Bachelor of Music Business

The Bachelor of Music Business at The Australian Institute of Music (AIM) is a three-year degree for people who want to work in the music industry but not necessarily on stage. You study how music gets made, marketed, licensed, toured and paid for, the business side of a business that runs on both art and contracts.

What you actually study

Expect a mix of music core subjects and business subjects. On the music side, you learn about the structure of the Australian music industry, artist management, live music and touring, music publishing, royalties and copyright, and how streaming platforms and labels operate. On the business side, you cover marketing, finance and budgeting, law as it applies to creative work, and project management. You also build practical skills: writing a business plan for an artist, pitching a tour, negotiating a deal, running a release campaign, and reading a contract well enough to know when to call a lawyer. Assessment is mostly assignments, group projects, presentations and industry-style briefs rather than exams.

How the degree is structured

Australian bachelor degrees are made up of units of study, each worth a set number of credit points. You normally take several units per semester or trimester, and you need a set total of credit points to graduate. The exact unit list, credit point values and teaching periods are set by AIM and can change, so check the official course page or the CRICOS register entry for the current structure. A capstone or final-year project is common in this kind of degree, often a major industry project, a business plan or a placement-based piece of work. Work-integrated learning is a real part of music business study: internships with labels, promoters, venues, festivals, management companies or publishing houses, plus industry mentoring and networking events. AIM is a music specialist institution, so your classmates are musicians, producers and audio students, and you work on real projects with them.

Skills you come out with

You learn to plan and budget a project, market an artist or event, understand how royalties flow, negotiate and draft basic agreements, manage a team, and use industry software and platforms. You also learn to talk to creative people and to business people in the same week, a skill the industry actually pays for.

Who it suits

This degree suits you if you love music but see yourself running the show: managing artists, promoting gigs, working at a label or publisher, or building your own music-related business. It also suits musicians who want to understand the business they are already in. No prior business study is assumed. International applicants need to meet English requirements, IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall is the usual undergraduate standard, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic and Cambridge C1 Advanced accepted as equivalents, and the Department of Home Affairs sets a separate English threshold for the Student visa. While studying in Australia on a Student visa you can work up to 48 hours per fortnight, and after graduating you may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream. Confirm all details, including tuition, on the official course page and the CRICOS register.

• Artist manager, managing careers, bookings, releases and day-to-day business for musicians.
• Music marketing or publicity coordinator, running campaigns for labels, distributors, venues and festivals.
• Live music and touring assistant, helping promoters and tour managers with logistics, budgets and scheduling.
• Record label or distribution coordinator, supporting A&R, release planning and streaming delivery.
• Music publishing and royalties administrator, tracking copyright, registrations and payments.
• Booking agent, pitching artists to venues and festivals and negotiating fees.
• Festival or venue operations assistant, programming, ticketing, sponsorship and event delivery.
• Digital content and social media producer, building audiences for artists and music brands.
• Music supervisor's assistant, clearing and licensing music for film, TV, games and advertising.
• Self-employed music entrepreneur, running your own management, events or creative business.

Hiring happens across Australian record labels, publishers, promoters, festivals, live venues, artist management companies, streaming and distribution services, sync and licensing agencies, music retail and education, and arts organisations. Some graduates also move into broader creative industries, marketing, events or arts administration.