Dr. Richard Barnet
Professor
Concerts Promotion & Touring
Advanced Concert Promotion
Recording Industry Ethics
Special Events Production
Office: Hon 228
Phone: 615.898.5869
Email: rbarnet@mtsu.edu
Richard D. Barnet, professor of recording industry and former chair at Middle Tennessee State University, near Nashville, is co-author of This Business of Concert Promotion and Touring (Billboard Books, 2007). Barnet received his Bachelor of Music degree from Illinois State University; his Master of Music degree from Ithaca College; and his Ph.D. from Arizona State University. Before assuming his present position, Dr. Barnet was Associate Dean, School of Humanities at California State University-San Bernardino. He has been a faculty member and administrator at California State University, Ohio State University, Arizona State University, James Madison University, and Middle Tennessee State University.
Barnet served as Director of Concert and Support Services at James Madison University and toured major arenas in the U.S. and Canada as a touring conductor/music director. His other experience in the live entertainment industry included co-owning a regional booking agency, managing several concert venues, and managing a summer music festival.
At MTSU, Barnet teaches Concert Promotion and Touring; Advanced Concert Promotion; Music Industry Ethics; and Special Events Production. His publications include the books Student's Guide to the Music Listener; Controversies of the Music Industry; The Story Behind the Song: 150 Songs that Chronicle the 20th Century; and This Business of Concert Promotion and Touring. He also wrote entries for Women in Music Since 1900, an Encyclopedia; The Macmillan Encyclopedia of Communication and Information; and the Encyclopedia of Appalachia.
Rich served on the board of directors for the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association (MEIEA) and is a past president and founding officer of NAMM Affiliated Music Business Institutions. He is a former member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammys) and the Nashville Entertainment Association Advisory Board. He is a 1993 graduate of Leadership Music and is an officer and board member for the Urban Music Conference. Barnet was appointed to three consecutive terms on the Advisory Board of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission by the Governor. Rich also served on the Board of Governors for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Emmys) Mid-South Chapter.
