BA (Hons)Music Business

Core modules

Music Business Strategy and Planning

This module considers the strategies of music businesses such as artist management companies and streaming platforms. It explores these strategies in the context of the wider global business environment.

Live Music and Festivals

In this module you will examine the main business roles and companies involved in the dynamic live music sector. You will learn how live promoters and agents operate, including aspects such as event planning, touring and contracts. The module also explores a range of contemporary social, ethical and business issues raised within the sector.

Music Marketing and PR

In this module you'll analyse both classic and recent music industry campaigns to highlight elements of good practice and innovation in marketing, PR and audio-visual media. You'll also be encouraged to create your own marketing and PR campaign for an artist or company.

Music Business Content Creation

In this module, you'll build important skills in planning, recording and editing both audio and video - essential skills for many music business and media production roles. As part of the module, you'll create your own podcast and video content.

Music Business Essentials

This module offers an introduction to key elements of the music business ecology, including the many job roles and businesses that exist within the contemporary music industries, and the challenges and opportunities related to them. The focus is on the activities of record companies, music publishers, and music distributors.

Music, Culture and Fandom

Drawing on a variety of research topics and approaches, you'll develop an ability to understand the interactions between music and society, and the role that audiences and fans play in helping artists and genres to become successful.

Core modules

Managing Events

In this module, you'll gain further experience and understanding of being part of an event team. During your career, you will work with others to create and achieve an event vision, either for an employer or a client. This module will give you the opportunity to work alongside senior members of an event team, building an in-depth knowledge of event processes. You'll also gain an understanding of what it takes to create a high-functioning team that considers the different roles involved whilst also considering stakeholder agendas.

Music, Politics and Society

This module focuses on the intersections between music, politics and society, addressing such questions as the following. How do musicians, activists and politicians make use of music to promote a range of personal, social and political causes and movements? How do the lyrics and music of songs work to engage their audiences, and can they bring about societal understanding and change? How might organisations and governments seek to control the use of music through censorship?

Making Money from Music

In this module we will introduce you to the many ways that artists and companies can make money within the music and entertainment industries. You will also learn how to plan projects, secure funding, manage copyrights and evaluate financial data.

Professional Development

For this module, you will explore the career that you are most interested in pursuing in the future. You will also develop the professional and personal skills that you need to achieve your career goals. As part of the module, you will also develop a professional online presence that is essential to making contacts and building your reputation in the music business.

Music Law: Contracts and Controversies

This module provides you with a vital understanding of key legal issues by exploring music contracts, legal cases and the role of lawyers. The module content will therefore provide you with the knowledge and confidence to understand and question music contracts that you may encounter in real-world situations.

Artist Management and Development

This module focuses on the important areas of artist management and development. You'll firstly consider how an artist can develop their brand throughout a sustainable career, and then discuss and analyse the increasing importance of data in driving artist management and development decisions.

Core modules

Final Major Project

This module allows you to undertake a sustained piece of academic or business research relevant to your subject specialism. You will have the choice of completing a dissertation, a practical project, or a consultancy project, with guidance provided by the teaching team. The project will demonstrate your critical analytical skills, your ability to work autonomously on a large-scale project, and your ability to communicate your work in line with academic and/or professional expectations.

Global Music Futures

In this module you'll critically investigate factors related to the globalisation of music, and the impacts of new technological and business developments that are developing.

Creative Music Business Project

This module combines elements of the business and practice-based learning that you have gained over the previous two years. You'll be encouraged to plan a significant creative project to a professional standard, building skills in strategic thinking, business planning, and marketing.

Copyright, Publishing and Sync

This module gives you an up-to-date understanding of how copyright, publishing and sync operate. It also considers how artists and companies can negotiate the ever-developing digital environment.

Optional modules

Please note: Not all optional modules are guaranteed to run each year.

International Events and Placemaking

This module will give you the opportunity to explore working internationally, also considering the planning process for global events. During the module, you'll also consider the context of such events, whether they are driven by destination promotion or national-level brand positioning. This is an exciting module for those interested in how their work contributes to developing communities, cities and nations.

Festival Cultures

This optional module focuses on the culture of music festivals, drawing attention to the historical development of different forms of outdoor event and the stereotypes and expectations that we associate with them.

Songwriting Portfolio

This module will help you develop your own musical identity through the execution of a negotiated individual songwriting project. You will also investigate contemporary and traditional practices used to successfully write songs across different genres. This will put you firmly in control of your career as both artist and songwriter.