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George Howard

Professor
Affiliated Departments
Music Business/Management
Berklee Online
entrepreneurship
future of music
music law
music marketing
music publishing/licensing
music startups
music streaming
Faculty Bio E-Mail
ghoward@berklee.edu
Telephone
617-747-8540

For media inquiries, please contact Media Relations

George Howard is an associate professor of music business/management at Berklee College of Music. He is the founder of GHS, a strategic consulting firm that advises a wide range of clients on how to integrate technology with strategy in order to increase brand awareness and revenue through innovation, social media, digital platforms, and strategic partnerships. A partial list of clients includes: Intel, National Public Radio, CVS Pharmacy, Alticor/Amway, Brown University, Paste Magazine, SpokenLayer, SingFit, The Landmark School, BigchainDB, Wolfgang’s Vault, and the Townsend Group. Additionally, Howard is the cofounder of Music Audience Exchange, which comprises a team of digital marketers, engineers, and music lovers, using technology to redefine the fundamental structure of brand-artist relationships. He is the former president of Rykodisc, the world’s largest independent record label, and cofounder of TuneCore, the world’s largest independent digital music distributor. Howard is a sought-after expert witness who has drafted reports for and testified in many high-profile cases. He also is a columnist for Forbes, and a frequent contributor to the New York Times and many other publications.

Career Highlights
  • Founder, George Howard Strategic (GHS)
  • Current and past clients include Wolfgang's Vault, CVS Pharmacy, Artists House Foundation, Carly Simon, Mark Isham Music, Berklee Media, Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort, and Cycle Software/Publishing
  • Cofounder and member of board of directors, TuneCore
  • Founder, Essex River Work and Slow River Records
  • Publications include  An Insider's Guide to the Record Industry  and Music Publishing 101 
  • Former president, Rykodisc
Education
  • B.A., Boston University
  • M.A., University of New Hampshire
  • M.B.A., Loyola University
  • J.D., Loyola University
In Their Own Words

"When I started teaching, it was the first time I understood what people meant when they said they loved their job. It was terribly exciting to me, and I realized I've been put on this planet to try, in whatever capacity I have, to help creative people grow their careers so they can be sustainable on their own terms."

"Having worked in the music industry as long as I have, I don't want to necessarily just bring war stories. You've got to back it up with some good science and theory. One of the challenges is with new media. The tools are new. So, I try to balance those with some real, time-tested marketing strategies. You begin to realize that it's all sort of been done before, but now we have an opportunity to recontextualize things. I do try to find a balance of things, but the music business is changing every second."

"It's something that I'm passionate about and that I've been doing a long time, and I really love it, but I'll tell you, I think I learn more from them than they learn from me. Teaching inspires me; it motivates me. Knowing that I have the amazing opportunity to stand in front of these people who are paying a lot of money and have justifiably high expectations, that's good motivation to make sure that I'm bringing something to the party. And what I get back is that they view things through a lens that I can't have anymore. Not only are they brilliant, but they also just have different perspectives. At its best, it really is a good discourse. It's a privilege to be teaching here."

 

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