Top Tier MBA Application Essay #2

Describe your short-term and long-term career goals. What is your motivation for pursuing an MBA?

My passion for the music industry led to experiences in both music and digital media that together ignited my long-term ambition to build a digitally progressive artist management and marketing firm. The music industry’s difficulty adapting to digital technology presents an opportunity for me to align my passion for music with my interest in digital media to create new solutions that help shape the future of music promotion and artist financing. I realize, however, that I need an MBA to acquire the financial and managerial skills necessary to successfully capitalize on music’s vast potential as a marketing asset.

My long-term goal is to establish a music management and marketing company in Los Angeles to tap the city’s entrepreneurial energy and abundant media and entertainment resources. My future company will promote music as an engaging experience that enables third party brands to reach new consumers. The venture will develop advertising and branded content as core revenue streams while minimizing risk with diverse profit channels in artist management, live performance, music sales, merchandising, and licensing. By pairing consumer brands with music and artists through event sponsorship, digital advertising, and audience acquisition, the company would generate revenue for artists while providing consumer brands with creative inroads to new markets, elevated consumer engagement, and access to tightly defined audiences through a network of artist-related digital media outlets and cross-promotional opportunities.

My post-MBA short-term objective is to gain additional leadership skills, industry experience, and relationships at a well-established media group in Los Angeles to better prepare for my long-term career goals. I plan to spend four to six years in business development at a company such as Live Nation or Viacom that has interests in both music and technology, and that will enable me to apply my creative, analytical, and entrepreneurial experience broadly across sales, marketing, and account management departments.

I am, however, aware of my knowledge gaps in such disciplines as finance, accounting, and risk analysis necessary for advancement as a business manager. An MBA is uniquely well-suited to equip me with the business fundamentals, leadership development, media management education, and entrepreneurial skills I need to realize my specific career goals. Core classes such in leadership development, financial accounting, and managerial economics will provide a foundation of knowledge in general management, quantitative analysis, and executive decision-making that I will use throughout my career.

I plan to focus my studies in media and entertainment and The Center for Media Entertainment and Sports offers a superior mix of classes, networking opportunities, and industry exposure that will maximize my ability to succeed. Classes such as Advertising and Integrated Marketing and Entertainment Strategy align especially well with my long-term plans, and would afford me with the market-analysis skills, and media industry insight I’ll need to excel as an industry leader.

I am also interested in your experiential learning business program as I believe this type of promotional marketing is vital in a business sector as rapidly changing as media. This is a distinctive opportunity to gain additional hands-on experience, and I hope to submit for consideration a business creation proposal based on my long-term career objective.

Beyond its media and entertainment offering, your customizable curriculum is a particularly fitting program to foster my growth as an entrepreneur in a non-traditional business, and I plan to enroll in entrepreneurial studies electives if admitted. I’ll join the Entrepreneur’s Club to exchange ideas, and discuss future ventures with other entrepreneurial-minded students and knowledgeable practitioners. Furthermore, I hope to to compete in business plan competitions such as the Music Industry Challenge in Austin, TX and Anderson’s Knapp New Venture Competition.

As an ambitious entrepreneur passionate about the future of media and the music industry, I firmly believe that an MBA, studying alongside talented and diverse classmates, and learning from prestigious faculty and influential alumni will provide the best possible foundation from which I can build my future.