BA (Hons) Music Business

The first Creative Industries module will introduce you to the strategies and tools to set you on the right path toward pursuing a successful career. Whether focused on a particular career goal or considering several future possibilities, you will broaden your knowledge of the opportunities available to you as a future creative industry professional.

Summary

The partnership between artist and manager is the creative ‘life-blood’ of the music industry. This module introduces you to the role of the modern music manager and the ways in which they help artists develop - and sustain - careers in the modern music industry.

Module Aims

Placing yourself into the role of artist manager, this module aims to help you develop your ability to analyse the needs and skills of artists, and well as recognise gaps and areas for development, in order to make informed and effective planning decisions about how to support their development as an artist.

The rapidly evolving music business is a multi-faceted, technologically driven industry. Effective music industry practitioners must understand how the numerous businesses, organisations and professionals operate, how they work alongside each other and interconnect. Furthermore, due to the rate of change, it is essential to make informed predictions about the future of the industry and evolve operations accordingly. This module is designed to offer you a holistic perspective of the industry, from where you can clearly identify conventions, standard working practices and growth areas.

Live music is central to the success of the majority of modern musicians. From developing emerging artists at a grassroots level to building fanbases through national and international touring and delivering career-defining moments at stadiums and festivals, the live sector is key to building and engaging audiences.

Moreover, it provides substantial revenue for the Music Industry, proving to be more robust than the recording sector in the face of changing technology. However, it is not without its own challenges, particularly around the competitiveness of this sector at every level.

This module will expand on concepts introduced in the Music Business module to give you the tools and knowledge to navigate the Live Music Industry. Covering both ground-level insight into how live events work and the roles of those involved, through to industry trends and the challenges faced by everyone from small venues to world-renowned festivals.

In this module, you will further develop your investigative skills, exploring relevant underlying concepts and principles and interpreting these within the context of your area of study. You will explore the nature of creativity, the wider context of the industry and practice reflective techniques.

You will also evaluate sources and consider issues such as potential biases and cultural diversity. This evaluation will contribute to developing an enhanced awareness of your creative identity and greater insight into the topics that inspire and motivate you. In addition, you will improve your understanding of how your area of interest intersects with the wider creative industry.

Using academic enquiry, you will develop a reflective journal to evaluate your strengths and areas for self-development in relation to your studies, careers and personal aspirations. This investigative work will help establish a connection between the skills you have identified concerning specific careers and areas of the industry, enhancing your understanding of what is required to be a successful professional practitioner.

Summary

Building on the knowledge and skills developed in Artist Management & Music Business modules and utilising the skills gained in Marketing & PR, this module will look at critical aspects of the music releases including (but not limited to) strategy, narrative/story, genre niches, schedule, content creation/brand, platforms, distribution mechanisms, insights, potential revenue streams as well as project outcomes.

Module Aims

This module aims to support you to develop your understanding of the processes involved in self-releasing music to a specific market, The module will equip you with the ability to justify a range of choices made in the process of planning a release and examine the procedures involved in the delivery and marketing of a release, preparing you for engagement with the professional music industry.

Summary

Music publishing is essential in the modern music business, an ever-increasing amount of visual content is being created and shared, much of which requires the synchronisation of music, this along with the development of new distribution channels has opened a wealth of new opportunities for songwriters and publishers.

Module Aims

This module aims to focus on the fundamentals of this topic covering areas such as: the definition of a song, the publisher’s role, the collection societies, the types of music publisher, and music publishing contracts. In this module, you will explore the relationship between these core concepts and current music industry developments.

Summary

In an increasingly competitive marketplace, an effective and creative marketing campaign can make any brand stand out from the crowd and achieve its goals. Whether it is the discovery of a new artist, buying tickets for an event or festival, or the everyday products and services we consume, marketing continues to influence us across every part of our lives. Developing a personal brand enables individuals to effectively communicate their unique value and differentiate themselves from competitors.

Module Aims

In this module, you will explore contemporary music and events brands, their audiences, branding, and communications. You will learn about emerging trends and technologies in social media, and how human psychology impacts our decision making. Whether you want to work in a marketing role directly, run your own events or manage an artist; marketing will undoubtedly play a crucial role in your future career success.

Summary

This module will build on the skills you developed in your first year. In The Creative Industries and You module, you utilised concepts and principles to explore the nature of creativity, developing a short and longer-term plan for your personal and professional practice.

In this module you will carry out an individual investigation, utilising secondary research to investigate the lineage of your creative practice. You will directly apply ideas to your own discipline and development, selecting an area of investigation relevant to your own practice, and communicating your argument in writing or via a narrated slide presentation. The concepts you explore in this module, including your positionality and identity, are themes you will encounter frequently as a creative professional.

Module Aims

By examining existing case studies and undertaking a research case study you will further develop secondary research skills and contextualise your professional identity. The research methods and study skills you develop throughout this module will prepare you for next year’s Final Project, in which you will self-direct a significant piece of academic, creative and/or professional practice. Additionally, this module will help you develop the following graduate attributes:

• Global Awareness
• Self-awareness
• Intellectual curiosity
• Professionalism

The UK music industry has seen growth and expansion in recorded music, publishing and live events, highlighting an industry ripe for entrepreneurial development. Recent enterprising examples have seen entrepreneurs collect waste left at festivals and transform it into usable products sold for charitable organisations benefitting society and the environment and creating an economy where there wasn’t one previously. This module is designed to get you thinking about the music industry as a whole, both nationally and globally, to consider what gaps might exist for new business or what services could be created for new customer bases.

Throughout the module, you will consider what tools you need to create the next industry product or service, as well as how to relate this to self-employment and wider creative industries.

The module incorporates further industry knowledge and utilisation around digital platforms. It explores how the digital music economy functions within streaming and social media. This is investigated through platforms such as Spotify, Soundcloud, Tik Tok, YouTube and Instagram.

You will discover how services such as Disco.ac, Curve Royalty Systems and Ampsuite can be used as digital music management tools; and how sites such as SocialBlade, HootSuite and Sprout Social can be used to access metadata and analytics.

You will research and evaluate the growing integration and utility of AI in these management systems.

Summary

In the Defining Your Practice in Context module, you evaluated the lineage and traditions of your creative practice, investigating how it connects to artistic and industry practices. This module will require you to utilise your acquired knowledge to plan and create, collaboratively, a piece of work that links to your practice. Collaborating with others can help you develop new and innovative ideas and can also help you develop confidence as a creative practitioner whilst practising your communication, project management, reflection and feedback skills.

Module Aims

• To develop collaborative working practices.
• To plan and execute a creative project.
• To document your creative process including the nature of your collaboration.
• Seek and use developmental feedback.
• Evaluate the nature of teamwork, communication and collaboration.
• Appraise your professional values, ethics and goals.

Additionally, this module will help you develop the following graduate attributes:

• Employable and Entrepreneurial.
• Creative, Collaborative and Connected.
• Socially Responsible.
• Self-awareness.
• Professionalism.

This module introduces the key concepts for financing creative projects and outlines the fundraising process. The module will cover a range of approaches that include grant funding, crowdsourcing, sponsorship, start-up loans, private income and support in-kind. You will develop practical planning and delivery skills including writing a fundraising strategy, pitching for money, filling out a grant application form, creating a sponsorship pack, managing budgets and risk, and evaluating impact.

The module provides an introduction to economics and innovation, and how they interact in the music and culture industry.

You will examine the relationship between cultural, social and economic factors influencing and influenced by the music business.

You will explore economic theories through the lens of everyday phenomena and/or moments of significant change in the music business past, present and future.

In this module, you will undertake a significant project of your own choosing. It’s your chance to explore your passion within the industry and creative arts: experiment, take risks, strengthen your skills and create a product/cohesive portfolio of work that you are proud to showcase at the end of your degree.

This module will support you in consolidating the broad learning and development from the course so far, building a bridge into the industry, the workplace and future opportunities. You will be supported to self-direct your own learning through a series of lectures, seminars and 1:1 tutorials with expert supervisors.

Acknowledging audience needs and expectations are central to considering what motivates consumers to engage with a product or service. The Service Industry is no longer enough, people now want an ‘experience’, something to remember. The Experience Economy focuses on audience experience, on creating bespoke events, greater innovation in business and always ensures that value is created for an audience.

This module will deconstruct audience experience through the analysis of consumer trends, audience psychology, economic impacts and industry developments. You will explore how to create exciting and innovative businesses to understand how entrepreneurs engage with specific audiences to fulfil experiential requirements.

This module provides an in-depth exploration of emerging trends, innovations, and challenges shaping the future landscape of the media and marketing, music business and events industries.

Through critical analysis of industry developments, case studies, and expert insights, you will gain a nuanced understanding of the evolving dynamics within media consumption patterns, technological advancements, regulatory changes, and societal shifts.

In this module, you will undertake a significant project of your own choosing. It’s your chance to explore your passion within the industry and creative arts: experiment, take risks, strengthen your skills and create a product/cohesive portfolio of work that you are proud to showcase at the end of your degree.

This module will support you in consolidating the broad learning and development from the course so far, building a bridge into the industry, the workplace and future opportunities. You will be supported to self-direct your own learning through a series of lectures, seminars and 1:1 tutorials with expert supervisors.

"The most important persuasion tool you have in your entire arsenal is integrity." - Zig Ziglar

Ethical procedures impact every aspect of business operations, identifying and establishing ethical codes is central to successful business management. This module will explore a range of ethical and legal considerations to ensure that you and your business is ethically sound and operating within legal parameters.

This module is a final step in your academic journey. It will prove essential for working creatively in your chosen field. Drawing on evidence from your study, you'll critically evaluate your learning and the industry connections you've made. You'll explore theories of personal and professional development you can apply in the world of work. You'll learn with your peers in small and large mixed discipline sessions.

You will be challenged to create work competing in your chosen field. Specialist workshops from seasoned professionals are part of your learning. You'll create a portfolio on your journey so far- looking at your constructed professional identity- mindful that it is key to your working future.