module specification

The live entertainment sector is the fastest growing part of the entertainment industries at present, and this trend is set to continue in the foreseeable future. The scale of mergers and acquisitions that have created global live entertainment giants such as Live Nation has contributed to this trend. Moreover, the trend of blending experiences across sectors, formats, genres and media has led to the growth in new types of blended events such as interactive streaming for theatre, special events, festivals, talent shows, competitions, and awards ceremonies (Google/YouTube music video awards) amongst others – a growing area of industry practice beyond music and events and encompassing fashion, culture, PR etc.

As one of the world’s entertainment industry capitals, London has a lot to offer students willing to embark on the practical training and learning in this area. To boost employability and enhance student experience, we have partnered with one of the most prestigious music venues in London and the world to create the means for enabling students to connect theory and practice in live and blended events environment. Whilst testing their knowledge and understanding, students develop entrepreneurial skills and learn the key aspects of the law, branding, marketing and management of live entertainment events, merchandising and venue- or set management. This module contains significant practice and team work will be at the centre of setting up real life events to network and present work to real industry clients, panels and investors with the aim of honing you skills to professional level and testing them in a market environment.

We attained considerable synergies already through existing partnerships with industry partners such as Club Fandango, Concert Live and MMF, enhancing employability and skills. We are set to continue broadening this collaborative approach that benefits students.

Module Aims:

1. To introduce and apply the knowledge of venue management practice, live promotion, concert touring and booking methods.

2. To explore the live sector as a growth area of the international entertainment industry and explain the roles of agents and promoters in the UK and internationally.

3. To place the live entertainment and venue management within the context of the music, events and related creative businesses within the UK, Europe and worldwide

4. To assess budgetary and marketing priorities in promotion, exploring ticketing and booking procedures in use today

5. To address PR implications within the live sector, together with merchandising concepts, sponsorship and brands in live entertainment and venue management

6. To understand the use of technology in events promotion, dissemination and delivery: e.g. digital events marketing, live streaming and on-site creative entertainment (on set)

1. Introduction to Agency & Promotion and Venue Management
2. Tour Planning and International Touring
3. Budgets, Marketing, Sponsorship and Merchandise LO1
4. Technical Matters and Legal Procedures in venue licensing, public order, live performance agreements, sponsorship, merchandising, and brand protection
5. Live Streaming and Online ticketing
6. Stage design and set management
7. Audio-visual content in live entertainment
8. Pop-ups and franchised events LO2

This Work-Related Learning, business/practice-orientation module will utilise a combination of teaching and learning methods, addressing a variety of learning styles. These include seminars, tutorials, workshops, peer- and team-study, group tasks and interactive learning. Students will be encouraged to reflect and draw on own experiences, aspirations and goals to facilitate inclusive learning. In this instance, special attention is paid to practical work-insights attained in the Lab and fieldwork.

Inclusive, active and collaborative learning will form the pivotal tactics for learning on this module. This will include: peer-moderated study and teamwork; the use of video, audio and online resources and VLEs; student-centred learning activities will include class interaction, problem-solving tasks and roleplay; uploading and reviewing team-based materials in ungraded formative assessment which will facilitate further class-collaboration among students.

Problem-solving activities in the field will be facilitated by the lecturers in seminars and workshops, encouraging team effort and individual student input. Tasks in class and in preparation for classes will include research- and investigation-driven exercises utilising a variety of sources such as music industry blogs, market research reports and industry trade body websites.

The proposed format for class delivery and class contact time will consist of 1-hour lectures and 2-hour workshops held in classrooms (Day) and venues (Evening); the latter will act as field-practice testing done by Tutors and Mentors, and will address the teamwork and events, independently delivered by students.

Special industry events including practice, and industry training days would supplement the module’s T/L - these will include The Live and Touring Day held at LMU and developed by MMF each Spring, delivered by Industry Experts, VPs and Partners.

Students will be able to utilise VLEs, such as WebLearn and interact through digital media supplied this way, to facilitate independent guided learning and inquiry.

Inquiry- and practice-focused learning will form the central part of student-focused activities in class and in independent study. Students will be expected to attend all classes and live music workshops; they will do so prepared for class, this being further facilitated through tasks given between workshops and lectures on a weekly basis. Independent inquiry, research and reflection on practice will be facilitated through the use of multiple academic and industry resources through our digital library and online sources, books and journal articles as well as news entries from leading music business publications.

Reflective learning will focus on both formative and summative assessment. Students will be required to write reflective accounts regarding any aspect of collaborative work and assessment planning.

Employability will be enhanced through 1) in-depth understanding by means of practical application of the key skills in the context of real life industry tasks (syllabus); 2) specific activities geared towards the application of reflective practice in individual and group work; 3) assessment requirements are directly connected to the impact which is made on the practical study task involving real life industry clients (formative/summative assessment)

Formative/summative assessment – authentic practical assessment - plays a pivotal role in Learning for this WRL module. Mentoring, feedback, feedforward from Industry Experts, VPs, Clients and Partners will enable students to attain practical evaluation and advanced application of their work.

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

1. Integrate relevant management and regulatory concepts, as well as industry best practice, into the delivery of venue operations, bookings, agency and promotion management.

2. Produce a live event for real-life entertainment venues [incl. pop-ups], observing the budgetary constraints and pitching the event to a potential investor.

1. Group presentation - Students will prepare and deliver, before a panel of academics and industry mentors, a 20-minute group (team) presentation of their event proposal which would enable them to manage their group effort effectively and present their work to potential investors.
20-minute presentation
40%

2. Individual Work-based Learning Log/Reflection (60%) based on the formative Practical Group Assignment (0%, Compulsory). In groups, students will be required to prepare and deliver the live event facilitated with the aid of our Partners (currently Club Fandango, with formal LMU/Partner arrangements dating since 2012/13). In the follow-up to event mentoring/formative feedforward, students will individually submit relevant documentation supporting their team projects and evaluating what can be identified as the chief contributory factors for the successful marketing and delivery of their team project. Evidence of events and decisions being made in planning and delivery will be required to support effective organisational reflection assessed in this module.
2500 words
60%

Textbooks:

Core Text:

Fox, D, Gouthro, M B, Morakabati, Y and Brackstone, J (2014) Doing Events Research: From Theory to Practice. Routledge

Other Texts:

Atkins, M (2007) Tour: smart: and break the band, Soluble LLC
Bowdin, G (2010), Events Management, Butterworth Heinemann
Couldry, N., Hepp, A., & Krotz, F. (Eds.). (2009). Media events in a global age. Routledge.
Ferdinand, N and Kitchin, P (2012) Events Management: An International Approach. Sage Publications
Graham, B. and Greenfield, R., (1992), Bill Graham Presents: My Life Inside
Hewison, R and Holden, J (2011) The Cultural Leadership Handbook. Gower Publishing Ltd.
Holt, M and Mayer, D (1994) Stage Design and Properties (Phaidon Theatre Manuals). Phaidon
Kemp, C (2010) Case Studies in Crowd Management, Security and Business Continuity, Entertainment Technology Press
Morrison, A.M., (2013). Marketing and managing tourism destinations. Routledge.
Music Managers Forum (MMF), (2016), The Music Management Bible, SMT, London
O'Toole, W., Harris, R. and McDonnell, I., (2005). Festival and special event management. Milton: John Wiley & Sons Australia.
Pallin, G (2010) Stage Management: The Essential Handbook. Nick Hern Books
Passman D., (2015), All you need to know about the Music Business. Simon & Schuster
Rock & Out, Doubleday
Rutter, P (2016) The Music Industry Handbook, Routledge
Shagan, R., (2001), Booking & Tour Management for the Performing Arts, Allworth Press, New York.

Thomas, R. and Bowdin, G., (2012). ‘Events management: state of the art’. Selected papers from the Global Events Congress IV, Leeds, England, UK, 14-16 July 2010. In Event Management (Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 103-187). Cognizant Communication Corporation.
Todorovic, M, A (2016) Rethinking Strategy for Creative Industries: Innovation and Interaction, London/NY: Routledge
Vasey, J., (1997), Concert Tour Production Management, Focal Press
Wu, C., (2002), Privatising culture: corporate art intervention since the 1980s, Verso

Journals:
Events Management, Ingenta

Websites:
www.bpi.co.uk
www.ifpi.org
www.musicindie.com
www.musicweek.com
www.recordoftheday.com
www.musicjournal.org
www.dotmusic.com
www.nme.com
www.ft.com
www.guardian.com/uk
www.europemedia.net
www.screendaily.com
www.hollywoodreporter.com
www.access-aa.co.uk

Electronic Databases:
Mintel
Statista

Social Media Sources
Linkedin.com