BA (Hons) Music Business
The business behind the music industry offers many opportunities from artist management, running labels or events. Our graduates have gone on to work at Universal, Spotify, Live Nation and more.
Johnny Hopkins
Senior Lecturer
Department of Art and Music
Biography
I blame the Beatles. If they hadn’t split up I may never have gone into the music and media industries. Until then music and newspapers were just something in the background. The hysteria around the Beatles’ demise brought both to centre stage of my four-year-old mind. What were the Beatles? Why were they important? From then on I became a music and media obsessive devouring what was on the radio and reading the newspapers.
Music and media form the core of my academic work and it’s exciting to help train the next generation of music and media executives.
In my teaching I draw on 25 years' experience as a public relations director in the music, media and cultural industries. As head of press for Creation Records, I was the publicist for Oasis in the 1990s. Following that I set up a PR agency and worked with Kasabian, Sinead O’Connor, Jesus & Mary Chain, Graham Coxon (of Blur) and Primal Scream, amongst others. Other clients have included music photographers Gered Mankowitz (Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix) and Dennis Morris (Sex Pistols, Bob Marley, Marianne Faithfull), visual artists like Anish Kapoor, Anthony Gormley and Billy Childish, Brighton Festival, local councils, and regional development agencies.
Previously have done A&R (at creation), worked in the press office at One Little Indian Records, been a researcher at the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS). In the mid and late 1980s I was a live promoter and DJ working with Happy Mondays, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine and Loop amongst others. Around that time I started a successful independent record shop.
Some of my photography has been published and exhibited in London and Tokyo. I am currently writing a chapter for an academic book on popular music and Englishness.
At Solent I organise the Live & Kicking music industry conference.
Further information
Public relations director with 25 years' experience, expertise and extensive contacts in the music, media and cultural industries with clients over the years including musicians like Oasis, Sinead O’Connor, Kasabian, Graham Coxon, Jesus & Mary Chain and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry; artists like Anish Kapoor, Anthony Gormley, Richard Wilson and Billy Childish; photographers like Gered Mankowitz (Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix) and Dennis Morris (Sex Pistols, Bob Marley, Marianne Faithfull); Brighton Festival; local councils; and regional development agencies.
Taught courses
