrument but are passionate about music and the business side of industry. That was Elton, who grew up in North Miami, where her father had an office at the legendary Criteria Studios, home to legions of famous artists and albums, where the lobby full of gold and platinum records and glimpses of stars like Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees inspired her career.
“We realized there are many roles in the music industry where you don’t need musical talent to be successful,” Elton said. “We always had applicants who wanted to study with us that we had to turn away because either their musical talent was not developed enough to pass our audition requirement, or because they were not interested in developing those talents further as part of their undergraduate degree. So, we said, ‘Let’s develop an additional version of our program that they can pursue’.”
The new B.A. degree has already drawn 16 students who’ve transferred from elsewhere in the University of Miami for the 2023-24 academic year and has applicants for 2024-25, with a goal of enrolling 15 students per year.
One of MIND’s most important assets is faculty with extensive, high-level industry experience. Many remain deeply involved in their field, enabling them to bring the realities of the current industry into the classroom. “It’s very different learning from a former V.P. or senior executive… and it’s so important to have people working in the industry who can bring that current industry knowledge,” said Elton.
MIND students also get real-world experience working with student-run enterprises ‘Cane Records, the song promotion effort Cat 5 Music, and the newest student operation, Frost Sounds, which produces live concerts. Being located in Miami, home to the Latin music divisions of the major labels and one of the country’s music industry centers, is also an advantage. “We have a steady stream of important executives happy to give back and come talk to students,” said Elton.
