Film, the Entertainment Industry, and the MBA

October 24, 2007 :: Admissionado Team

A small group of people pursues an MBA to break into the arts in general, and into film in particular. Like most, these applicants are simply looking for an edge to help get a job. As opposed to banking, consulting, or real estate, the film industry tends to be very difficult to break into. There are far fewer jobs on the business side, as the entire industry is split between BUSINESS on the one hand, and CREATIVE on the other. This is true for film and music especially. The business side is arguably less sexy and exciting. But an MBA (from a top program) can absolutely help break into those business circles. After all, studios complete mergers, projections, syndication deals, global expansion, etc, just like “normal” businesses do.

Disney, Fox, and other major studios and entertainment groups will come recruiting at top schools (especially the ones in CA and NYC), and you can land yourself a pretty nice job. So here, an MBA will actually help.The other bit of good news, is that these stories and passions related to entertainment also make for great, unique essays. One of the founding partners of Admissionado is an LA guy, has written feature films, and is plugged into the entertainment world. So we have a great sense for what it takes to make an impression on the entertainment side. It’s a very different animal than, say, Investment Banking…

But the short answer is that yes, entertainment is in many ways “business” like any other. An MBA can help break into it.