Music Business & Management | BA (Hons) Degree
Why this course?
This course has been successful in developing and promoting motivated and ambitious individuals across all aspects of the music industry , including music producers, performers, artists, managers, A&R, music publishers, studio owners, tour production and entrepreneurs.
Key features
- Taught by music industry specialists
- Weekly music industry visitors, including lawyers, artists, video directors, agents, managers
- Strong industry connections including staff and ex-students (eg at Sony and Warner managing artists such as Skepta and Mabel) in key parts of the music industry
- State-of-the-art recording studios and professionally equipped theatre on campus
- Excellent collaboration opportunities with courses such as performance, production, photography, media, graphic design
Our alumna Radha Medar is named Businesswoman of the Year and nominated for Manager of the Year by Music Week magazine
Video tour of our facilities
Validated by University of the Arts London (UAL)
This programme is validated by University of the Arts London (UAL). UAL is a leading education provider in the creative arts, ranked second in the world for art and design (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020). They oversee the standards and quality of our curriculum, which enriches your overall learning experience.
Course entry requirements
Each application will be assessed individually, including a review of your grades, interview, portfolio/audition and any experience.
Typical entry requirements are below but offers may vary:
- a relevant A-Level or Level 3 Extended Diploma
In exceptional circumstances, if you do not meet our entry requirements, your application may still be considered if you demonstrate additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:
- related academic or work experience
- the quality of the personal statement
Portfolio and interview
You will also be required to provide a portfolio and interview for this course.
Interview requirements:
Evidence of or aptitude towards business and marketing in a music industry context. Demonstration of written and academic skills.
Entry guide
Entry guide for more information about the range of qualifications we accept (including English language requirements for international students).
Working from our own music business hub office will allow you unrivalled access to work experience opportunities and our exceptional studio resources. Collaborations are encouraged with your fellow MET students in filmmaking, design, photography and other disciplines essential to your growing professional network. Each part of the course is designed to increase your value and your opportunities, as either artist or as part of an artist’s team. Our External Examiner said, “If I were to be studying my music business degree now, I would want to study here.”
Year 1
This course begins with fundamentals of music industry structure, copyright and contracts, alongside practical, real-world music projects including artist management, A&R, releasing and marketing records, from vinyl to digital streaming. You will put on live events, build music audiences and fan bases and run the student radio station.
Units include:
- Music Law
- Commercial Music
- Event Management
- Ideas in Context: Why Music Matters
Music Project
Year 2
In Year 2, you will study entrepreneurship, bid for actual funding for your music business ideas, and negotiate industry work placements while developing your own vocational major project - defined, planned, owned and controlled by you. You will also build up your own area of music industry expertise via a research project. Your own projects will be informed by one-to-one tutorials and weekly industry visits by current practitioners (including many now-successful alumni) across all sectors of the music industry.
Unite include:
- Music: Budgeting, Planning and Funding
- Industry Briefs
- Individual Project
- Ideas in context: Musicking
Year 3
You will extend and apply your music business knowledge in tutorials from specialists with cutting-edge expertise in one of the most rapidly evolving and growing sectors of UK business. Classes and project work in our own music business hub office run inside our extensive, world-class studio complex, providing a busy music ecosystem and work experience. The course is supplemented by a weekly series of lectures and workshops with prominent visiting music industry figures, including record labels, publishers, artist managers, music lawyers and performing artists across all genres, including many successful MET alumni.
Units include:
- Professional Practice
- Collective Practice
- Music Dissertation
We have excellent relationships with industry figures at all major labels, music publishers, promoters, the media (including the BBC), music distributors and the streaming services. Our industry connections include staff contacts at Universal Music and many other important music companies, and crucially ex-students working at Sony, Warner, managing artists such as Skepta, Mabel, working with artists, distribution, copyright, contracts, rights, digital music aggregation and key parts of the music industry.
Music Business students have full access to our outstanding sound studios, as well as an office dedicated to music industry projects. Students receive a digital copy of Music Week each week, and can access a range of current industry books and publications, and further essential industry-related IT equipment and software in the music department and in our fully equipped Learning Resource Centres. For event management, we have excellent relationships with a host of south coast venues, as well as our own theatre spaces on campus.
Music degrees at the MET
Hear from Programme Lead Mike Pailthorpe and current students about why our music degrees are so unique.
'Anything' by Kris Thakrar and Matty Greenfield
This music video was a collaboration between students Kris Thakrar and Matty Greenfield and students from our Hair & Makeup for Theatre and Media and Costume for Performance and Film degrees. The artist in the video is Music Diploma student Indie Dianne, aka Lohana. The track was designed around a sample from Roxy Music's guitarist Phil Manzanera. When Phil visited GB MET during for one of our exciting industry workshops Kris asked him for permission to use the sample, which he kindly gave!
Contact time and study hours
A full-time student can expect to have around 2 days of timetabled teaching contact per week. You will have approximately 40 hours of timetabled teaching contact for each 20 credit module. This is supported by independent self-guided study.
Teaching and assessment methods
We use a variety of teaching methods, including:
- practical workshops
- discussions
- groupwork
- lectures/seminars
- tutorials
- self-directed study
Assessment methods vary between units but could include:
- business plan
- project work
- portfolios
- dissertation
- presentations
- written assignments
Potential careers
- Artist manager
- Recording/touring artist
- A&R (artist & repertoire)
- Artist entrepreneur
- Studio manager
- Booking agent
- Event promoter
- Venue manager
- Music producer
- Freelance composer
- Sound engineer
- Entertainment lawyer
- Music publishing
Alumni stories
Recent alumni news: Our alumna Radha Medar is named Businesswoman of the Year and nominated for Manager of the Year by Music Week magazine
See more of our music department alumni success stories (PDF) >
