Announcing Spring 2029
HRDRV
University
A self-sustaining industry, built from the ground up — starting with the people in it.
A 3-Year Program
Class Starts Spring 2029
Online · One Live Session Weekly
The Mission
We're not fighting the old industry.
We're building one that doesn't need it.
The traditional music industry isn't going anywhere — it's too big and too powerful to fight. Instead of competing with it, HRDRV University is building a parallel path: a school that produces trained, credentialed artists, feeding into an ecosystem where they can actually work.
Through partner studios, venues, and touring networks, graduates can build real careers without depending on old-industry systems. They can still enter the traditional industry if they want.
They just won't have to.
The Problem
Every serious industry has a front door.
01
Medicine
Medical school. Boards. Licensure.
02
Law
Law school. The bar exam.
03
Politics
Elections. The party ladder.
Music doesn't. The entry requirement is talent plus knowing someone. There is no credential, no standard, and no door.
The Five Schools
Year one is shared. Years two and three are yours.
A 3-year program. Every student completes the same foundational year before choosing where to specialize — with the option to minor in a second school.
No. 01
The Parton Conservatory
Voice, genre-specific technique, songwriting, performance.
No. 02
The Wonder School
Instrumentalists: guitar, violin, drums, session musicianship, ensemble playing.
No. 03
The Shiloh School
Creativity and entrepreneurship — mastering your craft and building your own platforms, brand, and AI-powered systems.
No. 04
The Passman School
Business and law: contracts, rights, understanding what you're opting out of.
No. 05
The Mitchell School
Artist development and operations — running your own machine: tours, releases, team, and modernized workflows.
All five are preceded by the Shared First Year, completed before declaration.
The Undeclared First Year
Every student starts here.
The Format
Self-paced coursework. One live cohort session each week — where the work becomes a conversation.
Fully online at launch, with no physical campus and no daily class schedule. You move through the material on your own clock, then meet your cohort live once a week.
Permanent Requirement — Not Just Year One
Safety & Conduct
Police-academy-style training: recognizing manipulation and grooming, setting boundaries with people who seemingly hold power over your career.
Runs All Year
Purpose & Direction
Understanding what's actually pulling you toward music — what success means to you versus what you've been told it should mean — and identifying which path fits your real goals before you declare. This work runs across the full first year and culminates in your declaration decision at year's end.
Because it's reflective, identity-level work, Purpose & Direction lives mostly in the weekly live cohort sessions rather than in solo coursework.
Owning Your Infrastructure
Building your own platform for your own owned audience, self-recording, self-distribution.
Business Fundamentals
Contracts, rights, publishing basics.
Industry Orientation
How the old industry works, and how this new ecosystem works.
AI Systems
Using AI tools for songwriting, production, mixing, mastering, marketing, and content creation. Understanding what AI can and can't replace, how to use it as leverage instead of a crutch, and the emerging rights and ethics questions around AI in music and in business.
Founding Faculty
A growing group of industry professionals shaping the curriculum.
Alicia Grant
The Parton Conservatory — Vocal Faculty
Jordan Reyes
The Wonder School — Ensemble & Session Faculty
Eleanor Vance
The Passman School — Music Law Faculty
Daniel Sato
The Mitchell School — Touring & Operations Faculty
Priya Raman
The Shiloh School — Entrepreneurship Faculty
Marcus Webb
Foundations — Safety & Conduct Faculty
Founding Class