Peek inside the first phase of Belmont University’s $58M music business school expansion

Belmont University’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business opened Aug. 12 the first of two phases of its $58 million Music Row expansion.

The renovation includes 17,000 square feet of songwriting rooms, listening spaces, live sound classrooms and student lounges at the former Buddy Lee Attractions/Capitol Records building at 38 Music Square East.

The project was funded with a lead gift from philanthropist and music industry icon Mike Curb and the Mike Curb Foundation.

The second phase will be a 71,900-square-foot facility built behind Belmont’s existing Music Row footprint.

“It is with the generous partnership of Mike Curb that Belmont unveils phase one of its industry-immersive entertainment education hub on Music Row, further cementing Curb College’s reputation as a leader in entertainment and music business education,” Belmont University President Dr. Greg Jones said. “At the heart of today’s opening is a shared vision of preserving the history of Music Row while positioning our students to shape the future of the industry.”

Mike Curb College Dean Brittany Schaffer said it is important to the school to continue investing in Music Row.

“Keeping music on Music Row is vital because of the historical success associated with the proximity that Nashville industry executives, performers and more have to each other,” Schaffer said.

Alongside the interactive classrooms, songwriting rooms, student spaces and faculty offices, Belmont also occupies the historic Quonset Hut and Columbia Records’ Studio A.

Michael Blake, director of Curb College facilities and equipment, said young creatives will benefit from the former offices being renovated with re-poured and soundproof concrete floors, plus increased sonic protection from noise bleed into hallways.

For singer-songwriters, the pièce de résistance is a listening room on the top floor of the 38 Music Square East building. Schaffer said she hopes it can serve as both a listening room for potential hits and a space where top artists curious to hear what’s next will want to host intimate events.

Schaffer said Belmont’s new spaces will “level up” the school’s high standard.

Belmont and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame have a partnership to curate artwork, memorabilia and artifacts — including charcoal prints of inductees like Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, Johnny Cash, Harlan Howard and Kris Kristofferson on a gallery wall.

“We want to develop a community that uses Nashville’s history and modern innovation to inspire creatives in every genre, in every aspect of every industry,” Schaffer said. “Belmont’s students will benefit from how proximity to the current, outsized impact of the Music Row creative community on popular culture will inspire how they meaningfully impact the world.”

How Belmont University’s music business school supports the recording industry

Belmont’s music business program first emerged in 1973 as an industry connector and talent incubator for aspiring creatives. Former university president Dr. Herbert Gabhart, professor and program founder Bob Mulloy, and pioneering Memphis and Nashville industry executives Curb and Cecil Scaife led the effort for the school.

Three decades later, the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont University was established in recognition of the entrepreneur, music mogul and philanthropist’s significant contributions and support of the university’s music program.

Belmont’s songwriting alumni include seven-time chart-topper Ashley Gorley as well as Grand Ole Opry members Brad Paisley, Pam Tillis, Josh Turner and Trisha Yearwood. Breakout talents like John Byron and Blake Pendergrass are also former students.

“Austin” vocalist Dasha and MCA-signed Carter Faith almost immediately benefited from their time on campus amid Nashville’s industrial revival. Dasha said she developed the song’s pop-meets-roots style while working with fellow Belmont student Cheyenne Rose Arnspiger.

Faith, a 2021 Belmont graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in songwriting, was pursued for a publishing deal while still an undergraduate.

“In the future, choosing to attend Belmont will feel less like a choice of attending a college and more like a desire to learn Nashville’s traditions and benefit from its community while also building a sustainable professional career here,” Schaffer said.

“There’s an opportunity to create a university that operates on a different playing field insofar as offering a special way to teach students how to be relationship builders who add value to society.”

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Belmont unveils first phase of $58M music business school expansion