Bachelor of Arts and Entertainment Management

The Bachelor of Arts and Entertainment Management is a three-year degree at the Australian Institute of Music (AIM) that trains you to run the business side of creative work. You study how music, live events, festivals, touring, screen, digital content and arts organisations actually make money and stay afloat. That means looking at artist management, booking and touring, venue operations, marketing and audience development, sponsorship and fundraising, budgeting, contracts and copyright, and the policy settings that shape the Australian arts sector. Because AIM is a music institute, the industry examples sit close to music and live performance, but the management skills carry across to theatre, dance, visual arts, screen and events.

Australian bachelor degrees are normally three years of full-time study, and this one follows that structure. You complete units of study, each worth a set number of credit points, across semesters. You build up core management and business units first, then choose electives that let you lean toward live production, artist development, marketing or broader arts administration. Most bachelor degrees include a capstone unit in the final year, often a major project, a business plan or an industry research task where you pull together everything you have learned. Many also build in work-integrated learning: a placement or industry project with a promoter, venue, label, festival, arts centre or management company. AIM sits inside the music industry, so those connections are part of the point of studying there.

What you actually get good at is practical. You learn to read a contract, build a budget that survives contact with reality, pitch a sponsorship, plan a tour or an event, market a release, and manage a small team of creatives who all have opinions. You also learn to talk to artists, agents, venues and funding bodies in their own language. Assessment tends to be project-based rather than purely exam-based, which suits people who would rather build something than memorise it.

This degree suits school leavers who love music and arts but do not want to be the one on stage, and it suits people already working in the industry, crew, venue staff, artist managers, marketing assistants, who want formal qualifications and a broader business grounding. It also works for career changers coming from general business or events who want to specialise in the arts. If you are an international student, note that a Student visa generally allows you to work up to 48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session, and after graduating you may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream, which lets you stay and work in Australia. English proficiency is required for entry; IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall is the common undergraduate standard, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and AIM's own English programmes accepted as equivalents. The Department of Home Affairs also sets its own English threshold for the visa itself. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register under course code 109394E. Check the official AIM page and CRICOS for current entry requirements, unit structure and fees before you apply.

• Artist manager or band manager, managing careers, bookings, releases and day-to-day business for musicians and performers.
• Booking agent or tour coordinator, putting together tours, negotiating with venues and handling logistics across Australia and overseas.
• Event or festival producer, programming, budgeting and delivering live events, from small club shows to multi-day festivals.
• Venue or operations manager, running the business side of a live music venue, theatre or arts centre.
• Marketing and audience development coordinator, building audiences for arts organisations, labels, promoters and festivals.
• Sponsorship, fundraising or development officer, securing corporate partnerships, grants and philanthropic support for arts bodies.
• Record label or publishing administrator, handling contracts, royalties, copyright and release schedules.
• Arts administrator in government or not-for-profit, working with arts funding bodies, councils and cultural organisations.

Typical employers include live music venues, festivals and promoters, artist management companies, record labels and music publishers, performing arts companies, arts centres, screen and digital media organisations, and government arts agencies across Australia. The skills also transfer to general events, hospitality and media businesses that need someone who understands creative people and creative products.