An 8-Week Collaborative Capstone Experience — College of Business × School of Music
This capstone bridges the gap between music creation and business operations through a collaborative, real-world licensing simulation. Teams composed of both Business and Music School students navigate the full lifecycle of a music licensing deal — from composition and performance rights to negotiation, financial modeling, and legal compliance.
This capstone bridges the gap between music creation and business operations through a collaborative, real-world licensing simulation. Teams composed of both Business and Music School students will navigate the full lifecycle of a music licensing deal — from composition and performance rights to negotiation, financial modeling, and legal compliance.
The project is grounded in five real-world scenarios from The Module Lab Learning Module for "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses: Spotify streaming, Super Bowl commercial licensing, illegal social media use, video game placement, and live orchestral performance.
Each project team consists of 4–6 students from both programs. Instructors coordinate team assignments to ensure a balanced mix of skills. Each student is assigned a primary role, but all team members collaborate on every deliverable.
| Role | Department | # Per Team | Primary Responsibilities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deal Strategist | Business | 1 | Leads licensing negotiation strategy; oversees sync and master use license proposals |
| Financial Analyst | Business | 1 | Builds all royalty calculation models; creates the revenue distribution spreadsheet and financial summary |
| Marketing Director | Business / Music | 1 | Develops brand placement strategy; assesses cultural impact and audience alignment |
| Rights Advisor | Music | 1 | Expert on copyright law, PROs, and rights holder structures; advises on legal compliance across all scenarios |
| Music Consultant | Music | 1 | Provides music-specific analysis — composition vs. master rights, arrangement, live performance needs |
| Creative Producer | Music / Business | 1 (opt.) | Produces audio/video components; coordinates the final presentation performance or demonstration |
Your team has been hired by Sonic Brands Inc., a mid-size entertainment consulting firm, to advise a major energy drink company — RockFuel — on using "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses across a multi-platform marketing campaign.
RockFuel has a total music licensing budget of $750,000 and wants to use the song in FOUR of the five placements below. Your team must choose four, justify the selection, negotiate licensing terms, build the financial model, and present the strategy to the RockFuel executive board.
30-second national broadcast + digital placement
Playlist integration for the ad campaign
Viral campaign across Instagram & TikTok
In-game placement in a new extreme sports VR game
Live halftime-style performance at the RockFuel Championship
A professional 4–6 page memo advising RockFuel on which four placements to pursue and why, covering all licensing requirements.
Identify every license required for each chosen placement (sync, master use, mechanical, performance)
Name the rights holders involved and explain who negotiates what for each scenario
Justify the selection of four placements using both legal and strategic reasoning
Include a risk assessment for at least one scenario involving potential copyright concerns
Cite relevant law, PRO structures, and statutory rates from The Module Lab curriculum
A detailed spreadsheet model and 2-page written narrative showing how the $750,000 budget is allocated and how royalties flow to each rights holder.
A 3–4 page brief addressing the musical and creative decisions involved in adapting the song for the four chosen placements.
For each placement: explain which version is appropriate (original recording vs. new arrangement/cover) and why
Discuss orchestration or arrangement requirements and their licensing implications
Address how composition rights vs. master rights affect each use case differently
Identify any additional creative clearances needed beyond standard licensing
Include an original arrangement proposal or demo for one placement. Music students lead this component for additional credit.
A 2–3 page legal brief analyzing the copyright and ethical landscape of the campaign, with focus on the social media scenario.
Analyze whether any chosen placements create copyright infringement risk and how to mitigate them
Assume the social media agency posted without a license — draft the rights holders' legal response to this scenario
Evaluate whether fair use could apply to any social media use and explain the four-factor test in detail
Recommend a licensing compliance checklist for future campaigns to prevent unauthorized use
Address how unauthorized use affects artists and the broader music ecosystem beyond legal consequences
A 20-minute live presentation to a panel of faculty and industry guests acting as the RockFuel executive board. Polished, professional, and demonstrating mastery of both disciplines.
Correct license identification, accurate financial figures, sound legal analysis throughout
Professional slides, clear delivery, confident communication, time management
Business and music perspectives genuinely woven together, not siloed
Accurate, confident, and thoughtful responses under pressure from the executive panel
Minimum 15 slides required. All team members must present a substantial portion. Include a 2-minute Q&A simulation with a team member playing a skeptical RockFuel executive.
Intro module review; team assignments; role assignments; initial scenario selection discussion. Team Charter signed by end of week.
Deep-dive into The Module Lab curriculum; identify all rights holders; begin licensing research; consult PRO websites. Placement Selection Document (1 pg) due.
Draft Licensing Strategy Memo; Rights Advisor researches applicable law; Deal Strategist outlines negotiation plan. Deliverable 1 rough draft due (peer review).
Financial Analyst builds royalty model; all calculations from the module applied; sensitivity analysis started. Financial model draft shared with team.
Music Consultant finalizes creative brief; arrangement proposal explored; Rights Advisor drafts legal analysis. Deliverables 3 & 4 drafts due.
Consolidate all deliverables; align messaging across documents; instructor check-in meeting. Deliverables 1–4 final versions submitted.
Build slide deck; rehearse full presentation; conduct internal Q&A simulation; finalize musical demo. Full rehearsal with instructor feedback.
Present to panel; Q&A with executive board; peer evaluations submitted. All deliverables due · Presentations.
| Deliverable | Points | Primary Evaluation Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Deliverable 1 — Licensing Strategy Memo | 35 | Accuracy of license identification; quality of legal reasoning; clarity and professionalism |
| Deliverable 2 — Financial Model & Royalty Projection | 40 | Calculation accuracy; correct statutory rates; quality of sensitivity analysis; visual charts |
| Deliverable 3 — Music & Creative Brief | 30 | Depth of music industry knowledge; practical applicability; arrangement proposal quality |
| Deliverable 4 — Legal & Ethics Analysis | 25 | Fair use analysis accuracy; cease-and-desist quality; ethical reasoning; compliance checklist |
| Deliverable 5 — Executive Presentation | 70 | Content accuracy (30), presentation quality (20), interdisciplinary integration (10), Q&A (10) |
| TOTAL | 200 | All deliverables weighted as listed above |
This table highlights where business and music concepts connect most directly. Use it to guide your team meetings and ensure genuine collaboration across disciplines.
| Business Concept | Music Concept | Integration Point |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue modeling & pro-rata calculations | Streaming royalty structure (Spotify) | Build the streaming income projection together using module data |
| Contract negotiation & deal terms | Sync & master use license requirements | Co-draft a mock licensing term sheet for the Super Bowl commercial |
| Marketing ROI & brand placement strategy | Song selection, arrangement, and audience fit | Determine which placement best serves RockFuel's brand identity |
| Legal risk assessment & copyright compliance | Fair use doctrine & PRO structures | Jointly analyze the social media scenario and draft the legal brief |
| Financial sensitivity analysis | Impact of live performance licensing costs | Model what happens to the budget if the live performance license doubles |
| Stakeholder presentation & pitch deck | Musical demonstration or live performance | Integrate a live musical moment into the business presentation for impact |
Use this checklist to self-evaluate your team's work before final submission. These are the markers of a truly exceptional capstone project.
Business and music perspectives are genuinely integrated — not just parallel tracks placed side by side
Financial calculations are precise, clearly labeled, and linked to real module data and statutory rates
Music students demonstrate they understand the business implications of licensing decisions, not just the creative ones. Business students understand why specific license types matter musically, not just legally.
The presentation tells a compelling story — it is not just a data dump. Real terminology is used throughout: composition rights, master use, PRO, sync fee, pro-rata, statutory rate, fair use.
The legal brief is analytical, not just descriptive — it takes positions and defends them with evidence and reasoning
The financial model anticipates real-world variables and includes a sensitivity analysis with clearly stated assumptions
The creative brief reflects genuine musical knowledge and practical production awareness — not surface-level observations
The team demonstrates respectful, productive cross-disciplinary collaboration throughout the entire eight-week process
The team uses real industry terminology: composition rights, master use, PRO, sync fee, pro-rata, statutory rate, fair use — fluently and accurately
These three pillars — rigorous research, genuine cross-disciplinary integration, and compelling storytelling — define what separates a good capstone from an exceptional one.