Studying at Solent offers a unique experience for music business students, combining the excitement of real-world practice alongside in-depth, thought-provoking academic research on a wide range of music business issues. In addition to our own vibrant industry events and conferences, you can also get involved in Southampton’s music scene, with a wide range of venues across the city catering for all musical tastes. Our graduates have given excellent feedback on their experience at Solent.
Our innovative music business degree will provide you with a thorough understanding of the industry, covering artist development, live events, festivals, project management, finance, marketing, legal contracts and copyright. We will support you to develop the personal entrepreneurial skills to succeed in this exciting industry, also providing essential marketing and PR training, social media and video production skills.
As part of your course, you will promote your own live event(s), work with artists, and launch music business projects that put your learning into practice. Our collaborative culture encourages you to work with students from other courses, which reflects the real-world working practices of the creative industries. The course also has a strong emphasis on hands-on work experience, which we encourage at local businesses, venues and festivals.
The course is led by an experienced, well-connected team of lecturers who regularly publish academic research and maintain excellent links with industry professionals. Previous guests have included staff from Domino Records, Universal Music Publishing Group, TikTok, Live Nation, The Roundhouse, BBC Radio 1, XL Recordings, Dirty Hit and PRS for Music.
Who is this course for?
Our degree course is ideal for students who want to build a career within the music business. Our current students include aspiring musicians, managers and content creators from a wide range of backgrounds, having previously studied varied subjects such as music, art, science, photography, English, ICT, business, media and economics.
The unifying theme amongst all of our students is a passion for music, regardless of previous experience or study. We welcome international students who wish to study music business at a UK university. We also support mature students who may have previously worked in music and now wish to formalise their experience with a degree qualification.
What does this course lead to?
Our course provides you with the essential skills needed for a wide range of music business career destinations, including record companies, music publishers, artist management, live music management, marketing, public relations (PR), digital roles and the creation of independent music companies.
Our graduates have gone on to work with leading music companies such as Sony, Universal, Warner, BMG, Live Nation, Spotify, The O2, PRS for Music, Dirty Hit, Miloco Studios, Toolroom Records, PIAS, ITB and YMU Group. Others manage artists or run their own record labels, live agencies and promotion businesses. Our focus on transferable skills means that many of our graduates have also built successful careers in other sectors such as health, technology, education, marketing, property, financial services and events management. Many graduates also progress to further study at postgraduate level.
YEAR ONE
CORE MODULES
Understanding the Music Business
Consuming Music: Fans and Audience
Creative Marketing and PR
Live Music and Festivals
YEAR TWO
CORE MODULES
Pop, Politics and Protest
Music Law: Contracts and Controversies
Managing Events
Making Money from Music: Artist Development Strategies
FINAL YEAR
CORE MODULES
Music Business Futures
Specialist Project
Copyright, Publishing and Sync
Individual Research Project
There are no exams on BA (Hons) Music Business. You may be assessed at the end of each block by:
Written assessments
Portfolios
Project work
Essays
Individual presentations
As part of this course, you will study one module at a time, giving you the chance to build a deeper understanding and see the results of your hard work more quickly. With regular assessments and feedback, rather than exams all at once, you’ll also benefit from improved focus, and a more manageable workload.
This course is available in Clearing. If you have submitted an application, you can add this course. If you haven’t sent us an application yet, you can do this until 24th September 2026.
This is the equal consideration deadline. You can still apply after this date, but your application may not receive guaranteed consideration.
Southampton, Solent University has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.
See why these ratings were awarded
What does this TEF outcome mean?
The following entry points are available for this course:
For information about applying to Solent as an International applicant, please visit https://www.solent.ac.uk/how-to-apply/entry-requirements/help-for-international-students
• Direct entry to years 2 (Level 5) or 3 (Level 6)
We welcome applications from students currently studying a Foundation Degree, DipHE, HNC, HND or modules of an undergraduate degree course at another university, who wish to enter directly into Years 2 or 3 of one of our undergraduate degree courses.
• Level 5 (year 2) entry
To directly enter the second year of this course you will need to show appropriate knowledge and experience. For example, you are an ideal candidate if you have 120 undergraduate credits at Level 4 or a CertHE in a related subject area.
• Level 6 (year 3) entry
To directly enter the third year of this course you need to show appropriate knowledge and experience. For example, you are an ideal candidate if you have 240 undergraduate credits (at Levels 4 and 5), a DipHE, Foundation Degree or HND in a related subject area.
| Test | Grade | Additional details |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic) | 6 | with 5.5 in each individual component. |
| TOEFL (iBT) | 80 | with a minimum of 20 in each individual compoenent. |
We understand that each student is unique. At Solent we encourage individuality and have adopted a balanced approach to Admissions, by considering exam results alongside portfolios / interviews or auditions.
Our contextual offer scheme allows offers below our standard academic entry criteria to those who have faced challenges which has impacted their performance and predicted higher grades, by taking into account additional selection criteria such as a strong portfolio, interview or audition.
This section shows the range of grades that students who received offers were previously accepted on to this course with (learn more).
It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place.
Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.
We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.
This report uses your grades to show how students with similar results have done when applying to this course in the past. Sometimes, there isn’t data for every possible set of grades. When that happens, universities and colleges occasionally fill in the gaps for sets of grades that are typically accepted.
| Location | Fee | Year |
|---|
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.
No additional fees or cost information has been supplied for this course, please contact the provider directly.
Solent University offers a number of bursaries, grants and scholarships. For more information, please visit https://www.solent.ac.uk/finance/grants-bursaries-scholarships/bursaries
Email:clearing@solent.ac.uk
Phone:023 8001 1722
Email:admissions@solent.ac.uk
Phone:+44 (0) 23 8201 5066
Email:student.funding@solent.ac.uk
East Park Terrace
Southampton
SO14 0YN
At Southampton, Solent University
