Music Business and Media BA(Hons)

Why study with us? 

• You will graduate ready to take on a wide variety of roles across the music industry, from PR to A&R.
• The subject matter is a fascinating and ever-evolving mix – you will examine how the music and media industries intersect, investigating the social, cultural, economic, political and technological changes associated with their development.
• Our dedicated placements team organise excellent work placements and you’ll work on live industry projects.
• A variety of modules mean you can choose a path through your degree that suits your interests and expertise.
• Brighton is a fast-growing creative media hub and home to a thriving music scene.
• The course team are experts in their field who are passionate about sharing their knowledge with a new generation of media and music professionals.

Year 1

In your first year you will study methods of understanding and theorising the media and music industries. You will also examine the social, cultural, economic, political and technological changes associated with their development.

Modules

• Popular Music: Histories and Context
• Music, Technology, and Everyday Life
• Critical Approaches to Media 1 and 2

Options*

• Video Production 1
• Photographic Practice 1
• Producing and Consuming Social Media
• Business, Creative and Digital Industries and Innovation
• Creative Industries and Promotional Cultures
• Media and Popular Culture

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up to date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you’ll be told about any new developments through our applicant portal.

Year 2

In your second year you will focus on an industry placement as well as looking at research methods for live projects, which will equip you with the knowledge and skills to execute independent research.

Modules

• Research Methods for Live Projects
• Media Project Management
• Popular Music Industries
• Media Placement

Options*

• Introduction to Creative Leadership
• Video Production 2
• Photographic Practice 2
• Social Media Applications in Activism, Business and Life
• Digital Fabrication Methods
• Brands and Branding
• Community Radio
• Media and Public Relations
• Journalism

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Placement 

During the second year of study you will complete a professional work placement in a media-related organisation. You will receive guidance to help you focus your search from a dedicated placement team who will support you with writing your CV and cover letter, making online applications, setting up a portfolio and managing your online presence.

Placements are usually around four weeks and are academically assessed. Your degree award will reflect your industry experience. In the third year you will undertake a live project during which you will research, plan, execute and evaluate a real-world music industries project in partnership with an external organisation.

Final year

You will work in creative partnership with music innovation labs and gain practical understanding of digital media marketing as well as conceptual knowledge of the celebrity economy. With the university’s support you will undertake a live project and go into industry and complete an independent research project.

Modules

• Music Innovation: Design and Development
• Live Project

Options*

• Audiovisual Professional Practice
• Celebrity Media
• Sustainability and Innovation in Digital Culture
• Digital Media Marketing and Innovation
• Inclusive Media Practice

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Facilities 

• Digital and analogue stills equipment, including DSLRs and a range of lenses plus an offsite darkroom
• Video recording equipment, from Canon DSLRs to Blackmagic cameras, in a dedicated TV studio
• Audio recording kit and facilities, including bookable sound/radio booths 
• Dedicated video editing suites including Mac and PC computers with specialist software.

Meet the team

Staff who teach on the course include:

Iestyn George, senior lecturer, is a journalist, who previously worked as an editor at NME, GQ and Golf Punk. He was marketing manager of the Manic Street Preachers between 1999 and 2003.

Podcast: listen to Iestyn talk about his work in journalism and marketing, why he believes media is the most important subject to study at university and the future of magazines.

Paula Hearsum, lecturer and researcher in media studies, with specialisms in popular music and journalism. Paula worked as a music journalist and continues to write for the wider press. She maintains a relationship between academia and media practice, developing innovative industry-relevant courses and national online educational resources. Her research has focused on the mediation of popular musicians' deaths as way to consider dominant social discourses and narratives.

Dr Eleftherios Zenerian, is a lecturer in media studies and course leader of the Music Business and Media BA(Hons). He studied political and social sciences at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (BA, M.Sc.) and the University of Sussex (M.Sc., Ph.D.). He has taught sociology, politics and media, and cultural studies in the University of Sussex and University of Portsmouth. His research interests encompass creative labour, popular music cultures, and social and cultural theory. He currently researches fan creativity and the materiality of popular music.

Professor Kelly Snook, music producer and technologist working at the intersection of the arts, science, and technology. Kelly formerly worked as a Lunar Program Scientist at NASA.

Dr Stephen Mallinder, singer and musician who was a founding member of Cabaret Voltaire.

Professor Kelly Snook

International requirements and visas

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visas and immigration advice

Course fees

What's included

You may have to pay additional costs during your studies, although we have tried to keep this to a minimum. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. A summary of the costs that you may be expected to pay, and what is included in your fees, while studying a course in the School of Media are listed here.

• There will be opportunities to attend field trips and off-site visits. These are optional and are not required to pass your course but you can budget approximately £30–£700 for these. The nature of the costs vary from provisions for a packed-lunch to flight and accommodation costs for international field trips. The amount spent would be based on location and number of trips taken.
• Typically, practice-based courses incur more costs than text-based subjects. These costs are normally associated with specialist equipment and materials for making work and for the public presentation of work.
• Specialist equipment is provided to cover essential learning. Students may choose to buy their own specialist equipment, these may include cameras, or computers and software. Budgets can range from £50–£2,000. Buying specialist equipment is best undertaken in consultation with our academic and technical staff. This expenditure is not essential to pass any of our courses.
• For some courses you will need to budget up to £200 for printing and publishing. Photography courses may incur higher costs (£500–£2,000) when printing and framing images of professional standard for public presentation.
• Course books are available from the university but you may wish to budget up to £200 to buy your own copies.
• For some courses you will need to budget up to £150 for stationery.
• Final-year graduation shows are opportunities to present your final, independent project work to the public. Practice-based courses will typically incur higher costs. Depending on the specific nature of your final project you will need to budget between £20–£2,500. 

You can chat with our enquiries team through the Stay in touch panel at the end of this page if you require further information. Or check our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as more information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2020–21.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

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