Music Management and Creative Enterprise

This module provides an introduction and examination of the UK and global contemporary music industry. You will study established organisational and economic structures, their historical contexts and the subsequent digital disruption. You will be introduced to concepts of copyright, authorship and ownership as well as production, press, radio, marketing and distribution. You will chart the fundamental shift from analogue to digital culture, technology and the rise of streaming, social media, crowdsourcing and funding.

Creativity doesn't stop once the music has been written and recorded. Social media and other online platforms present infinite  opportunities for you to support your campaigns with imaginative, collaborative or self-authored content. In this module you will be introduced to a variety of multimedia production techniques empowering you to commission or create your own content. These disciplines include graphic, photographic and video production.

You will learn from experts in each field including lecturers from the wider School of Arts & Media who will introduce you to creative processes, software and cutting edge equipment in a series of hands-on technical and creative workshops.

How do composers, musicians and record labels collect revenue, what are the challenges of ownership and the new opportunities in this postmodern digital age? This module will take an in-depth look at intellectual and mechanical property rights, royalty collection societies, publishing and label deal structures, as well as how artists and music owners are generating revenue by exploiting secondary rights such as the likes of synchronisation and through brand association. 

You will examine the fundamentals of the music industry, including how we actually define a song, copyright law and the historical challenges that led to the formation of the Performing Rights Society, Mechanical Copyright Protection Society and the Phonographic Performance Limited.

You will also study how the industry and music-economy responded to the challenges of sampling, the rise of piracy, digital downloading and most recently, streaming. A strong grasp of these core concepts are crucial for all those who wish to enter the music industry helping you to maximise and generate new income, manage rights and negotiate agreements.

Those wishing to enter into the field of music management must not only possess a broad knowledge and skill-set surrounding the business aspect but also music itself, and as its cultural, historical and socio-economic contexts.

All contemporary musical forms are predicated on what came before, from compositional, recording trends and techniques, and movements in youth culture, though to advancements in technology, communication ;and modes of distribution. This module will expand your repertoire and frame of reference by developing your understanding of popular post-war, English-language musical forms.

Your lectures and seminars will chart the birth of rock n roll and the advent of the teenager, via prog and punk, through to dance and hip-hop, landing in the mid-to-late 1980s and the prevalence of mass postmodern forms. You will be taught academic skills in critical thinking and writing, giving you the tools to deconstruct and analyse pivotal artists, genres and associated movements, helping you understand and appreciate historical and contemporary popular music in context of a variety of interdisciplinary, artistic and socio-cultural spheres.

Extending themes and continuing the timeline established in 'Popular Music History and Culture', this module examines key artists and movements from the end of twentieth century and into the twenty first. From grunge to grime, you will examine the disruptive factors that led to the erosion and micro-fragmentation of genre. You will learn academic research techniques and examine postmodernist theory, helping you to decode the ever increasingly complex, evolving and revolving, self-referential musical forms and movements produced today.

This module introduces you to techniques that are used to effectively launch and sustain an integrated  social-media marketing and press campaign. You will research and study artist, brand and creative organisation case-studies as well as specialist and new music discovery websites, magazines and influencers. Learn how to write and distribute your own press release as well as all about the integral role of the publicist. Workshops will give you further opportunity for you to hone your skills in multimedia and content creation, with a particular focus video content production and platforms.

Video is a powerful storytelling medium, not only can it serve as a prime proving ground for a promotional campaign, it’s emotionally resonant combination of sound, motion, and visuals can also help you reach further and deeper; producing more satisfying relationships between artists and audiences.

The relationship between artist and manager is an ever evolving partnership. In the beginning the manager is often responsible for fulfilling a plethora of roles in order to establish an artist with audiences and the industry alike. If successful, a manager could eventually see themselves overseeing a vast collaborative network with many moving parts. In lectures you will hear from managers from all level, and how they must combine a full 360-view of the industry with a real duty of care towards their artists.

Through the presentation of a variety of considered management styles, practices and protocols, you will learn how to not just effectively combine all the knowledge and skills you have learnt and developed up to now, but also the techniques required to balance and manage your artist's personal, interpersonal, creative and emotional development. This includes notions of how the manager is integral in helping to guide the development of an artist's repertoire and even production aesthetic.

You will learn about the crucial role of the producer along with gaining an insight into production processes, recording techniques and terminologies; whether they be demo recording at home, or working in a professional studio environment, from pre-production, through to mastering and delivery.

This module will equip you with the knowledge and skills to work within and influence an ever-evolving music industry as well as the wider cultural and arts sectors. You will study business practices and aspects that will aid your own personal and professional development, equipping you with the tools to work self-employed, within established institutions or to launch your own enterprise.

From project management, leadership and team-working skills, to tax and accounting, pitching, fundraising, applying for grants, crowdsourcing and impact evaluation; you will seek out new markets, propose and demonstrate your own business plan. You will start to build your own professional network, study a variety of your own and university-partnered industry case studies and hear from a variety of influential creative entrepreneurs, arts professionals, business leaders and lecturers from the university's Business School.

This module aims to develop expertise in online marketing, distribution, social media and communication strategies. You will study how to implement and integrate a range of disciplines, tools and platforms, quantitative and qualitative analysis, content and search engine optimisation, and how to predict the very latest trends and innovations. You will study a variety of tools and techniques that will help your project reach further and wider by researching, building and presenting your own comprehensive strategy framework. Expertise and case-studies will come from a variety of perspectives, including the music and creative industries, wider marketing specialists and the University of Salford Business School.

The live sector is very much the lifeblood of the music industry, suppling opportunities for artists and audiences to truly connect through visceral and irreplaceable experiences. Grassroots live music events are often the proving ground for not just new artists but those looking to break into the music industry in general, whereas touring and festivals often provide the highest proportion of revenue for many when building a career.

This module combines the practices and protocols involved in the management, curation and promotion of a live music event. You will also learn how the touring industry is organised, hearing from and meeting booking agents, grassroots, national and festival promotors, event organisers, tour managers and engineers. In teams, you will project manage and stage your own real-word event in the heart of Manchester's vibrant music scene including: choosing a venue, programming, creative branding, ticketing, promoting, crewing, assessing and mitigating risk.

This module provides an overview of journalistic methodologies as applied to the fields of music and the music industry. You will examine and construct a variety of forms of journalistic output as related to music as well as develop a critical understanding of the interrelationship between market, industry and culture.

Social media, digital downloads and streaming have irrevocably revolutionised not only how we consume music but also how and who can publish and distribute it. Whilst major labels are still an integral part of the industry, has the democratisation of the internet has gone a large way to levelling the previously uneven playing field. You will meet a range of people involved in releasing music at every level, from those running established labels to self-releasing DIY artists and managers.

You will then consolidate the knowledge and skills you have learnt in this and other modules to propose and make your own digital release. You will focus on recording agreements, accounting, royalty distribution, aggregation, promotion, marketing, social media, PR, radio and play-listing. In addition, whilst not as prevalent, releasing physical product is still important and integral to many markets. You will learn why certain artists continue to release CDs, and audiences alike fetishise vinyl. You will research the latest point-of-sale to data and trends, including how labels add value to their physical product as well as how, why and where fans buy what they do.

Working in teams, this module is an opportunity for you to put into practice the culmination of your previous two years of study by planning an ambitious, real-world project. Likely you will help realise your passions by choosing to create and even combine: an artist release campaign or launch, an artist collaboration, an event, business or social enterprise. You will be required to engage a full 360-degree managerial view of a complex project, balancing your own objectives with those you are collaborating with.

Delivery will be through a combination of lectures and weekly team supervisions.

In this module you will carry forward your own, peer and project supervisor feedback from Professional and Creative Practice 1; adjusting your plans accordingly and then subsequently executing your ambitious music integrated music project. You will be expected to manage your own learning and scheme of work, presenting weekly group progress reports to your project supervisor

This module enables you to undertake a comprehensive project encompassing two areas of specialist study. Choose from Dissertation, Collaborative Practice, Work Based Study, Collection of Writings, or Contemporary and Contextual Study. It assists in the realisation of creative work (practical and/or written) and hones your artistic and academic skills base.

This module is an opportunity to further develop one of your specialist areas of study you undertook in the previous semester. Choose from: Dissertation, Collaborative Practice, Work Based Study, Collection of Writings, or Contemporary and Contextual Study. It assists the realisation of creative work (practical and/or written), encourages the development of a personal style within the chosen field of study, and hones your creative, professional and academic skills base, preparing you for your career ahead.