Music Industry Management & Promotion

Practical classes are delivered in the Media Factory which houses three fully equipped theatres as well as sound recording studios, film and photography studios and a range of music rehearsal rooms and seminar spaces.

A key element of the course involves engaging in real-world, professional domain, industrial projects. You’ll be encouraged to develop your own projects which fit with your aspirations and career goals.

In addition to the full Masters's degree, aspects of the programme can be studied resulting in other awards.

Successfully completing the 60-credit Music Industry Practice module MU4000, can result in a Postgraduate Certificate award in Music Industry Management and Promotion.

Successfully completing a further 60 credits will result in a Postgraduate Diploma award in Music Industry Management and Promotion.

Successfully completing the full 180-credit curriculum will result in a Master of Arts award in music Industry Management and Promotion award.

Students can potentially continue to a Professional Doctorate with this MA programme counting as the first year of three, based on full-time study.

Links with music industry are excellent. Mentors include Honorary Fellow Peter Hook, Aaron Mellor and other key music industry figures depending on the nature of students' interests/ areas of practice. 

Peter Hook is a seminal musician who has continued to innovate and inspire throughout his career, which spans five decades.

Peter co-founded two of the most influential bands to emerge from the UK, Joy Division and New Order, and has been the driving force behind a number of other successful and influential music projects. He is responsible for many hit records and is considered to be one of the most iconic and influential bass guitarists in modern music. Companies including Yamaha even make signature edition bass guitars with his name on them.

Peter remains as busy as ever, continuing to find new and exciting approaches to creating music related experiences. Peter was one of the first people to enjoy success fusing electronic dance music with orchestras, resulting in the ‘Hacienda Classical’ concerts and festivals, inspired by the iconic club that Peter co-owned in the 80s and 90s, also revisiting Joy Division’s back catalogue at the Royal Albert Hall. Peter has written a number of successful books, been central to many online and real-world events and activities. He even continues to feature in the charts with new music including a recent top 10 Billboard hit collaboration with Gorillaz, and his back catalogue which continues to find new audiences. He continues to sell out shows all over the world with his band ‘The Light’.

We also benefit from the experience of UCLan Leader in Residence and serial entrepreneur Aaron Mellor who owns and operates some of the coolest, award winning music venues and festivals in the UK. As well as recently saving a number of important grass roots music venues from closure due to the impact of Covid-19, Aaron has also been expanding his international portfolio which includes activities in Los Angeles, Croatia, Ibiza and Dubai.

As a result of the course’s rich industry networks, we have access to a range of Preston based venues but also other celebrated music spaces including Manchester’s iconic Factory251, Gorilla, South and the Deaf Institute, where students have previously put on events, concerts and festivals as part of their studies.

In addition, the University is also a key stakeholder in the city’s ‘Preston Jazz and Improvisation Festival’ which is one of the region’s most popular events having attracted audiences of circa 10,000 people in 2023, providing opportunities for student involvement and practice-based research.

On this course, you will study current practice in the music industry, including the recording industry, publishing, the live and social consumption of music, digital consumption, sponsorship and endorsement, branding, and the underpinning frameworks such as music law. You will consider different business models within the industry and look at the way creative products are marketed and promoted. You will engage with key issues being confronted by the industry including the impact of new technology and the development of the digital marketplace. You will undertake research into the challenges and opportunities that have arisen as a result of the constantly changing political, economic, cultural and technological environments, such as Artificial Intelligence.

The course will also give you the opportunity to engage with music industry practice at a professional level and in industrial contexts. Working on and contributing to field based commercial projects will enable you to gain hands on experience of a range of Music Industry activities and develop your practical and interpersonal skills. It will also provide a vantage point for in depth reflection on music industry practices and a chance to develop your own commercial, professional and industrial strategies.

Guest speakers, conference delegates & course associates:

Guest speakers, conference delegates, course associates & Leaders in residence include:

• Zed Bias – Artist/DJ/ Producer
• James Brandes – Managing Director the Digital Copyright Consultancy
• Richard Dyer – Co-founder Skiddle and Highest Point Festival
• Aziz Ibrahim - Artist/ Musician/ Guitarist (Stone Roses, Simply Red, Ian Brown, Paul Weller, Asia, Aziz and Dal)
• Lucilla Green - Director, Rights Data Operations Warner Music Group
• Ann Harrison – Consultant Solicitor and author of ‘Music: The Business’
• Paul Hutchinson – Musician/ Producer/ Studio Owner
• Daniel Jones – Writer Relationship Manager at PRS for Music
• Rudi Kidd – Intellectual Property, Entertainment and Sports Lawyer
• Michael Kill – CEO Night Time industries Association
• Alison Lamb – Music industry product management and release strategy consultant
• Graham Massey - Artist/ Producer (808 State, Bjork, Bowie)
• Richard McAspurn - Managing Director, QBC Marketing, Entertainment & DJ Agency
• Lee Monteverde – Chart topping Record Producer
• Silvia Montello – Music Industry Senior Exec, Co-founder remarQabl
• Teresa Moore – Director, A Greener Festival
• Carl Palmer – Artist/ Musician (Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Asia, et al)
• Matt Parsons – CEO Ditto Music
• Jules O’Riordan – Partner Sound Advice (DJ Producer A.K.A. Judge Jules)
• Tim Pearson – VP, Brand Partnerships & Corporate Events, Wasserman Music (formerly Paradigm)
• Hugh Robjohns - Technical Editor - Sound on Sound
• Nicola Spokes – Managing Director UK - Island Records
• Ammo Talwar MBE - Chairman - UK Music Diversity Taskforce
• Kevin Tewis-Allen - Managing Director, Creator of Winston the Churchill Bulldog, Multi-platinum award winning, record producer, (Radio 1 producer of the 90's, FCIM Fellowship, Author, 10 Downing St. marketing advisor
• Matt Wanstall - Regional Organiser North - Musicians Union
• Paul White - Editor in Chief - Sound on Sound
• David Wood – Investor, Award-winning Musician and Businessman, Promenade Music; and Faith & Hope Records.