Music Industries – BA (Hons)

This degree will put you at the heart of music in the UK, with coursework designed to equip you with the skills, knowledge, and experience, not just to work in, but to shape the music industries.

Music is one of the UK’s biggest cultural exports. It’s worth an estimated £4.4bn to the UK economy, and sustains almost 120,000 jobs.

The programme is tailor made for anyone seeking to develop a career in music, or with an interest in music as relating to wider creative and cultural industries.

Studying in our industry-standard media centre in the heart of Birmingham, you’ll develop skills through a combination of hands-on learning, supported by critical investigation into the creative cultures, fans, and practices that make the UK music industries world-leading. You will have the opportunity to apply these skills and knowledge through work placements with key organisations within the UK music industries.

What’s covered in the course?

You will develop and work on real-world music industries projects with clients, enabling you to add professional jobs to your portfolio. Our learning and teaching is informed by the changing demands of a vibrant and dynamic music industries, to make sure that you are industry ready.

If you want to take an in-depth look at promotion, music PR and music media, running a record label or producing music videos and websites, then this is the ideal course for you. It will help you to position yourself at the forefront of creating and developing innovative ideas, and exploring niche markets within the music industry.

While studying with us, you’ll have the opportunity to set up a record label, promote artists or organise a music event for a paying audience. You will develop practical business know how, applying your skills to a creative music enterprise project, as well as exploring music entrepreneurship, music online, music promotion and PR, music video, and television and music programming.

In your final year of study you will complete a final major project, drawing together the strands of knowledge, skills, and experience that you gained during your time with us. You will also have the opportunity to be nominated for one of our two Music Industries awards, sponsored by two of the musical icons of the West Midlands – Brian Travers of UB40 and Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath.

Why Choose Us?

• As a BA (Hons) Music Industries student you will benefit from our membership of UK Music’s Music Academic Partnership.
• You will be taught by staff with extensive experience of both industry and education. You will also have access to a well-established research culture based around music industries and popular music. The Popular Music Studies research group within the School of Media promotes new and innovative approaches to the study of popular music that are relevant to academics and practitioners, as well as anyone interested in popular music.
• We provide specialised, sophisticated equipment for every area in our £62 million home, The Parkside Building, including six radio studios, four TV studios, one of the largest free-standing green screens in Europe, editing suites, music production studios, a new media suite, a newsroom and photography studios (including a half and a full infinity cove).
• You will have the opportunity to expand your professional network through a range of relevant field trips and industry conferences. In recent years our students have attended We Are Robots in London, Liverpool Sound City, and Off the Record Manchester.