Don Gorder

Biography

Don Gorder is Chair Emeritus and founder of the Music Business/Management Department at the Berklee College of Music. His career as a music business educator began at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, where he earned a B.M. in trumpet performance, followed by an M.M at the University of Miami, where his major was jazz pedagogy. While at UM he took a course in music business offered through their Music Merchandising program, the first such program in higher education. The course sparked an interest and he was advised by the program director, Alfred Reed, to take the next step of pursuing entertainment law. Taking his advice, he earned his Juris Doctorate degree at the University of Denver, passed the Bar Exam, and practiced in the areas of entertainment law and intellectual property until he accepted an invitation to join the faculty at the U. of Colorado Denver, teaching courses in their relatively new Music Management program. This led to a position as Chair of the Music Management Department and Assistant to the Dean at the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music.

In his second year at UOP he received an invitation to apply for the position of Chair of the Music Business Department at the Berklee College of Music. Upon phoning the one person at Berklee whom he had met at a conference to get more information about the department, he learned that there was no department—they were seeking someone to build one. He applied, got the job, and spent the next 29 years building the Music Business/Management Department. It is arguably the most comprehensive music business program in existence and has been hailed by music industry executives as “the best.” When he retired in 2020 he had 16 faculty reporting to him, an Assistant Chair, a full-time Department Coordinator, two Institutes within the department, and a curriculum of 40-some courses serving 400+ majors. The program has produced graduates who have started successful businesses, achieved success as performers and songwriters, and attained executive-level positions in nearly every area of activity in the music industry.

In addition to chairing the MB/M Department Gorder engaged in a number of activities of service to the college and to the profession of music business education, such as: overseeing the development of the Minor in Creative Entrepreneurship and the B.A. in Music Industry Leadership and Innovation—Berklee’s first B.A. degree program; serving on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and of the Music & Entertainment Industry Educators Association; serving on the Alumni Board of Advisors for the Sturm College of Law, University of Denver; serving as the Resource Team representative for music business with the International Association of Jazz Educators; co-authoring the first Legal Aspects of the Music Business course for Berklee Online; producing the department’s flagship annual event, the Zafris Distinguished Lecture for Music Business/Management, for 27 years, featuring a who’s who of speakers from the music industry; founding the Office of Experiential Learning, the college’s first office dedicated to developing, coordinating and monitoring internships college-wide; and speaking, delivering keynote addresses and masterclasses, and moderating panels at a long list of music industry conferences, trade shows, and academic institutions, domestic and international. He was honored twice by the University of Nebraska Lincoln, first with an Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award from the Glenn Korff School of Music, and then selected by the College of Fine and Performing Arts as the Alumni Master for 2025. Finally, throughout his career as a lawyer and music business educator Gorder has remained active as a trumpet player in a wide variety of professional settings.

SPECIALTIES:

Business basics for musicians
Publishing and record deals
Song and recording rights
Licensing and income sources
Agents, managers, attorneys
DIY sources and sites
Careers in the music industry
Touring and merchandising

LANGUAGES:

English