Course Description:

Inside the Recording Industry is taught online and combines the multimedia experience offered by InsideSessionsÔ with links to articles and the textbook "The Music Business Library" by Greg Forest.  The goal of this course is to gain a thorough understanding of the recording industry from the artist/songwriter perspective. The course is divided into four modules (or segments). After reviewing each segment of the course, you take a quiz online. At the end of the semester, you must take an online final exam from an approved testing center. The course is for three semester credit hours for NESCom students.

There is no first class meeting.  The only event you will need to schedule is the final exam. We have an appointed time and place (see course information page).  If you are not in the Bangor area or cannot attend the exam at the specified time, you must contact the instructor to make other arrangements.

Readings:

Follow the page “Course Modules” to find out what to read and view for each quiz.  In addition to viewing the InsideSessions videos and reading the Forest chapters, YOU MUST READ THE ARTICLES THAT ACCOMPANY THE INSIDE SESSIONS PROGRAM.  Use our website and click on “course modules.”

Grading:

Each open-book timed quiz is worth 10%. The final is worth 50%, with the last 10% for online participation.

Quiz #1: 10%

Quiz #2: 10%

Quiz #3: 10%

Quiz #4: 10%

Final Exam: 30%

Online participation: 20%

Each quiz has a "window" of three weeks. This is a self-paced course, but you must complete each quiz during the availability window. You will take each quiz on a campus computer (recommended) or your own computer. The quizzes are open book, but must be completed within one hour. You can only take each quiz once. After you have completed the quiz and submitted your answers, you will receive a grade on the quiz. When the entire class has completed the quiz, you will be able to log back on to the website and print out a study guide based on each quiz. Use these printouts as a guide for the final exam. If you do not complete the quiz during the 5-week window, you will receive a failing grade for that particular quiz, or receive an incomplete for the entire course.

The final exam must be taken in a proctored atmosphere and is not open-book. We will have a time and a place scheduled for you to take the exam. If you cannot make it during that time due to a conflict, you will need to contact the instructor well in advance of the date you plan to take the final exam.

The online participation for the course involves scavenger hunts, “find the missing link,” online surveys, video trivia challenges and participation in online chats. Topics will be posted periodically.

Scavenger Hunts. You accumulate points for the scavenger hunts. IT IS NOT A GRADE. So if you get 50% on a scavenger hunt, you've accumulated 1.25 points toward your total online participation of 20. Keep accumulating points until you get to 10.  The video trivia challenges work the same way.

Contacting the instructor:

The best way to reach me is through email.  Note that while our course management system site has a message, or send mail option, it does not go to the recipient’s mailbox.  Instead it waits until the next time the recipient has logged on to this particular site to present the new mail.  Therefore, mail your questions and requests directly to hutchtom@aol.com.