The Pop Academy of Baden-Württemberg offers what has to date been the only opportunity in the German-speaking world to study courses in the music business and pop music design in the state sector. Experienced players from all sections of the international music business pass on their know- how in a comprehensive range of courses and prepare students for a career in the industry. The Pop Academy of Baden-Württemberg groups together the relevant aspects of pop music culture and creates synergies to optimise the creative and commercial output of the music sector. After over 50 years of pop culture, Mannheim has created an opportunity for the first time in Germany of receiving an education focused on the areas of popular music and the music business. The city of Mannheim as the “domestic music capital” offers the ideal environment with its lively cultural scene, active promotion of pop and institutions such as the Mannheim Music Park. The Pop Academy of Baden-Württemberg regards itself as not only a higher education establishment, but also as a centre of competency for all aspects of the music industry, and reinforces this claim by numerous projects in the areas of European collaboration, regional development and promotion of commercial enterprise as the home of the media in Baden-Württemberg.