Toronto Metropolitan University’s Named One of Billboard’s Top Music Business Schools
Combining music fundamentals with business and production skills and hands-on experience, the post-secondary institution's professional music program earns it the lone Canadian entry on the list.
Toronto Metropolitan University
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) has been named one of Billboard’s Top Music Business Schools.
"The professional music program at Toronto Metropolitan University is the first of its kind in Canada and designed for artists and nonperformers alike," Billboard writes in the list entry. "The curriculum combines music fundamentals with business and production skills and hands-on experience."
Billboard has been spotlighting schools on the list for more than a decade, choosing top entries based on industry recommendations, accomplished alumni, information from power lists and unique courses, events and speakers. The list highlights programs that are educating the next generation of music industry leaders, teaching important business and music creation skills.
TMU appears on the intentionally unranked 2025 list alongside powerhouse including Berklee College of Music and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and the U.K.'s Brit School. There's an emphasis on affordable and public institutions as well as historically Black colleges and universities, such as Howard University and Tennessee State University.
The Toronto program is recognized for the students' 240 internship hours with access to top industry professionals and use of leading technologies, labs and resources. and highlights alumni including singer, songwriter, dancer and choreographer Carina, who was nominated for a Juno Award in 2020 with her band GirlPow-R; Daphne, who was named winner of the Garage Band People’s Choice Award at NXNE in June; and producer Selah Weekes, who has gained attention for his educational music production-related tutorials on YouTube. Speakers at TMU have included SALXCO CEO Lindsay Unwin, EMPIRE president Tina Davis and more.
Billboard Canada partnered with TMU on the inaugural Billboard Summit at NXNE, which included one-of-a-kind conversations with key figures from OVO, The Grammys and more, plus exclusive on-stage interviews with global stars including Charlotte Cardin and Diljit Dosanjh.
Dosanjh, one of music's biggest global stars, will be the subject of a groundbreaking new course at TMU starting in January 2026, the first of its kind in Canada to focus solely on a Punjabi artist.
“Toronto Metropolitan University is excited to pioneer a course on Diljit Dosanjh, whose journey embodies the intersection of culture, identity and global music entrepreneurship," said Dr. Charlie Wall-Andrews, Assistant Professor at The Creative School at TMU when the announcement was made. "His rise illustrates the cultural influence and economic potential of Punjabi music on the world stage. By examining his impact, students will explore how regional sounds shape global pop culture, mobilize diasporic communities and contribute to sustainable creative economies rooted in authenticity.”
Read the full list here.
