Careers Brief - Popular Music FdA

Overview

The Foundation degree in Popular Music offers opportunities for progression onto Honours degree courses and direct job entry.

Within the popular music and audio industry there are an extremely wide range of roles, with job titles such as: artist performer; composer; producer; arranger; artist manager; studio or tour band manager; Club DJ; radio presenter; A&R Scout; sound engineer; balance engineer; recording engineer and other technical roles; live music manager; agent or PR/promoter; session performer; music events organiser; fixer or promoter; press officer or plugger for TV/radio; publisher; writer; critic and music journalist; teacher; music librarian.

You could be working on recording or post-production work in the commercial music sector; film, radio, TV and broadcast industries; composing or performing music for the web; games design, musical software producers and sample libraries.

You could progress between different jobs or hold several roles at the same time. The industry is highly competitive and very few work as performing popular musicians full-time in the UK.

To succeed in popular music, it is not enough to be talented; you must also be self-disciplined, dedicated, self-confident and have stamina. You must be able to work successfully within a team, be prepared to work unsocial hours with irregular pay and travel. Basic business and self-marketing skills are a real advantage. You could be employed part-time or in short-term contract work, be freelance self-employed or have a 'portfolio' career with more than one job.

Use the website links below to find out more.

To consider a wider choice of careers matched to your interests, use Prospects Planner and other tools listed in the Career Planning section of this Careers Guide.

Further Study

You will be able to apply for a Top-up degree. Top-up degrees are designed as a direct progression from Foundation degree to achieve an Ordinary or Honours degree.

Alternatively, you could transfer into a related Honours degree. Entry point would depend on your grades, experience and overlap between courses but could be into the final year.

Progression would normally be onto the BA (Hons) Popular Music & Record Production at Southampton Solent University.

Related one-year Top-up degrees include:

Bath Spa University College 'Commercial Music'; University of Brighton 'Music Production'; University of Chichester 'Commercial Music'; University of Derby 'Popular Music Production'; University of Greenwich 'Creative Music Production & Technology'; Hull College 'Music Performance' 'Music Production'; University of Kent 'Popular Music Performance';

New College Nottingham 'Sonic Arts'; Newcastle College 'Music Enterprise'; University of Northampton 'Music Practice' 'Music Production'; Northbrook College Sussex 'Music Business & Management' 'Music Composition' for film & media 'Music Performance' 'Music Production'; Norwich City College of Further & Higher Education 'Popular Music Practice';

University of Plymouth 'Sound & Music Production'; University of Salford 'Music & Media Management' ; University Campus Suffolk 'Music Production'; University of Wolverhampton 'Music Industry Practice'.

To search for other degree courses go to www.ucas.com/ (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service for the UK). Use the university/college links for course details.

You will need to use UCAS to apply for courses. Contact the Course Tutor of your chosen course to find out your position, before you make your formal application.

Find out how much this will cost you. Where is the funding coming from? Go to the university/college website for information on costs and finance and to www.direct.gov.uk/uni/ for additional help with student support.

With a good Honours degree (First or 2.1), you could progress onto an appropriate higher level Masters and/or PhD doctorate. This could be to develop your area of study to a more in-depth practical and/or academic level or to gain other specialist training.

For information on all postgraduate courses and research, go to the national online directory at www.prospects.ac.uk/links/pgstudy/ .

Go to the main section Further Study of this Guide for more information and help.

Resources

www.bbc.co.uk/music/introducing/

Industry jobs - find out how to break into the music business

www.creative-choices.co.uk/

Creative Choices - online service supporting the individual and business in the creative industries and cultural sector.

Drop down sub-heading 'Knowledge' + go to sector side-heading 'Music'.

http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/

Careers Advice Service

www.connexions-direct.com/jobs4u/

Jobs4U Careers Database - click on sub-heading 'Job Families & Articles' or Advanced Search input 'Popular Musician'

www.ukperformingarts.co.uk/music/

UKP - Arts: the UK performance industry training and careers site

http://jobseekers.direct.gov.uk/

Careers database and links to jobs nationally. Search by either clicking on side-heading 'Careers' and choose a category or type in job title.

www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent/

http://jobs.channel4.com/

Check out side-heading '4TALENT'

www.ism.org/

ISM (Incorporated Society of Musicians) - UK's Professional Body for Musicians.

Go to sub-heading 'Policy and advice' for useful sections.

www.musiciansunion.org.uk/

The Musicians Union offer a range of services for professional and student musicians

www.recordproduction.com/

Record Production - drop down sub-heading 'Home' to click on 'Jobs Pages' for 'Jobs in the recording industry...'. Video tours of UK recording studios or producer interviews shot at the studio.

www.showcase-music.com/

Showcase - the international music industry guide

www.yourcreativefuture.org/

Click on 'Music'

www.prospects.ac.uk/

Graduate Prospects - online national careers service for HE students studying in the UK :

Drop down 'Sectors' to click on 'Creative arts & culture'

www.aprs.co.uk/

The Professional Recording Association

www.bpi.co.uk/

BPI - The British Recorded Music Industry

www.bectu.org.uk/