BA (Hons) Music Promotion (Full Time)

Promoting gigs, bands and live events, working at music festivals, and developing skills and in-depth knowledge of the music industries, marketing and digital media will open the doors to a wide range of career opportunities.

Course overview

The BA (Hons) Music Promotion at Southampton Solent University is designed for those with a love of music who are interested in a career focused on sharing their enthusiasm with others.

There are three key areas of study:

• popular music and the music industries
• public relations, promotions, marketing and event management
• interactive, digital and social media.

These related areas will develop your professional and vocational skills, knowledge and understanding of music promotion. You will gain practical experience of creating promotional campaigns, websites, DVDs and podcasts. You will also have the opportunity to develop joint projects with Solent's other popular music courses – for example, in promoting concerts, club nights, festivals and performers/bands.

|

Alongside this, you will investigate popular music histories, genres and cultures, and learn about the development and future of the music business.

The second and third year of the course offer a high level of personalisation through a choice of option units, plus individual and group practical projects. 

Industrial focus

You will have many opportunities to run high profile promotions and live events. Work experience is available at local live music and club venues and at a number of music festivals, including Bestival, Camp Bestival, Glastonbury and Blissfields through our links with the Association of Independent Festivals. Students are also encouraged to seek work placements. Placements have previously been secured at companies such as Columbia Music, XL Recordings, Hart Media, Big Machine Media and LarMac Live.

You will also benefit from regular music industry guest speakers and active involvement in managing our annual SMILEfest– a week-long student-managed event mixing live performances, workshops and an academic conference. Past speakers have included Everett True, Rob da Bank, Foreign Beggars, Maria Forte and Lauren Pritchard. 

|

Course content

Year 1

Five core units:

• Introduction to Music Promotion
• Communication in Action
• Understanding the Music Industries
• Popular Music: Styles and Genres
• Digital and Interactive Media. 

Year 2

 Six core units and one option:

• Music Marketing
• Events Management
• Convergent Media Management
• Interactive Promotion
• Mediating Popular Music: Sound-Vision-Text
• Histories of Popular Music

Options:

• Pop: the Invisible Mainstream
• Subcultures and Scenes
• Noise Annoys: Experiments and Alternatives in Popular Music
• Pop, Politics and Protest
• Curriculum Plus.

Year 3

Three core units and one option:

• Working in the Music Industry
• Collaborative Music Project
• Individual Music Project.

Options:

• Festival Cultures
• Music Audiences and Consumption
• Technologies of Popular Music
• Popular Music and the Moving Image
• Hello 20th Century: Bartok to Branca
• Curriculum Plus.

Why choose this course?

• Solent is accredited as a Skillset Media Academy, a national centre of excellence in media education.
• Work experience at live music venues and at local and national music and arts festivals, such as Bestival, Camp Bestival, Blissfields and Glastonbury.
• Unique links with the Association of Independent Festivals.
• Managing the University’s annual SMILEfest music industries event.
• Organise gigs at local venues and get involved in real-life promotional campaigns.
• Get involved with the University’s award-winning radio station, ‘Radio Sonar’.
• Regular guest speakers and performances throughout the year. Past guests include Rob da Bank, Band of Skulls, Gallows, Reverend and the Makers, Feargal Sharkey, Everett True and Biff Mitchell.
• Professional-standard digital and interactive media facilities.
• Part of a suite of music courses including record production, music journalism and music performance, with dedicated performance space and our own recording studios.

Assessment

Coursework in the form of, for example, group and individual projects, learning journals, portfolios, essays, seminar presentations, and practical production projects.

Key career skills

High level communication skills – written, verbal and online, ability to work in a team and individually, creative thinking, analytical skills, organizational skills, networking and negotiation skills.

Projects/work experience

Work experience at some of the UK’s biggest music festivals, such as Glastonbury, Bestival, Camp Bestival, the Glade Festival, and Blissfields.   

Student profile

Kate Willoughby

“Before I came to university I used to enjoy doing music promotion in my spare time. It was great fun and when I found out about this course I knew I had to take this opportunity to expand my knowledge and learn more about promoting music.

In my first year I started a music promotion company called Against Me Promotions, which I used to host an event at the Orange Rooms, featuring Solent University DJs and music students.

In my second year, I extended this into the 'Steppin’ Razor' brand at The Soul Cellar: a well-known and unique music venue in the middle of Southampton. I also had the opportunity to promote the Glade Electronic Music Festival using online media and social networking sites.

At the end of my second year I became The Soul Cellar’s In House Promoter, which gave me amazing work experience, and also gave me the chance to expand my knowledge of event management and promotion. I am currently working for Oxjam, organising events around Essex and London.”