The profound changes, in recent years, in Swedish design and cultural industries are the backdrop tothis research project. Such changes includes the music industry where digitalization and online musicdistribution as well as new music production methods has led to that production traditions as well asthe competences among the professionals in are challenged. Many Swedish design-intensivecompanies have been internationally successful for several years. And the international success of bigcompanies in the music industry, like Spotify, as well as smaller companies, like Cheiron andMaratone and individuals like Max Martin and Shellback, has resulted in a growing interest amongstudents in higher education to study music in combination with design and new media technology.Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the motives that exist among young people who chooseto study music in combination with design and new media technology and to compare such motiveswith perceptions among leading music industry professionals. The collected data are analyzed in atheoretical perspective including learning theories as well as entrepreneurial theory. The study isexpected to lead to new knowledge that is valuable in developing future education in music incombination with design and new media technology. The empirical data consists of qualitativeinterviews with industry professionals and focus group interviews with students in higher education inmusic. In addition, the collected data also include analyses of selected music industry magazines andjournals 1988-2018 as well as analyses of several curricula for higher education in music productionand music related to new media. The results firstly indicate that there is a clear discrepancy betweenthe content in the analyzed educational programs and what the students value as important. Secondly,there are also differences between what successful music industry representatives highlight asvaluable and what is offered in the courses and study programs included in the analysis. One clearsuch difference is that entrepreneurial skills are valued much higher by the interviewed music industryrepresentatives compared with what has been offered in the courses included in the analysis. A keyconclusion is that expanding entrepreneurial aspects in future curricula, in order to strengthen practicalas well as theoretical entrepreneurial skills, should reasonably lead to increased employability forfuture students.