BA (Hons) Music Promotion (Full Time)

The music industry is a highly competitive, dynamic business. Technological advances have altered not only how music is made but also how it is promoted, accessed and used. This means that promotional, marketing, media and event management skills are vital to musicians, managers and record labels, both now and in the future. This exciting and innovative course has been designed for those who love music and are passionate about having a career focused on sharing that enthusiasm with others, and for musicians and others seeking to extend their skills base for the twenty-first-century music industry.

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Key areas of study:

• popular music and the music industries
• music promotion, marketing and public relations
• events management
• interactive, digital and social media.

These areas will develop your professional, vocational and management skills, and your knowledge and understanding of music promotion and the broader music industries. Individual and group-based projects enable you to create and manage your own promotional campaigns, events, websites and interactive media.

Industrial focus

You will be encouraged to get involved in the local music community and to think entrepreneurially from the very start of your course. Past students have created, promoted and managed their own business start-ups – from club nights and live music promotion to independent record labels and websites.

In addition, work experience is available at music festivals such as Glastonbury, Bestival, Sonisphere and Blissfields, and we have an exclusive partnership with the Association of Independent Festivals. Students have also undertaken work placements at Warner Music International, XL Recordings and a range of music promotion companies, as well as at local live music venues and events such as The Joiners (Southampton’s premier live music venue) and the Ejector Seat Arts Festival.

You will benefit from regular music industry guest speakers and our annual student-managed SMILE Week – an event which mixes interactive workshops and guest talks, numerous live performances and an academic conference. Past guests have included Rob da Bank, Foreign Beggars, Gallows and Mark Cann (Glastonbury Festival).

Course content

Year 1

Five core units:

• Introduction to Music Promotion
• Communication in Action Project
• Understanding the Music Industry
• Popular Music: Styles and Genres
• Digital and Interactive Media.

Year 2

Six core units and one option unit:

• Music Marketing
• Events Management
• Convergent Media Management
• Interactive Promotion
• Mediating Music: Sound-Vision-Text
• Histories of Popular Music.

Options:

• Pop: The Invisible Mainstream
• Subcultures and Scenes
• Noise Annoys
• Pop, Politics and Protest
• Curriculum Plus.

Year 3

Three core units and one option unit:

• Individual Music Project
• Collaborative Music Project
• Working in the Music Industry.

Options:

• Festival Cultures
• Music Audiences and Consumption
• Technologies of Popular Music
• The Global Music Industry
• Popular Music and the Moving Image
• Hello Twentieth Century
• Curriculum Plus.

Why choose Solent?

In-depth knowledge of the music industries, marketing, digital media and management will open the doors to a wide range of career opportunities in the music and media industries.

• Solent is accredited as a Skillset Media Academy, a national centre of excellence in media education.
• Solent Music provides extensive links and work experience opportunities with music festivals, venues and other organisations.
• SMILE Week – our annual student-managed event featuring live performances, music and media industry guest speakers, and industry-led workshops.
• Industry-standard digital and interactive media facilities.

Assessment

Coursework in the form of, for example, group and individual projects, portfolios, essays, seminar presentations and practical production projects. During your final year you will complete an individual dissertation or practice-based project and a large-scale practice-based collaborative project such as an aspect of SMILE Week.

Projects/work experience

Work experience at some of the biggest and best-loved British music festivals including Bestival, Glastonbury, Camp Bestival and Blissfields, as well as local venues such as The Joiners, Unit and the Soul Cellar.

Key career skills

Skills in verbal and written communication, digital media/IT, creative thinking, independent judgement, teamwork, management, analytical thinking.

Graduate quote

James Moodie

James graduated in 2010. He works for Work It Media as a social media manager, with clients such as Richard Ashcroft and the Scissor Sisters. He also runs his own record label, Flatpack Records, which was created while studying at Southampton Solent University and has since had success with bands such as Le Martells, Apollo’s Arrows and Polio.

“I loved the social element of the course! We had lectures with other popular music courses which gave valuable opportunities to network with performers, managers and producers.

“The skills I acquired through the degree have definitely helped my career to date. The PR skills I learnt are already massively paying off – I find myself using them nearly everyday I work or go to interviews. I was shown the tricks of the trade and the course leader was pretty much the best tutor you could ask for, supportive and full of help and advice. I’ve taken as much of the help I got at university out into the big bad world!”

Annie Posmourna

Since graduating in 2010, Annie has completed a master’s degree in Cultural and Arts Management and in 2011 launched her own corporate music entertainment agency Annie007.

“I loved the teaching style of the lecturers at Solent. They are all very passionate and highly knowledgeable about the music business and music history. The whole study experience was very stimulating: every part of the course relates to real-life industry practice and the extracurricular options, such as guest speakers from the music industry, were endless.

“The University is conveniently located only an hour from London, which is a real plus point when starting to work within the music business!”

Industry quote

Rob Da Bank, Bestival curator

“They’re brilliant! … all the stuff that Solent Uni has done has been great. I’m really chuffed; I hope it’s the start of things to come! Solent Uni, big yourselves up!”

Key info from UNISTATS