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Creative Media Industries Institute

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BIS Media Entrepreneurship

BIS Media Entrepreneurship

Media Entrepreneurship

OVERVIEW

The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS) concentration in Media Entrepreneurship prepares students for entry into a changing media environment with an understanding of business dynamics and opportunities. Given Atlanta’s booming media production scene, and the tremendous role played in the city by visionary media entrepreneurs like Tyler Perry and Ted Turner, a program of study focused on preparing you to convert your artistic passions into a media or arts start-up may be the perfect way to start your own career.

Working with an adviser, a student picks courses from a long set of options, combining classes in a core craft (for example, film production, music industries, graphic design) with classes offered by CMII in media and arts entrepreneurship. Students acquire the skills they need to start their own media and arts enterprises and to bring innovative and entrepreneurial thinking to their work as content creators. Throughout the program, students will examine organizational culture, emerging and traditional business models and opportunities and challenges presented by the start-up climate. They will discuss how to leverage digital media tools in an entrepreneurial context.

If your undergraduate educational goal is a deep immersion in an artistic craft – you came to Georgia State, for example, to perfect your skills as a pianist or documentary filmmaker – it may make sense to major in music or film. But if your interests cross disciplinary lines – you are mainly interested in media production but want skills that connect production skills with animation or virtual world creation or you want to combine training in voice with a program that will prepare you to organize your artistic career or succeed in America’s gig economy, a BIS concentration may be the best option.

MEDIA ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Media entrepreneurs – in music, news, television, and game development but across all the arts – have played an essential role in Atlanta’s emergence as a global digital content creation capital. From Tyler Perry to Ted Turner, creative visionaries have seen Atlanta as a terrific launching pad for their dreams.

These efforts receive strong support from the Georgia and Atlanta governments. Tax credits for film and TV have made that sector a $9 billion economic engine for Georgia, and the city of Atlanta is home to dozens of production, recording and design studios. If this work is to grow even more, then a new generation of media and arts entrepreneurs will step forward with a viable dream to be tomorrow’s Trisha Yearwood, Dallas Austin, Cheryl Jenkins or Ludacris.

It’s a common idea that creative types don’t have a “head for business,” but the reality is far different. In today’s gig economy, if artists can’t think entrepreneurially, act to protect their intellectual property or know how to promote their work, a successful career likely will never get off the ground. So the goal of the CMII entrepreneurial training is to help students understand how to start a media company, but also to help many more to think entrepreneurially.

For decades, Georgia State has trained students to occupy positions in the music, film, journalism, PR, graphic design and theatre industries. Each of these degree programs thrive and offer exceptional educational pathways for students who want to focus on a specific artform. CMII’s mission is to build entrepreneurial programs that build on core arts and media training. The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies Media Entrepreneurship concentration empowers a student to combine courses in a specific (for example, music industry or film) artistic practice with classes that help build literacy in entrepreneurship and provide specialized instruction in media entrepreneurship. Students can develop their skills at cultivating followers and building audiences, tailor social media outreach to arts-interested fans and learn about trademark and legal issues faced by enterprising artists.

Magazine cover of 4 men and a woman sitting under banner the Fearless Five

Five kids met while students of film, theater and creative writing classes at Georgia State. They found themselves to be similar pieces on the same game board — five cinenthusiasts who wanted, more than sleep or square meals, to make films of their own.

Read about their accomplishments here.

Contact Information

For advisement assistance, contact David Cheshier at dcheshier@gsu.edu.

For detailed information about media entrepreneurship courses, contact Elizabeth Strickler at eli@gsu.edu.

Internships

Student in CMII connected degree programs will participate in at least one academically credited internship experience before graduation.

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