Aims

Music and the Creative Economy enables students to develop the key skills and competencies of successful practitioners within the global creative economy. Students will develop an enhanced, future-facing understanding of music as an area of economic and cultural activity. Through a critical engagement with current research and workshops with current practitioners, each representing key skills and areas of professional practice, students will be equipped with the conceptual framework and experiential knowledge necessary to find their place within and adapt strategically to a continually evolving global music sector. In short, this module aims to develop students understanding of innovation, strategy, and enterprise and creative communication of these things within the music industry.

Outline Of Syllabus

Topics covered in the lecture/workshops address key areas of professional practice within the contemporary field of music as part of the creative economy. These may include:

- Music and heritage/creative tourism
- Music festivals
- Live music
- Project management
- Collaborative work/building networks
- Arts and cultural funding
- Freelance composition
- Freelance performance
- Music industry and policy research
- Music journalism
- The recording industry, copyright, and IP

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Each unit comprises:

1)       Asynchronous materials accessed through the Canvas VLE.
These will frame the unit topic and introduce key themes and concepts for each week (e.g., collaboration and networking). Students will be introduced to the weekly readings and encouraged to reflect and prepare ahead of the workshops and seminars.

2)       In person lecture/workshops with guest lecturers.
These focus in on real-world case studies of contemporary professional practice as an opportunity to explore the problems and challenges attending work in these areas.

3)       In person seminars.
These consolidate learning by providing a space to reflect on and explore the themes of the workshops through discussion and small group collaborative tasks. Students will connect scholarship and experiential knowledge and apply them to their own developing practice, while developing their skills in communication and collaborative problem-solving.

In addition, five regular drop-in sessions provide opportunities for one-to-one feedback from the module leader, enabling students to develop their ideas and manage their time effectively while preparing for the summative assessment.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Creative Project (100%)
In consultation with module staff, students will devise a creative project related to a key area of professional practice that will reflect and build upon the content of the lecture/workshops, informed by the scholarly perspectives introduced through the readings. Selection of case studies will be student-led, with support from module staff through the regular drop-in sessions.

Through developing their projects, students will develop a deeper understanding of the structures of the contemporary musical economy and explore strategies for working effectively within it.

The assessment thus aligns with the module knowledge and skills outcomes as students demonstrate:
- A detailed knowledge of a specific field of professional practice and its place within the wider creative economy (K1)
- The ability to identify key roles, systems, and policies that impact upon professional practice within music and the ability to strategically address these (K2; K3; S3)
- The ability to plan strategically based on sectoral knowledge and current scholarship (S3; K3; K4).
- The ability to communicate complex ideas effectively in a variety of ways, including textually, verbally, and visually (S1)

The formative assessment prepares students for the final project by developing their understanding of their chosen area of study/practice (K1; K2), their visual and textual communication skills (S1) and providing an opportunity for peer and staff feedback.