COURSE OVERVIEW

The digital world never stands still. Constantly evolving technologies and innovations shape the ways we interact with people, products and businesses - and influence the decisions we make. To reach their audiences and get their voices heard online, brands and creatives must keep up with the changes.

Whether you’re trying to get established as an artist or producer, or want to kickstart a marketing career in the music industry, this one-year CertHE Digital Marketing & Music Management is all about getting yourself - or your brand - noticed. Through six immersive modules we’ll teach you the latest digital marketing techniques, guided by the experts, and use our industry contacts and experience to show you the inner workings of the music business.

Content Creation | VIdeo Work | ICMP Digital Marketing Course

You’ll begin your first semester with Understanding the Music Industry, where we’ll take you behind the scenes of the music business, from writing and recording to publishing and distributing. Next, you'll recieve an Introduction to Digital Marketing, taking you through the key principles, practices and platforms of both digital and general marketing. You'll also learn about Content Creation & Social Media, looking at how each platform works and how you can create content to fit.

During your second semester you’ll discover what it means to be an entrepreneur in the Exploring Entrepreneurship module, using what you learn to promote your brand, business, or qualifications with confidence. Next comes the Market Research module, where you'll get an insight into what makes people tick and what that means for your brand. Finally, Music Marketing & Release Strategies gives you hands-on experience of releasing your own music, covering marketing, DIY release campaigns and digital distribution.

Through a mixture of traditional lectures, seminars, practicals and workshops, by the end of the year you’ll have the foundational skills and understanding you need to kickstart your career. Or  you can continue your studies; the CertHE is equivalent to the first year of our BA (Hons) Digital Marketing & Music Management, so you can pick up where you left off in Year 2 if you're keen to learn more. All in all, the CertHe Digital Marketing & Music Management is a launchpad for your industry ambitions - wherever you want to go next.

Fees & Funding

Taking a Cert HE Digital Marketing course at ICMP in London is great value as well as great fun, with fees for ICMP music courses similar to those at many other UK universities.

Course Fees: UK Students 

Student Finance: Please visit our Fees page for information on accessing to Student Loans. UK students eligible for Loans are able to borrow the full course fee.

Course Fees | Programme Specification | Programme Handbook

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Successful completion of the Cert HE Digital Marketing & Music Management course leads to the award of Certificate of Higher Education by The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance.

Begin your application here

UCAS CODES

Key facts

  • Build skills in digital marketing and music management in this cutting-edge course, designed for modern digital platforms.
  • Realise practical, creative and entrepreneurial potential through workshops, hands-on experience and traditional seminars and lectures.
  • Discover how the industry works, from creating through to recording and distributing.
  • Find - and use - the best online platforms to grow your following and engage and influence your fanbase.
  • Leverage newfound entrepreneurial skills and data tools to grow and analyse your online performance.
  • Network with digital marketing professionals and get a unique insight into the industry with real, lived experience.
  • Collaborate with like-minded peers from ICMP's rich talent pool.
  • Grow your skills in London - a global city with never-ending creative opportunities.
DMI
dmi-accredited-marketing-course-london_0

This course is accredited by the Digital Marketing Institute (DMI). Upon completion, you will receive a Certified Digital Marketing Associate (CDMA) professional qualification, alongside your Cert HE qualification.

COURSE DETAILS

MODULE OVERVIEW

This one-year course gives you insights into both the music and digital marketing industries. You’ll learn about technical marketing principles, experiment with content creation and discover what it means to be an entrepreneur, providing a thorough foundation for a career or further study in marketing. And on the music side, you’ll dive into the inner workings of the industry and explore the different types of music marketing campaigns and strategies. Whether you want to strike out on your own or work in music marketing, it all starts here.

Understanding the Music Industry

Music is creative; it’s a sector of performance, talent, and entertainment. But it’s also a multi-billion pound industry, powered by everyone from huge international companies to up-and-coming entrepreneurs. So, to truly thrive as a musician, producer, or in any other career in music, you need to learn how it operates.

In this module, we’ll introduce you to the core structures and functions of the modern music industry, and explain how the main industry sectors — recorded music, live music, and publishing — work. You’ll learn about the different kinds of music business organisations; study music copyrights; and explore the roles of collection societies, professionals and other organisations, as well as examining how they all work together. Ultimately, with a better understanding of the music business, you’ll more easily be able to find, and follow, your path.

Introduction to Digital Marketing

This comprehensive introduction to digital marketing covers everything you need to know about the purpose of marketing, best practice techniques for attracting your target audience, managing your reputation, working with influencers, and analysing your online performance through data.

We’ll also touch on wider principles of general marketing, teaching you about its role in building relationships with customers, and explain how to understand — and satisfy — those customers’ needs. You’ll discover the power of customer insights, and learn how market research can help you to plan a more effective and targeted strategy. And towards the end, we’ll show you how to apply all that knowledge to a digital context, using product, service, pricing, distribution, and promotion strategies to attract attention and drive action. 

Content Creation & Social Media

Your online presence, and the content you create, are intertwined; in the digital world, making and posting content shows you’re active and helps you to connect with your audience.

In ‘Content Creation & Social Media’, we’ll teach you how to create assets and content that fit your goals and suit your audiences. You’ll consider why a compelling online presence is now such an important part of any business’s marketing plan and explore the various social and digital platforms, considering how content should be tailored to fit

You’ll also learn about the technical side of social — management tools, analytics, social listening, outreach, and more — and learn how SEO (search engine optimisation) and digital and social advertising can help your content to reach a bigger, and more specific, audience. Finally, you’ll touch on social media governance and reputation management, and look at creative ways to stand out and get noticed online. In the end, you’ll have the tools and understanding you need to attract the attention of your audience and tell them what to do next. And to expand your practical content marketing skills in your second year, there’s the ‘Digital Storytelling’ module, too.

Exploring Entrepreneurship

Social media, blockchain, 3D printing: behind every brilliant invention and unique idea, there’s an entrepreneur — someone who stepped off the beaten path and created something of their own. It’s not just technology billionaires or maverick inventors; every self-employed person is an entrepreneur, too.

Here, we’ll explore what it means to be an entrepreneur, considering how new ideas are formed; the process of turning those ideas into reality; and what makes some people better entrepreneurs than others. We’ll look at where entrepreneurs fit into commercial, non-commercial, start-up and established organisations, and teach you about the challenges of entrepreneurship at individual, organisational, and societal levels. We can all learn from the creativity, determination, conduct, and commercial acumen of people who run their own businesses. When you finish the module, you’ll have a better idea of entrepreneurship, from taking risks to managing money, problem-solving and creative thinking.

Market Research

The best digital marketing plans are rooted in thorough and thoughtful research. With the right insights, you’ll know where to find your audience, and what to say to them; which customers are worth pursuing; and what they think about your brand, product, or service. Without them? Your content might not get results.

That’s why market research is so important. In this module, we’ll teach you about the steps of market research, including problem formulation, research design, data collection instruments, data analysis methods, and how to present your findings. You’ll learn how to design quantitative and qualitative research, and explore different data collection and analysis techniques. And most importantly, we’ll look at how to use all the insights you collect as the foundation for your marketing plan, turning all the data into information that informs your strategy.

Music Marketing & Release Strategies

Making music is one thing, but successfully releasing and marketing that music is another altogether — and there’s more than one way to do it. This module is designed to help you get releases right, providing practical knowledge of music marketing, release strategies, and digital distribution.

We’ll look at the different ways to promote a release online, comparing DIY campaigns to the professional, big-budget approaches of big record labels and established artists. We’ll teach you how to use the direct to fan model to build up to a commercial DIY release; how to grow a fan base online; and how to attract the attention of industry gatekeepers. Once you’ve completed the module you’ll have a really thorough understanding of different promotion strategies, giving you an excellent starting point for your next release.  

TEACHING, LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT

Across the one-year Cert HE Digital Marketing & Music Management course, you’ll learn at our campuses in London’s Kilburn and nearby Queen's Park. While you're a student at ICMP, you'll have access to these facilities outside of class time to study and, if you're also a musician, you're welcome to rehearse and record your music here, too.

Students will primarily experience an onsite, face-to-face learning experience, with some non-practical classes delivered online. Lessons will take place predominantly at our Kilburn campus, where you’ll also have access to an extensive range of music equipment, instruments and room facilities. 

For support and advice concerning welfare, finance, personal development and safeguarding, you’ll have access to the Student Services Department. For bespoke music industry careers advice and access to unique music business opportunities, our Professional Development team ‘The Hub' will provide regular guidance.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

On the Cert HE Digital Marketing & Music Management programme, you’ll be taught using a variety of teaching and learning methods, such as lectures, small tutorial groups, workshops, hands-on technology laboratory tutorials, group work and student-led classes and presentations.

When not attending lectures, seminars or other timetabled sessions, you'll be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This will typically involve reading books and articles, undertaking research in the library, working on individual and group projects, and preparing coursework assignments. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities, including our Learning Resource Centre, well-equipped tech suites and many practice and performance rooms.

You can expect to be in timetabled teaching activities such as lectures, seminars, and workshops for typically 9-10 hours a week, you’ll also have personalised one-to-one tutorials scheduled throughout the year.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

CertHE Digital Marketing & Music Management course applicants will typically have A-levels, a BTEC Diploma or Extended Diploma, an International Baccalaureate equivalent to 48 UCAS points, or an ICMP Higher Diploma. 

In addition, you should hold a GCSE Grade C or 4 or above in English, or suitable equivalent, such as Level 2 Key Skills, Functional Skills or Adult Literacy/Numeracy. 

We also welcome applications from mature applicants who may have no formal qualifications but can demonstrate their suitability for study through appropriate skills and experience. 

All applicants will be invited to attend an audition/interview.  

Please note: International students, who require a visa to study in the UK, are not eligible to study on this course. Instead, we encourage you to apply for either our three-year BA (Hons) Digital Marketing & Music Management degree

UCAS code CDMMUni code i25

HOW TO APPLY

Please apply via the "APPLY NOW" link below.

At any time during the application process if you need help or further advice just contact our Admissions team who will be happy to assist you. 

 



By phone:
020 7328 0222

By email:
enquiries@icmp.ac.uk

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