BA (Hons) Music Journalism

Like any good journalist, you’ll arrive at BIMM full of questions – and this introductory module has the answers. Get ready to explore the structure of the modern industry, discovering how journalists interact with artists, PRs, record labels, managers and promoters. Then drill into the different career paths in music journalism – and start developing the skills and experience you’ll need to get employed.

Great writing will only get you so far. This module looks at the vital skills that every serious music journalist needs in their toolbox. You’ll learn how to prepare, research, interview and report, whether you’re working for a national broadsheet or a youth-oriented blog. Plus, in an age when diversification is more important than ever, you’ll learn the skill-sets you need to write and produce for radio, TV and the web.

An overarching knowledge of the modern music industry is invaluable to upcoming journalists, helping you knock on the right doors, pitch articles to the most receptive markets and produce writing that is insightful and in tune with the times. This module demystifies the music business, introducing students to the structure, principles and practices that underpin its day-to-day operation.

From the trailblazers of the early 20th century, through ’70s anarchists like Lester Bangs, to the superstar bloggers of here-and-now, the backstory of music journalism is almost as colourful and controversial as its subjects. This module leads you into the discipline’s rich history – exploring the culture and socio-political conditions that gave birth to key writing movements – and inspires you to add your own thumbprint.

The music industry needs words – and is ready to pay the top journalists well for them. This module makes you the best writer you can be, teaching the specialist skills you’ll need to break into print media, online, TV and radio, while tightening your style and helping you find your voice. You’ll learn the right way to write news, features, reviews, interviews and scripts, alongside associated skills like subbing, editing, audio-visual techniques and photography.

This module introduces you to the world of online public relations, revealing how to create the reports, stories and news content that will press your audience’s buttons. You’ll also focus on how music and sound are used online, and the techniques and technology that keep your work fresh in the fast-moving modern industry.

Information is everywhere – but faced with the web’s overwhelming and often-dubious sources, serious journalists need a rigorous approach to research and a mastery of social data. This module introduces the tools of analytical journalism and the research methods you’ll be expected to follow as you launch your media career.

To know where music is headed, you need to understand where it’s been. This dynamic module leads you through the unfolding history of popular music and the industry, showing how art and business have been shaped by society, economics and technology. You’ll not only gain a watertight knowledge of the pivotal events, releases, labels and artists – but a clear vision of how you’ll write the next chapter.

BIMM’s media contacts mean your course will take you far beyond the teaching room. Get ready to flex your developing skills in the industry, as you collaborate with local employers, develop real-work business chops, make contacts in the corridors of power and boost your future employability. Keep your eyes and ears open, and take your journalism skills from theory to practice.

For the modern music writer, the traditional rock press is just the start. On this module, you’ll discover how your words can play an integral part in artist promotion, marketing and PR – and the art of writing biographies, press releases and campaign materials that break an artist and make you money. As you start to understand the symbiotic relationship between journalists and PRs, you’ll develop transferable skills that will let you thrive in both industries.

BIMM graduates hit the ground running with the skills they learn on this in-depth module. Drawing on your learning from the course so far, you’ll write, design and produce a print and digital BIMM music magazine in an authentic publishing house environment, shifting between writing and production roles as you sharpen essential techniques like pitching, flatplanning, scheduling and media law.

You’ll start to think a little bigger on this eye-opening module, as you look beyond the traditional print industry at multi-media avenues and modern PR methods including electronic press kits. As you investigate these different possibilities, we’ll teach you how to keep your work clear, dynamic and relevant for the audience.

Modern journalists operate in a connected world where the old rules of information transfer no longer apply. On this module, you’ll grasp the Internet’s seismic impact on globalisation and understand what this means for you as a journalist, learning how to write for a world audience, tailor your tone for specific territories and understand the transnational context of your work.

Forging a career as a freelance music journalist can be fast-paced, varied and lucrative – if you can meet the challenges. Whether you’re hoping to infiltrate the print, online or PR sectors, this is where you’ll learn the skills that keep the phone ringing, as we guide you through the freelancing process from initiating and pitching feature ideas to nailing a publication’s house style and delivering copy to deadline.

The Professional Project is the culmination of your three years at BIMM and your chance to prove you can apply the skills from your course to a project rooted firmly in the professional world. We’ll expect you to demonstrate everything from smart research to keen planning skills – and show the flash of imagination that’s essential when it comes to standing out in the competitive media landscape.

As a music journalist, you’ll be responsible for steering your own career – so it’s vital to become self-sufficient and address areas of weakness. On this module, you’ll build your own tailored programme of professional development, targeting anything from stress control to goal-setting and time management. Using self-assessment and peer feedback, you’ll identify your personal and business needs, set goals to achieve them, and finally analyse how successful you’ve been.

Music doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and to be an effective journalist, it pays to sharpen your knowledge of popular culture and business developments. This module shows you how to look critically at the culture and industry unfolding around you, take the pulse of the evolving music scene, then fuse what you’ve learnt into your own writing projects.