Music Industries MSc

This programme provides an opportunity to explore the music industries - with a focus on popular music - from the perspectives of history, research methods and theory, contemporary debates, and work-based learning. Making the most of the city of Glasgow and its vibrant popular music ecosystem including a rich network of venues, festivals, and small to medium music businesses, this degree is distinctive for its emphasis on this work-based learning with opportunities for arranged projects with existing music companies and artists on the one hand, or supervised music entrepreneurship projects on the other.

WHY THIS PROGRAMME

Our approach is multidisciplinary: we employ a variety of academic approaches and draw upon the University's expertise in a range of disciplines including sociology, cultural studies, musicology and politics.

You will be studying in the City of Glasgow with its vibrant and exciting music scene – the UK’s first UNESCO city of music.

You will benefit from access to our facilities including seminar and practice rooms, a small library, an audio lab, studios, and the University’s concert hall.

You will have the opportunity to contribute to Glasgow Music City, a website created and maintained by students and staff from the Music Industries programme. It is a forum for new ideas, research and debates about working in music, as well as the relationship between cities and their music more broadly.

CAREER PROSPECTS

The programme opens opportunities to enter and develop your career or business in the music (or related media and creative) industries. The programme will provide you with:

experience working in the music industries via either project or entrepreneurship pathways

critical methods of evaluating music industries research produced by different stakeholders (e.g. academics, lobbying groups, and policymakers)

knowledge of the key theoretical, historical, and methodological debates in music industries and popular music research

Recent graduates work as Head of Publisher Services at PRS/ ICE Services, label services manager at Ferocious Management, Royalties Administrator at BBC Studios and as International Partner Manager at PRS for Music.

Others are lecturers in Commercial Music and Cultural Policy Research. Some work for Glasgow based organisations and companies (for example, the Scottish Music Industry Association and The Riverside Festival) while some are self-employed or freelance artists, educators and music entrepreneurs.

Entry requirements for postgraduate taught programmes are a 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent qualification (for example, GPA 3.0 or above) in a relevant subject unless otherwise specified.