Music Business

The music business sits at the intersection of creative culture and commercial enterprise, encompassing everything from artist management and label operations to live events, rights licensing, streaming, and sponsorship. The global music economy is in continuous evolution, with digital distribution, social media, and new revenue models reshaping how music is produced, promoted, and monetised. Understanding how to navigate that landscape is increasingly valuable, and graduates who combine genuine sector knowledge with practical business skills are in demand across the industry.

At Leeds Beckett University, this three-year full-time BA in Music Business prepares you to find your place in the industry, whether that means promoting new releases, running events, managing artists, or working on the legal and commercial dimensions of the music world. You will develop knowledge of marketing, rights management, event production, entrepreneurship, and the broader economics of the creative industries, alongside hands-on experience that connects academic learning with professional practice. The programme includes a sandwich year, which gives you a full year of professional experience in the industry before you return to complete your degree, as well as a year abroad and a work placement.

These structural features are central to the degree's approach, ensuring that you graduate with both theoretical grounding and a substantial record of real-world engagement.

Graduates from music business programmes at Leeds Beckett move into roles across the full breadth of the music and entertainment industries. Artist management, talent agency, venue and festival operations, A&R, music publishing, digital marketing, streaming platform roles, rights administration, and broadcasting are all common pathways. Others work in the broader creative economy, combining music sector knowledge with digital, media, or commercial skills.

For those with entrepreneurial ambitions, the degree provides a strong foundation for starting an independent label, events company, or management business. Further study at postgraduate level in music business, cultural management, or entertainment law is also an option for those who wish to develop deeper specialist expertise.