On Tuesday night (April 9), as Belmont University's Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business celebrated a special “Belmont at the Opry,” the program also unveiled a $58 million gift from a music industry executive and philanthropist. Mike Curb and the Mike Curb Foundation, which will fuel a further expansion of the program's presence on Nashville's Music Row by renovating existing buildings and constructing a new state-of-the-art facility.
The expansion comes as Belmont's music business program celebrated its half-century milestone last year. The program started in 1973, founded by the late Robert E. Mulloy and with the support of the former president of the University Dr. Herbert Gambhart and music industry executive Cecil Scaife (who was part of Sun Records in Memphis before moving to Nashville), with the goal of providing formal training and real-world work experience to young adults with aspirations of entering various areas of the music business, including record production, label operations, songwriting songs, music publications. The Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business was founded in 2003 and is located at 34 Music Square East in Nashville (Belmont helped preserve the historic Music Row recording studios Columbia Studio A and Owen Bradley's Quonset Hut). The program is also a mainstay on Billboard's annual Top Music Business Schools list.
The expansion project will be done in two phases. The first, currently underway, involves the renovation of the historic Buddy Lee Attractions/Capitol Records building at 38 Music Square East. The renovation will add 17,000 square feet of space, including songwriting rooms, live sound classrooms, listening areas and student lounges. The renovation will also include an updated space for Leadership Music's Nashville office.
The second phase will include the development of a 75,000-square-foot building behind the program's current Music Row building, with construction on the new facility beginning in the next 24 months. The building will serve both students and the wider Music Row community, including a performance space that can accommodate more than 150 people, as well as networking and gathering spaces for both students and industry professionals, a cafeteria, content creation rooms and underground parking. The second phase will involve a broader fundraising campaign, which began on Tuesday night.
Curb's gift, and venue renderings, were revealed during a reception held just prior to the “Belmont at the Opry” event featuring prominent Belmont University alumni, including artists Trisha Yearwood, Brad Paisley, Tyler Hubbard , Hailey Whitters, Ashley Cooke. and Ian Munsick, as well as songwriters Ashley Gorley, Hillary Lindsey and Nicolle Galyon.
Other Belmont alumni among Nashville's music industry community include Steven Curtis Chapman, Josh Turner, COIN, Brian Kelley, CEO of Sony Music Nashville Rusty Gastonproducer/guitarist Dann Huff, president/CEO of UMG Nashville; Cindy MabeSpirit Music Nashville CEO/Chief Creative Frank Rogers and Warner Chappell Nashville president/CEO Ben Vaughan.
“Mike Curb's remarkable generosity and partnership with Belmont over many years has been invaluable in advancing entertainment and music business education,” Belmont University President Dr. Greg Jones he said. “This latest transformative gift solidifies Belmont's position at the forefront of developing the next generation of music industry leaders. We are deeply grateful to Mike and Linda for their continued investment in the Belmont mission.”
“As Nashville's music industry has grown and evolved into an international entertainment hub, it is vital that our education system keeps pace with the development of skilled talent,” Curb added. “Belmont has been a fantastic partner over the years in preparing aspiring artists, songwriters, engineers and music business leaders who go on to become invaluable employees for record companies throughout Nashville and the industry at large. With this latest investment, we will build on this strong foundation to take entertainment and music business education to the next level, ensuring a steady stream of well-prepared professionals for the ever-growing industry.”
“For 50 years, our world-class faculty, stage and facilities have made Belmont a premier destination for future music executives, engineers, artists and songwriters. Mike's partnership over decades has allowed Belmont to continually upgrade our curriculum and recreational facilities in line with the needs of the industry,” he said. Brittany Schafferwho joined the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business as dean in May 2023. “This core gift allows us to deepen our integration with Music Row, creating an unprecedented immersive experience that will directly connect our students with leading industries and opportunities while driving innovation alongside our partners in Nashville's entertainment landscape.”
