• Alex Jones-Donnelly among new speakers revealed for unique fast track course
• Accreditation announced from Rockschool and Access to Music
• Course fees reduced to £995 for intake on 15^th September 2010
• Students offered an incredible €280 entrance fee to MiDEM 2011
• Places still available

20^th August 2010:- Covent Garden’s Music Business School (MBS) is getting ready for back to school in September with news that its unique Music Business Fast Track courses will now carry the seal of approval of Rockschool, the west London music college working in partnership with Leicester’s Access to Music.

Also being announced is MBS’s latest line-up of guest speakers, who will guide students through their areas of professional expertise. They include: Alex Jones-Donnelly, consultant to Virgin Records, ACM and more; Liz Cirelli of Word & Rhythm magazine; BBC Radio’s James Bursey; Radar Music Video’s Caroline Bottomley; David Goggin of PPL; Erik Nielsen of Wingnut Music; PRS For Music’s Tracy Kemp; Eric Mackay of CELAS and journalist Phil Sutcliffe. They join existing speakers including Stiff creator Dave Robinson and PPL/MusicTank’s Keith Harris.

The unique course distils into 12 day-long classes the knowledge a conventional Commercial Music BA course teaches about music business and management. Dispensing with knob-twiddling and song-writing lessons, the course focuses on up-to-date music business issues, with lectures on the digital age, mobile and the new ways of building fans and developing revenue streams offered by the DIY model.  Within this, the MBS course now covers three units from Rockschool’s syllabus on Royalties and Music, Contracts in the Music Industry and Music Publishing.

Students attending Music Business School will be officially enrolled in Rockschool, receiving a student number and access to Rockschool’s intranet. After successful completion of the course and a written exam, students will receive a Level 3 certificate from Rockschool, which may be used as credit towards a Rockschool diploma.

Places are still available for the course beginning on 15^th September. With fees reduced to £995 per term (equivalent to less than £83 per day) and 15% discounts on offer for members of the MU, AIM, MPA and MMF (less than £71 per day), the course is an extremely cost effective to way to get ahead in the music business.

Students enrolled in the course are also offered the incredible special rate of €280 (£230) for entrance to MiDEM 2011.

With A level results being released last week, the course organisers are anticipating enquiries from a slew of school-leavers now taking unplanned gap years. The course will also appeal to graduates in other fields, young entrepreneurs starting out and those changing careers, giving them a fuller understanding of copyright, management deals, labels, contracts, touring, publishing and all related areas.

The school operates from the established Exchange Court building in Covent Garden – a bustling hive of music and entertainment activity, which includes Connected Artists, Sound Advice and Pledge Music among its occupants – setting this unique course in a prime location.

Steve Melhuish, Music Business School’s founder said, “There are lots of people out there who need to know these skills, but don’t have the time to enrol on a 3 year BA course in Commercial Music. The Music Business Fast Track course distils the most important learning required, offering something more instant and therefore appealing where time is at a premium.

“There are other short courses around too, but none of them offer the full spectrum of teaching that we are providing, none of them have the kind of guest speakers we have, and none of them can boast such a great location.”

More information on the course and the teachers is available at www.musicbusinessschool.co.uk.

Course details

Cost: £995 for 12 weekly sessions (£845.75 for MU, AIM, MPA and MMF members)

The course covers the following units on Rockschool’s syllabus:

• MUSPRA 341 Royalties and Music (8 credits)
• MUSPRA 342 Contracts in the Music Industry (8 credits)
• MUSPRA 346 Music Publishing (8 credits)

Address:

Covent Garden
London
WC2R 0JU
United Kingdom

1-5exchangecourt.com

About Steve Melhuish

Steve Melhuish is an experienced veteran in the music business, having run the first Virgin Record Store in the early 70′s. Two years later Steve went on to open and manage six record stores, under the title Bonaparte Records Ltd, throughout the capital and suburban areas, bringing him success for the next 15 years, including the UK’s first record store in New York.

Following this he proceeded to set up and operate four record labels, including Human Records and Six Strings. Steve was at the forefront of the UK’s indie DIY scene, spending the 80′s and 90′s operating international import/export companies distributing UK labels such as Stiff and Creation, to the US & Canada.

As the digital age arrived Steve continued to act as consultant to various music companies advising on music distribution, and for the past 10 years has been lecturing at Westminster, Kent, Greenwich and Canterbury Christchurch universities.

In 2010 Steve set up the Music Business School, offering fast track courses to those wishing to gain a fuller understanding of the music industry.

About Rockschool

Rockschool was set up in 1991 by music entrepreneurs Norton York and Simon Pitt to bring the best in pop and rock into mainstream education. They do this by providing exams, publications, advice and support to teachers and educational bodies.

Rockschool continually expands its activities by creating partnerships and developing new qualifications. They operate in 18 countries outside the UK.

From more than 280 entrants to the competition, held exclusively on Facebook, Martin picked the following names at random:

Ashpaul Ahdan
Tom Rose
Claire Thorn

The winners will be invited to come for an interview with Music Business School founder Steve Melhuish, and the most deserving candidate will be offered a free place on the Music Business Fast Track course. The two runners-up will be offered half-price places.

The course aims to teach everything covered by a typical Commercial Music BA course about the music industry in twelve intensive day-long classes. The normal cost of the course is £1295 for the full twelve weeks, or £150 for individual classes.

Martin Elbourne picking the winners of the MBS prize draw.

Two further names were selected, to be offered the prize in the event of the initial winners being unavailable.

www.musicbusinessschool.co.uk

•    Fast Track course distils essential learning to 12 weekly classes
•    Guest speakers include Jon Webster (MMF), Dave Robinson (Stiff), Keith Harris (PPL /MusicTank), Saul Galpern (Nude), Simon Parks (Brixton Academy founder), Henry Semmence (Absolute Distribution)

6th April 2010:- Music industry veteran and established educator Steve Melhuish is launching a new concept for music business education in the UK. His Music Business School will offer intensive fast track courses covering all practical aspects of the business to professionals seeking to build their knowledge. Teaching starts on Wednesday 26th May.

The unique course, Music Business Fast Track, distils into 12 day-long classes the knowledge a conventional Commercial Music BA course teaches about music business and management. Dispensing with knob-twiddling and song-writing lessons, Melhuish’s course focuses on up-to-date issues within the music business, with lectures on the digital age, mobile and the new ways of building fans and developing revenue streams offered by the DIY model.

It will give graduates in other fields, young entrepreneurs starting out and those changing careers a fuller understanding of copyright, management deals, labels, contracts, touring, publishing and all related areas, delivered in informal face-to-face classes.

Each class will feature 6 hours of teaching, which will include up to 2 hours’ input each week from a guest speaker, who will be an established expert in the relevant field. Stiff creator Dave Robinson will share the ins and outs of founding a record label; MMF CEO Jon Webster will speak on artist management.

Also speaking will be PPL/MusicTank’s Keith Harris, Saul Galpern of Nude and founder of the Brixton Academy Simon Parks, and publishers Paul Scaife (ROTD) and Chris Cooke (CMU) among others still to be announced.  There will also be a selection of Melhuish’s ex-students now working in the music business, discussing how they made it and what they are now doing.

Students will receive over a 100 hours of learning – 72 hours taught and the balance made up through reading, research and assignment tasks – with a written exam upon completion.  Students unable to attend the whole course can attend any of the 12 classes individually.

The Music Business School will operate from the established Exchange Court building in Covent Garden – a bustling hive of music and entertainment activity, which includes Connected Artists, Sound Advice and Pledge Music among its occupants – setting this unique course in a prime location.

A second intake will begin in September 2010, and the school will begin teaching 4 courses per year from the start of 2011. Course Coordinator Melhuish is in talks with Canterbury Christ Church University over granting the course accreditation in the near future.

Said PPL Director of Performer Affairs and Music Tank Chairman Keith Harris, “Steve worked with me at the University of Westminster teaching on various parts of the course. I am sure that his new offering is something that the industry needs in order to increase the range of knowledge and the professionalism needed to operate in the new music business environment.”

Said Melhuish on the founding of his school, “There are lots of people out there who need to know these skills, but don’t have the time to enrol on a 3 year BA course in Commercial Music.  The Music Business Fast Track course distils the most important learning required, offering something more instant and therefore appealing where time is at a premium.

“There are other short courses around too, but none of them offer the full spectrum of teaching that we are providing, none of them have the kind of guest speakers we have, and none of them can boast such a great location.”

More information on the course and the teachers is available at http://www.musicbusinessschool.co.uk.

Course details

Cost:
£1295 for 12 weekly sessions
£150 per session purchased individually
Discounts will be available for affiliated trade body members

Address:
Covent Garden
London
WC2R 0JU
United Kingdom
www.1-5exchangecourt.com

About Steve Melhuish

Steve Melhuish is an experienced veteran in the music business, having run the first Virgin Record Store in the early 70’s. Two years later Steve went on to open and manage six record stores, under the title Bonaparte Records Ltd, throughout the capital and suburban areas, bringing him success for the next 15 years, including the UK’s first record store in New York.

Following this he proceeded to set up and operate four record labels, including Human Records and Six Strings. Steve was at the forefront of the UK’s indie DIY scene, spending the 80’s and 90’s operating international import/export companies distributing UK labels such as Stiff and Creation, to the US & Canada.

As the digital age arrived Steve continued to act as consultant to various music companies advising on music distribution, and for the past 10 years has been lecturing at Westminster, Kent, Greenwich and Canterbury Christchurch universities.

In 2010 Steve set up the Music Business School, offering fast track courses to those wishing to gain a fuller understanding of the music industry.

About the course

The 12 classes will cover:

1.    Overview of Music Business: brief history, recent mergers & acquisitions, current government new and proposed legislation, Digital Britain, and new EU legislation (no, it’s not boring – you need to know this stuff); music industry trade bodies (AIM/BPI/MMF/FAC/MU) – which ones are appropriate to you?
2.    Copyright: what does it really mean to you, synopsis of how the record industry revolves around Intellectual Property (IP), the UK collection societies (PPL/PRS) and how they pay your cheque, ACAP, what is a Creative Commons licence?; has copyright irrevocably broken down in the new wild frontier of the internet age?; what’s going on in the book publishing industry and e-books?
3.    Management Deals: how to find a manager, what to watch out for, whom to trust, fiduciary duties explained, sample contracts and how much is it going to cost, self-management pros and cons; are you a Peter Grant or a Paul McGuinness?
4.    Record Labels: definition, what is their role, advances and recoupment explained, is a label essential in the digital age and how have labels adjusted in the last decade?, how to get signed or perhaps take the DIY route? case study – Beggars Banquet and EMI.
5.    Distribution both physical and digital: study UK based distributors, who you should use and why, case study – Absolute Dist and PIAS, cost of manufacture and distribution, P&D contracts explained, Orchard and CD Baby – are they the future in the US?; online stores –7digital, iTunes – how to sign up; DSP’s researched and recommended.
6.    Recording contracts: what is a good record deal?, legal principles, new business models (so what is this 360 deal?), production deals, creative control vs. big bucks; looking at sample contracts.
7.    Publishing explained: brief history of Tin Pan Alley, how to find a publishing company, study typical contracts, publishing rights; how to monetize your songs via sync fees, advertising, film, games, & TV; how much does BBC radio pay per minute for the use of your songs?; which comes first, the record or publishing deal?; new EU legislation on pan-European digital licences.
8.    Mobile industry and the music biz: timeline of mobile phone development over the last decade, is it the saviour of the music business?; ring tones, call-on-hold tones, Shazam; aggregators, why they work in the mobile biz; case study – Nokia Comes with music (it didn’t work, why?), iPhone apps… where will it end?
9.    Business Plan, cash flow, company formation: why you need a biz plan and how to put a music industry centric plan together; SME’s and possible funding opportunities, what banks look out for, work through an example spread sheet; basic requirements to set up and run a music business company, inc ltd co. formation, VAT registration, PAYE  and basic company law, H&S regulations, trademarks and logos.
10.    Touring and Sponsorship: agents and promoters contracts, how to sell your merchandise on tour, CD sales at gigs now considered de rigueur, Form 696, Live Nation and Madonna; Ticket Master and Live Nation, why it matters?; how to find a sponsor,  types of sponsorship deals.
11.    Producers: the conduit by which artists improve their creative output?, sample contracts, how much should a producer charge and what do their responsibilities entail for that fee?, case study – Rick Rubin and Steve Lilywhite
12.    Radio and DAB: why is it so important to us STILL today?; BBC – the good, the bad and the ugly, but we still die to get on the A/B/C list?; PR companies, radio pluggers, BBC iPlayer, 6music, 1Xtra, Last FM, Pandora and finally what exactly is Spotify?