Music Management MA

Course overview

This course caters for a wide range of musical interests and tastes and enables you to build the specialist skills necessary to progress in music management, whether as an independent/DIY musician, as part of a large music business, or in any other part of the global music industry.

Through core modules you’ll explore the promotion and management of live music, the contemporary recording industry, music publishing, and management in the creative industries more broadly, developing your understanding of the music business through real-world examples. Your major project will take the form of our distinctive music management project giving you the chance to put all your learning and research into practice, as well as offering you an opportunity to develop your music management CV. You’ll have the chance to study digital business, entrepreneurship or intellectual property law, gaining knowledge and skills that you can then apply in your project work and in your future career.

This course is ideal if you wish to pursue a management career in the music industry, including as a self-employed musician, and for existing music industry managers wishing to enhance their skills or undertake continuous professional development.

Additional highlights

We are one of the largest schools of music in the country, which brings several benefits to our students. Our size enables us to incorporate an impressive range of specialisms within our curriculum, reflecting our ethos that music is music, regardless of genre or style. We attract a diverse body of students from across the UK and internationally, which gives the School a vibrant community and culture. Decolonisation, equality and inclusivity are embedded within our curriculum so all our students can feel a sense of belonging in the School and can thrive on their course no matter what their background and musical experience.

In the recent national Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) exercise, 93% of our research was considered to be ‘internationally excellent’ or better in terms of its originality, significance and rigour, with 56% rated as ‘world leading’, the highest classification. Each of these measures places us within the top 10 Schools of Music in the UK. Our staff expertise feeds directly into our curriculum, with relevant specialisms including:

• Applied music psychology
• Music and wellbeing
• Practice research in music and the arts
• Science and technology studies
• Performance and performance practice
• Black, popular, independent and global musical cultures
• Film music
• Historical musicology
• Music industry and management
• Musical aesthetics and postcolonialism
• Opera and Western classical/art music

We work closely with our students, particularly through our active Student Staff Partnership Forum, to ensure that we continue to offer the best possible experience to everyone studying in the School of Music. Our Industrial Advisory Board – an invited body of professionals from across the professional music sector, which includes several alumni within its membership – actively supports the ongoing development of our courses to ensure they deliver the skills and opportunities our students need to prepare them for life after University.

The School of Music is part of a strong musical community at the University of Leeds, and there are numerous Leeds University Union (LUU) clubs and societies that offer opportunities to get involved in music and performance activities. The Leeds University Union Music Society (LUUMS) is one of the Union’s largest societies and boasts ten ensembles including orchestras, choirs, brass and wind ensembles, and a composers’ collective; each one gives regular concerts, and some go on tour. LUUMS is linked to the School of Music as our departmental society, and the School and LUUMS work closely on social events and the promotion of musical opportunities. School of Music students also often participate in other campus-based ensembles such as the Clothworkers Consort of Leeds (led by School of Music staff members) and Student Union performance societies such as:

• The LUU Big Band
• Various musical theatre, opera and pantomime groups
• Soceties focused on jazz and blues, folk, and pop music
• A cappella (unaccompanied) singing
• Electronic music and DJing

The Clothworkers Concert Hall in the School of Music hosts our diverse International Concert Series, the Students’ Union runs regular gigs and its long-standing Friday evening club night, ‘Fruity’, and beyond the University campus the city of Leeds provides numerous opportunities to engage with a wide variety of musics at venues including:

• Leeds First Direct Arena, a fixture on the national touring circuit for leading artists and bands.
• Leeds Grand Theatre, which routinely presents touring West End musicals, comedy and other shows, and is the home of Opera North (a partner of the University) and Northern Ballet.
• Leeds Playhouse, which presents a range of stage musicals and other theatrical productions, several of which then tour nationally.
• Leeds Town Hall, home to the Leeds International Concert Season (LICS), which usually features a wide range of international orchestras within its programming. LICS also run various chamber music series at venues including Holy Trinity Church, Leeds Cathedral, and The Venue at Leeds Conservatoire.
• O2 Academy Leeds hosts a range of popular-music events including its regular ‘Indie Thursdays’ and ‘PROJEKT’ club nights.
• Seven Arts, an independent arts space and a not-for-profit Community Interest Company that presents a range of jazz, popular and light musics within its diverse programme.
• The Brudenell Social Club, which hosts events most nights of the week and covers a wide range of musical genres.
• The Howard Assembly Room, Opera North’s concert hall next door to Leeds Grand Theatre, which hosts folk, jazz, classical and world music as well as theatrical works, film screenings and talks.
• Wharf Chambers, a non-profit music venue hosting a diverse range of experimental and DIY events.

All these elements combine to make studying Music at the University of Leeds a distinctive and memorable experience that actively supports our students to pursue careers or future study within and beyond music.

Specialist facilities

The University of Leeds is ideally situated for studying music management owing to our city’s great musical, artistic and cultural diversity, and our leading venues including the First Direct Arena, O2 Academy, Leeds Grand Theatre and Leeds Town Hall. The School of Music also has close working relationships with prestigious arts organisations: we host BBC Radio 3 concerts, Leeds Lieder and the Leeds International Piano Competition, and we engage with the flagship DARE partnership between the University and Opera North. We are also closely associated with JazzLeeds and Leeds Baroque and we engage with many other performing arts organisations in Leeds, which enjoys a thriving music and cultural scene.

We have a variety of excellent facilities to support your learning, including rehearsal, performance and practice spaces, recording and electronic music studios, a music psychology lab, and five libraries that provide access to a wide range of books, periodicals, and online resources. We are also one of the few Schools of Music with an Industrial Advisory Board, which includes leaders from across the music industry and supports the ongoing development of our courses and curriculum.

The School of Music provides you with dedicated, purpose-built facilities complete with rehearsal, performance and practice spaces, computer clusters and studios, and dedicated learning and teaching spaces.

At the heart of our School is the Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall, a beautiful performance space that hosts a large and varied programme of concerts in term time. As a student in the School you'll be able attend events in the International Concert Series programme free of charge. The spacious Clothworkers Foyer is the School’s social hub, and doubles as a venue for popular music and informal performances, including the LUUMS ‘Friday Feature’ series.

We were the first Russell-Group University to have All-Steinway status. Over £700,000 was invested in the pianos – a combination of uprights, baby grands and concert grands – and all 29 pianos in the School are Steinways. Our instrument collection also includes a specially commissioned gamelan, historic and modern keyboard instruments and a large selection of orchestral and world percussion.

Course details

You’ll study core modules designed to support your understanding of both the theory and practice of music management.

The focus of the course is a major Music Management Project that combines and reflects upon the research and practical application of approaches to music management. Through this module, you will devise and deliver a substantial individual or group project in any area of music management, which might include organising and marketing an event, producing an audio recording, providing music publishing business consultancy, or managing a musical group, venue or artist. You will develop the relevant skills and knowledge to carry out your project through the other core modules on the course, which focus respectively on Live Music Management and Promotion, the Recording Industry Now, How Songs Make Money, and Creative Industries Management, and combine academic research with real-world examples.

To complete your enrolment, you’ll choose an optional module offered either by the Business School – in the area of Digital Business, or Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Creation – or the School of Law – looking at Intellectual Property Management – enabling you to shape some of the direction of your Masters course around your interest and ambitions.

If you choose to study part-time, you’ll study over a longer period and take fewer modules in each year.

Course structure

The list shown below represents typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our terms and conditions.

For more information and a full list of typical modules available on this course, please read Music Management MA Full Time in the course catalogue

Compulsory Modules:

Music Management Project (60 credits) – Through this module you will develop in-depth knowledge of a particular area of music management, and apply it in practice through the design, development and delivery of a substantial individual or group project. The project outcome will feature the practical application of music management skills acquired throughout the course and might indicatively involve the organisation and marketing of a musical event, management consultancy, work on a recorded music project, or management of a particular ensemble, group or venue for a specified period of time. You will be supported to follow good practice and business ethics, and will be expected to reflect on and evaluate the outcomes of the project.

Live Music Management and Promotion (30 credits) – On this module you will gain a theoretical and practical insight into the live music industry. Lectures will provide a theoretical background for the main issues live music managers and promoters currently face, while seminars provide a forum for critical discussions and evaluations of carefully selected real-life case studies related to popular, classical and jazz live music management and promotion organisations.

The Recording Industry Now (30 credits) – This module provides you with a thorough understanding of the recorded music industry in all its forms and prepares you – whether as professionals within the recording industry or as artists or managers interacting with it – for the challenges faced by this industry through a period of significant technological, economic and social change. Placed in its historical, social and cultural context, the business of selling recorded music is investigated through case studies and through analysis of the role played by recorded music in relation to live performance and to other media.

How Songs Make Money (30 credits) – Songs are immaterial: they exist primarily in the mind of composers and listeners, and this makes them an unusual kind of commodity. Turning songs into money has required the development of new legal frameworks (copyright), new social concepts (intellectual property), and new businesses (music publishers). This module explores this social history, and also highlights its relevance for understanding contemporary efforts to make money from songs, including through non-fungible tokens, financialisation, and artificial intelligence.

Creative Industries Management (15 credits) – This module provides you with the relevant theories, conceptual tools and factual information necessary to gain an understanding of, and be able to engage critically with, the realities of managing, working and progressing within the cultural and creative industries. Specifically, it gives you a theoretical and practical understanding of the specific characteristics of the media sector in terms of how it is organised, the nature of companies within it, their business models and the major challenges they face in the current media environment.

Compulsory Optional Modules:

You must take one module in a defined area of music management.

Managing Digital Business (15 credits) – This module focuses on the management of digital business and the opportunities and challenges presented by the current digital age. Organisations and entrepreneurs are increasingly applying new digital technologies into business models, processes and practices to exploit their benefits, but with this also follows potential tensions alongside changing capabilities. This module uses an interdisciplinary approach to understand how digital technologies can create business value, transform existing work and explore strategies for overcoming challenges to thrive in this rapidly changing environment. You will gain in-depth knowledge on technology-driven business transformations taught through real-life examples and the latest academic insight. You will also develop relevant skills to navigate and use digital technologies for a range of business purposes, e.g., for strategy, marketing, innovation and business analytics.

Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Creation (15 credits) – This module integrates knowledge of entrepreneurship with new enterprise design. It will help you to develop an advanced understanding of the process of new enterprise design within the context of enterprise skills and the theory of entrepreneurship.

Intellectual Property Management (15 credits) – This module introduces you to key contemporary debates relating to the application of intellectual property law in terms of the conferring of IP rights and the managerial strategies employed to protect them. It explores the creation, acquisition and management of rights relating to the ownership of creative, marketing, information and technological IP assets. There will be an additional emphasis upon creative and marketing rights; to serve this purpose, case study examples of brand management (and counterfeiting) and celebrity will be presented.

Learning and teaching

Academics in the School of Music are experts in their fields, and their activities inform their teaching directly. We use a range of inclusive, active and student-centred approaches to learning and teaching to engage you in your course and support you to develop your knowledge, understanding, and skills. Depending on the modules you choose, your learning and teaching methods may include workshops and practice-based sessions, as well as lectures, seminars, tutorials and other small-group learning classes.

Taught sessions are only a part of University learning, and on many of our modules you’ll be supplied with online learning resources designed to work in tandem with classroom sessions. Some modules may require you to engage with videos, podcasts, readings or other activities before class sessions, with some of the classroom time devoted to debate, discussion and deeper learning based on how students have interpreted the online materials. Your learning experience will offer opportunities for collaboration, a key aspect of music and the arts, and peer learning, as well as fostering a culture of reflection and self-awareness. Independent study is also an important part of your course, and you’ll develop your critical, creative and research skills through time spent in the University Library and Special Collections, practice rooms and studios, depending on your module choices.

We support your learning in several ways. Resources are made available through our virtual learning environment, Minerva, you can seek assistance as required from our experienced technical staff and your Academic Personal Tutor, and there is extensive support for students offered through the academic skills programme at the University Library. Additionally, all staff have office hours when they are available should you have questions, or you need to ask for help. We also work closely with the University’s Language Centre to ensure that international students are fully supported and able to thrive on our courses.

Fieldwork

Elements of local fieldwork may be embedded in modules that take you outside teaching spaces as part of the learning experience. You might undertake fieldwork as part of your Music Management Project, but this is not necessarily a requirement of this module.

On this course you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.

Assessment

We use a variety of assessment methods, each of which is chosen to best measure your achievement of a module’s learning outcomes and associated skills, so you and we can understand and support your progress and development. Depending on the modules you choose, across your degree you are likely to encounter a mix of project work, written assignments (e.g. essays, reports, reviews, reflective logs), presentations, and online assessments. Some assignments will be completed individually, some collaboratively, and some may require elements of group working leading to individual submissions.

You might be given a brief, question or problem to be addressed, or you may have scope to determine your own question or approach under the guidance of a member of staff. You’ll be given clear instructions regarding the assessment requirements and criteria, and you’ll receive feedback on your work to support your learning as you progress through your course. Assessments will usually require you to synthesise and evaluate learning from multiple taught sessions and learning resources (e.g. a module’s lectures, seminars, set readings and other online resources), and you should think of your course as a whole, and apply your learning across your modules. Creative and practical work may offer you the chance to take risks and experiment with new ideas and concepts, and in all cases we encourage you to challenge yourself, to think critically and creatively, to move as far beyond your comfort zone as you can, and to reflect on your working process and achievement.

Our assessments are designed to be fair and inclusive, to engage you intellectually and to help prepare you for life beyond University through the development of relevant skills, knowledge and experience.

Applying

Entry requirements

A bachelor degree with a 2:1 (hons) in music, business, management or a related subject.

We will consider other relevant professional (or similar) experience in lieu of formal musical qualifications where a high level of suitable practical experience can be demonstrated at the point of application.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component . For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

Improve your English

International students who do not meet the English language requirements for this programme may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Business Management and Enterprise (6 weeks) and Language for Business: Business Management and Enterprise (10 weeks).

We also offer online pre-sessionals alongside our on-campus pre-sessionals. Find out more about our six week online pre-sessional.

You can also study pre-sessionals for longer periods – read about our postgraduate pre-sessional English courses.

How to apply

Application deadline

Please see our How to Apply page for information about application deadlines.

The ‘Apply’ link at the top of this page takes you to information on applying for taught programmes and to the University's online application system.

If you're unsure about the application process, contact the admissions team for help.

Documents and other information you will need

• Your degree certificate and transcript, or a partial transcript if you’re still studying. Please also include official translations in English if applicable.

• If English is not your first language, you’ll need to provide evidence of your English language qualification.

• A personal statement in response to the questions asked in the supporting statement section of the application form. Please note that statements which do not provide detailed answers to the questions below will not be considered. The list of questions is outlined below:

[1] Why do you want to study Music Management and how this course is related to your future career aims?

[2] What makes the MA Music Management at University of Leeds your preferred choice?

[3] What specific areas of music management most interest you, and why?

[4] Do you have any previous experience of music management or the music business?

• If you are an international applicant and have previously studied in the UK on a Student Visa, please provide a copy of your Visa (and Residence Permit if applicable) to cover all the dates of your time in the UK, a copy of your CAS summary, and a copy of your completion/award certificate if applicable.

• References may be requested.

The Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures receives very large numbers of high-quality applications and regrets that it cannot make offers to all of its applicants. Some particularly popular schools may have to reject many that hold the necessary academic qualifications.

Read about visas, immigration and other information in International students. We recommend that international students apply as early as possible to ensure that they have time to apply for their visa.

Admissions policy

University of Leeds Taught Admissions Policy 2024

This course is taught by

School of Music

Contact us

Postgraduate Admissions

Email: pgtmusic@leeds.ac.uk
Telephone:

Fees

UK: £14,500 (Total)

International: £30,000 (Total)

Additional cost information

There may be additional costs of study that students need to cover. We estimate that these additional costs could be as described below, but this amount may vary depending on your chosen modules.

Reading materials

You’ll have access to a good supply of books, academic journals, periodicals, etc., that are available in the University libraries. You’ll also have online access to an extensive range of reading resources. You might decide, however, to purchase required books that are recommended on your programme.

Study trips and placements

There may also be the opportunity for optional study trips and individual projects / placements. Costs will depend on the project / placement undertaken, and on the nature and location of each trip.

There may be general additional costs related to being a student at the University of Leeds – you can read more about this here.

There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more on our living costs and budgeting page.

Scholarships and financial support

If you have the talent and drive, we want you to be able to study with us, whatever your financial circumstances. There may be help for students in the form of loans and non-repayable grants from the University and from the government.  Find out more at Masters funding overview.

Find out more about scholarships and funding opportunities available in the School of Music.

Career opportunities

A postgraduate degree in Music from the University of Leeds equips you with valuable subject knowledge, cultural and social awareness, and a strong balance of musical and transferrable skills. Skills such as communication, leadership, time and resource management, and the ability to work independently and collaboratively are particularly attractive to employers, and you’ll also be able to demonstrate the flexibility, resilience and confidence needed to adapt to new situations and environments. Your subject-specific knowledge will bring your critical, creative, research and problem-solving abilities to the fore, and you’ll be able to articulate how the experience gained through your postgraduate study has prepared you for whatever comes next, be that work or doctoral research.

Our postgraduate courses equip our graduates to work in a wide range of areas within the music industry, including:

• Arts, artist, project and event management
• PR
• Music publishing and copyright
• Marketing and digital marketing
• Teaching, lecturing and coaching
• Performing
• Composing
• Creative production
• Theatrical stage direction and musical direction
• Music supervision
• Arts research
• Music therapy

Graduates from our postgraduate courses also often go on to undertake Doctoral research here at Leeds and elsewhere.

Careers support

Skill development is built into our courses, so you start becoming more employable from the moment you begin your studies, and your degree is designed to help you recognise your skills and understand how you demonstrate them. Reflection on and understanding of your skillset is part of your course, meaning we will support you to be able to demonstrate these things by the time you graduate.

You’ll also have additional opportunities to develop your skillset and your CV. You could become a course representative and participate in our Student Staff Partnership Forum on behalf of your cohort, or apply to be our School Taught Postgraduate Representative and work with School and Faculty staff and the Students’ Union to drive the School and University forward.

Leeds for Life is our unique approach to helping you make the most of University by supporting your academic and personal development. You’ll also have access to the University’s ‘MyCareer’ portal and have opportunities to discuss your personal and professional development with your Academic Personal Tutor. We run careers events every year in collaboration with our Faculty Employability Team and encourage all our students to attend to develop their awareness of the opportunities that exist beyond graduation, even if they are not yet sure what they want to do after their degree. Alongside this, the Careers Service provide a range of support and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate.

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