Box Hill TAFE first to offer Master’s degree

Melbourne’s Box Hill TAFE has announced a Master of International Music Business course, becoming the first further education provider to do so.

Although the institution has been offering Bachelor degrees in contemporary and popular music education almost 30 years, the post-graduate degree will cover international music business and less broadly the creation, production, distribution and consumption of music and music-related products.

Head of Music Business Ben O’Hara, who in the past has written for thebiz.com.au, says the degree will cover the deeper issues and research needed to understand the industry’s current state.

“It’s not at all about selling CDs anymore,” he said. “There is a far greater focus on really understanding social media, crowd sourcing and total brand management of artists’ careers.

“So, to work in the industry people at this time need to think in digital terms and how that affects profits, which is very different to physical sales. It’s this kind of information that students need to know about in detail when working in the music industry, either as an entrepreneur or for a record label.”

Subjects will be completed online however there are two weekend residential sessions held each year.

The Box Hill Institute has seen its graduates placed at the Mushroom Group, Universal Music, Dainty Group, Vicious, and at the major music festivals in Australia.

Applicants for direct entry will need to have completed the Graduate Diploma of International Music Business and hold an Australian undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related discipline.

The Box Hill Institute were one of the first TAFEs in Australia to offer degrees; their bachelor degree in music business commenced in 2008, and their Bachelor of Applied Music, which commenced in 2005, was one of the first applied music degree offered at a TAFE.