The Los Angeles Recording School Named to Billboard’s 2026 Top Music Business Schools List

Billboard has published its 2026 Top Music Business Schools list, and The Los Angeles Recording School, a division of The Los Angeles Film School, is on it again. The list runs alphabetically with no rankings. It covers programs that teach the business side of music: A&R, touring, marketing, licensing, and the rest of the machinery that gets a record from the studio to an audience.

We’ve made this list every year since 2017. It hasn’t gotten old.

What Billboard Highlighted in 2026

Billboard’s entry covers a lot of ground this year. It points to our online music business program, taught by industry veterans and built around flexible schedules. It names alumnus Anthony Vilchis and his major-label credits. And it calls out the time students spend outside the classroom: touring working studios like Sunset Sound and Clear Lake, attending the Mix Masters series and The SoundCheck, and sitting in on panels about A&R, production, and music licensing.

Taken together, that’s a pretty accurate picture of how we teach the music business. Here’s a closer look at each piece.

Inside the Online Music Business Degree

The program is a Bachelor of Science in Entertainment Business with a concentration in Music Business. It runs 120 credit hours and is delivered fully online, with instructor video lectures, weekly assignments, and collaborative projects. Billboard singled out three subjects at its core.

A&R for the Music Industry

Talent scouting starts with listening. This course trains students to evaluate recorded music and live performances critically, work through song structure and music terminology, and trace genres back to their origins so they can recognize where the business is heading next.

Concert & Tour Management

A tour is a logistics project with a soundtrack. Students cover tour logistics, concert promotion, and production management, along with the operational details that keep a show on the road: contracts, union regulations, public-safety guidelines, and equipment booking.

Music Industry Marketing

Streaming platforms, social media, pop-up shows. Students study marketing strategies specific to the recording industry and build marketing plans that use branding to move music and merchandise.

Alumni Spotlight: Anthony Vilchis

Anthony Vilchis graduated from our Recording Arts program in 2018. He’s now a Los Angeles mixing and mastering engineer with more than 600 major-label credits to his name.

The list includes Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, along with mixing assistant credits on FKA twigs’ Eusexua and Tate McRae’s Just Keep Watching. Pop, electronic, and dance-pop records each ask something different of the person at the console, and his catalog covers all three.

Learning Inside Real Studios

You can learn a lot about a studio from a diagram. You learn more by standing in the control room. Recording School students regularly tour working Los Angeles studios, and recent trips have included Sunset Sound and Clear Lake.

Back on campus, the event calendar keeps the industry close:

• Mix Masters: A series of conversations with engineers and mixers about how they work. Past guests include rock engineer Joe Barresi.
• The SoundCheck: A monthly live listening and feedback session with a featured industry guest.
• Industry panels: Discussions with professionals working in A&R, production, and music licensing.

Already Have an Associate Degree?

Students who have already earned an associate degree can apply to the online Entertainment Business completion program with a Music Business concentration. It builds on prior coursework and focuses on the business side of the industry.

The Rest of the Recording School

Music business is one piece of The Los Angeles Recording School. On our Hollywood campus, based in the historic RCA Building at 6363 Sunset Blvd., students study Music Production, Audio Production, and Entertainment Business in professional recording studios. Music Production and Audio Production are also offered online.

How Billboard Builds Its List

Billboard doesn’t rank the schools on this list. Selections draw on industry recommendations, alumni information from honorees on Billboard’s power lists, the magazine’s years of reporting on music education, and information provided by the schools themselves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is The Los Angeles Recording School on Billboard’s 2026 Top Music Business Schools list?

Yes. Billboard lists the school as The Los Angeles Film School (The Los Angeles Recording School), Los Angeles.

Can I study music business online at The Los Angeles Recording School?

Yes. The Bachelor of Science in Entertainment Business with a Music Business concentration is offered fully online and totals 120 credit hours.

What does the online music business program cover?

Featured courses include A&R for the Music Industry, Concert & Tour Management, and Music Industry Marketing. The full course list is available in the academic catalog.

What happens outside the classroom at The Los Angeles Recording School?

Students tour working Los Angeles studios, with recent trips to Sunset Sound and Clear Lake. The school also hosts the Mix Masters series, The SoundCheck, and industry panels on A&R, production, and music licensing.

Explore the Programs

Want to see how our music and audio degrees work? Check out our Music Business, Entertainment Business, Music Production, and Audio Production program pages, browse the full course lists in our catalog, or watch the Online Programs Webinar for a walkthrough of classes, TechKits, and student life. Prefer to see the studios in person? Book a campus tour.