MUSIC BUSINESS COURSE SUMMARY

The music industry is a constantly changing landscape, even more so now with the development of new media technologies and delivery mechanisms. It is more vital than ever that musicians understand the business that they are entering, and this course is aimed specifically at equipping aspiring professionals with the skills they need to survive!

On the Institute Music Business course, students will learn about all of the key areas of the industry, who the key players are and how they interrelate. Then they will study how to record, promote, publish their own music, as well as how best to get a deal, with whom, and finally how to make money promoting their music on the road. And if all that fails, you’ll even be given advice of how to get a job in the industry!

Learning to play your instrument is just the beginning of your career, and this course can help you make it a long and successful career!

GENERAL COURSE DETAILS

MUSIC BUSINESS COURSE OUTLINE

• Introduction to the Music Business: Get an overview of the music industry, identify the key players and understand their basic roles and how they work together
• Getting Your Act Together: Understand what it takes to make a decent demo, look at the best ways of making sure your demo gets heard and know what you need to do to raise the profile of your band
• Picking Your Team: Examine the role of the manager, see how you can attract a reputable manager and understand the key terms of a Management Agreement
• Major Record Companies: Identify the major labels, examine the way they are structured and the sort of deals they do and evaluate their advantages and disadvantages from an artist’s point of view
• Independent Record Companies: Look at Independent record labels and how they differ from the majors, examine the type of deals they do and explore independent PR, Promotion and Distribution
• Releasing Your Own Record: Understand how to set up your own record label and understand how to put out your own releases
• The Live Industry: Identify the key players in the live industry and understand their roles and see how a booking agent works with the record company and artist manager to organise and promote a tour
• Copyright and Collection Societies: Understand copyright and how it is protected and see how musicians make money from copyright
• Music Publishing: Explore music publishing and identify the major publishers and understand why songwriters sign publishing deals
• Developing you own project and getting a job in the industry: Using the skills you have acquired, you develop your business plan for your own projects and discuss routes into the music industry