Linda Bloss-Baum, senior vice president of government relations and public policy at SoundExchange, a digital music collective based in Washington, D.C., will join the Kogod School of Business at American University. Bloss-Baum will serve as assistant program director in the Business and Entertainment Program and teach two undergraduate courses as a full-time faculty member.

“We are thrilled to announce that Linda Bloss-Baum will be joining us at the Business and Entertainment Program,” said John Simson, BAE program director at the Kogod School of Business. “Linda is a true changemaker with a deep and sincere commitment to teaching and mentoring. As someone who has had extraordinary success in the entertainment industry, she brings a wealth of experience and insights to Kogod and its students. She is the perfect fit for this unique program.”

In 2013, Bloss-Baum joined the Kogod School of Business as an adjunct professor. She received AU’s Adjunct Professor of the Year award in 2018. Her course, “Protection of the Creative Class in the Digital Age,” is one of the most popular on campus. Now, she will also teach “Introduction to the Entertainment Industry.”   

In March, Bloss-Baum led a delegation of students to the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, for a week-long course in networking and professionalism in the entertainment industries. South by Southwest, or SXSW, is an annual event held in Austin that brings together creative professionals and fans from around the world for a convergence of music, film, and interactive media.

Bloss-Baum has held several senior positions in public policy and government affairs, including Time Warner, Inc., Warner Music Group, and NBC Universal/Universal Music Group.

“It is such an honor to return to my alma mater as a full-time faculty member and assistant program director to teach and mentor the next generation of leaders in the entertainment industry,” said Bloss-Baum. “The Business and Entertainment Program at Kogod has grown rapidly over the past decade. I look forward to working with John Simson and the Kogod community to foster future growth and opportunities for the program’s exemplary students in the years to come.”

“The Business and Entertainment Program attracts students from all across the globe, and many of our alumni are now working at the world’s top entertainment companies,” said Kogod School of Business Dean David Marchick. “This is one of the most successful programs at American University and that’s in large part due to its top-notch leadership. Now, with the addition of Linda Bloss-Baum, this program is poised to grow even stronger.”

The Business & Entertainment program was launched in 2013. Since the first graduating class of 2015, the BAE program has graduated more than 200 students, who now work throughout the entertainment industry, across the country and globally. Housed in the Kogod School of Business at American, graduates receive a B.S. in Business & Entertainment and complete a rigorous business curriculum in addition to their entertainment specialty classes. Graduates are now at WME, CAA, SONY WMG, Paramount+, Lee Daniels Entertainment, The Daily Show, NBC/Universal, FBMM, UTA and many other entertainment companies in film, television and music. This year, the BAE celebrated its first 30 under 30 graduate for Music in Forbes Magazine.

Bloss-Baum will join the Kogod School of Business on August 15.