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Book your placeDesigned by industry practitioners, this course will give you the opportunity to develop your networks, knowledge and reputation within the music industry. Whether you want to go into the world of artist management, live events organisation, or music marketing, we’ll help you forge your own path.
You’ll examine current business structures and commercial activities, gaining an in-depth understanding of the industry and how everything functions within it. Explore how music is released and look at emerging trends with music marketing and e-commerce. You’ll learn everything you need to know about running live events from design and production to logistics and promotion. Throughout the course you’ll have ample opportunity to get on-the-job experience with work based learning modules.
Your favourite labels, publishers, gigs, festivals, club nights, bands and artists all depend on business professionals. Your music career starts here.
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There’s no better place than Manchester to study music business. Home to some of the UK’s greatest live venues, event enterprises and an ever-growing empire of media production and tech companies, our city offers endless opportunities for you to launch your journey into the industry – no matter your specific interests.
In your second year, we’ll help you source an internship that will really help you stand out from the competition. Previous students have undertaken placements at Sony Canada, Stunt Company PR New York, Snowbombing and even on the Vans Warped Tour in the USA.
Studying at Spirit means you’ll have unrivalled access to the next generation of artists, producers and sound engineers; the perfect opportunity to gain real world experience in events organisation and artist management. We specialise in music, putting us in a unique position. By joining our community you’ll be encouraged to collaborate on cross-discipline projects to build up your experience and professional networks.
Assessments are designed to ensure you leave us with an impressive portfolio demonstrating a broad range of industry-relevant skills. Throughout your time with us you’ll be asked to create an electronic press kit, content for multiple digital platforms, marketing strategies, organise our end of year degree shows and more.
The course module details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course to study.
This module will highlight the functions and processes of the live music sector from a business perspective, examining established models and key processes within event planning and staging. Various large and small scale enterprises will be discussed and evaluated with key case studies introduced to enable a full understanding of the wide range of possibilities that exist within the industry. Key Business practices will also be identified and discussed; highlighting planning and design, revenue streams, promotional strategies, ticketing campaigns, marketing plans, audience and demographic segmentation, funding and financial pathways, identifying locations, local governmental and authority permissions, sustainability and health and event safety.
Assessment: Events plan and group practical test with discussion. 40 credits.
You’ll gain a practical overview of the music industry through an analysis of current developments and emerging trends. There is also a focus on the recorded music sector and will involve the study of topics including recording contracts, music law, distribution models, merchandising, and artist management.
Assessment: Citation and essay. 20 credits.
Through a mixture of lectures, seminars and workshops, the module will analyse and explore the effectiveness of contemporary multi-channel, digital content, marketing, distribution and revenue models. You’ll focus on emerging trends in marketing, design, branding and ecommerce and consider how these concepts can be effectively employed in a real world context. You’ll explore ideas surrounding audience segmentation, the artist as a brand, new business and social media strategies.
Assessment: Electronic press kit. 20 credits.
This module will provide you with a foundational understanding of music publishing, helping you to recognise core concepts within the sector. Through research and assessments you’ll get to grips with intellectual property and music copyright, the importance of collection societies and the role that music publishing companies have in the administration of royalty revenue streams.
Assessment: Written report. 20 credits.
With your professional development at its core, this module will help you identify multiple pathways linked to key music industry figures. You’ll develop an understanding of intellectual property, funding, budgeting, resourcing, tax, insurance and business planning.
Assessment: Presentation and report. 20 credits.
This module is designed to explore a range of areas linked to the exploitation of copyright within the music industry. You’ll examine areas such as synchronisation and brand association which are now essential additional income streams for the music, digital and creative industries. You’ll cover core concepts such as individual song rights, the image rights of the artist, working with related brands and sourcing and maintaining commercial partnership.
Assessment: Negotiation pitch and report. 20 credits.
Building on your knowledge from first year, this module extends into an end user/customer focused approach to conceiving, creating and delivering a range of multimedia content. You’ll generate a range of multimedia artefacts, ensuring you’re able to deliver promotional materials for a defined demographic.
Assessment: Digital content portfolio. 20 credits.
Learning will focus on key aspects of live event management, including liaison with agents, tour budgeting, negotiation skills, contracts, raising invoices, venue management, health and safety and more. You’ll build up a range of transferable skills to deliver a successful live event.
Assessment: Event design and concept. 20 credits.
This module presents an opportunity for you to identify a specific research topic area reflecting your particular interests and practice.
Assessment: Research essay. 20 credits.
Preparing you for a period of relevant work experience, you’ll carry out research into various industry fields, and propose a potential placement opportunity which will benefit your career development. Then through the analysis of industry management practices and operations, you will identify opportunities for the placement provider to create additional revenue streams or make operational improvements, while you gain key employability skills to help you successfully secure a practical work placement.
Assessment: Seminar presentation. 40 credits.
You’ll learn to consider a range of audience engagement strategies and explore different methods of capturing and evaluating the impact of events, whether live or virtual in their delivery. This will involve study of effective market research strategies, audience demographic and segmentation.
Assessment: Event portfolio. 20 credits.
By evaluating various start-ups and company structures, you’ll develop a business plan, working towards a sustainable business proposition. Through this module, you’ll learn everything that goes into setting up your own business, either as a sole-trader, partnership or a limited company, developing a business plan, cashflow forecast and sustainable and realistic financial projections.
Assessment: Lecture seminar with supporting archive. 20 credits.
Sourcing and applying for a more proactive role within a company, you’ll work collaboratively with an employer to define and manage a project that contributes positively to the overall company. This period of work experience is designed for you to really hone in on your chosen area within the industry and create a pathway to employment in a company where your passion lies, whilst gaining more relevant and direct experience in relation to your chosen field.
Assessment: Project and professional discussion. 40 credits.
This self-guided module puts you in charge. You’ll define key research questions and conduct thorough research to help define your dissertation topic in an area of your interest. Under the guidance of your tutor, you’ll create a regularly updated work plan, analyse primary and secondary date and complete an extended essay.
Assessment: Proposal and dissertation. 40 credits.
Teaching takes place in a variety of formats including lectures, workshops, demonstrations, peer reviews and one-to-one tutorial support. Our aim throughout is to encourage your creative exploration and hone your technical skills, all so you’ll leave us as a confident, independent professional.
A minimum of 64 UCAS points at A2 or equivalent. You should also have achieved Grade 4 or above in GCSE Maths and English, or an equivalent (UK equivalents include key skills level 3 or functional skills level 2). If you are an international applicant you must have UK settled status in order to study on our degree courses. Non-native English speakers require IELTS: 6.0 with no component lower than 5.5.
Tuition fees for all our undergraduate courses are eligible for government funding through Student Finance England, subject to a successful application.
UK-based university applications are made through UCAS. You’ll need to register via ucas.com to create an application. You can then add this course as a choice to your application using the following information:
If you have any questions about this course, your application or if you'd like to arrange a tour of Spirit Studios, please get in touch on: