Design your own music career with the new Bachelor of Music Industry

Major in audio, music production, composition, business, song writing and performance with the newly created Bachelor of Music Industry.

During the last few decades, the music industry has seen massive continual change; change that has touched every aspect of the industry, from how music is written and produced, to how it’s promoted, performed and managed, how we source and buy music, and how we listen to it.

Head of Music at Box Hill Institute, Ben Wiesner, said working in the music industry today is vastly different than it was 10 or 20 years ago, or even five years ago.

“Over the past 12 months, COVID-19 has accelerated this change even more. It’s forced the music industry to spin around and driven the digital component of performance and live music even further,” he said.

More choice and flexibility

Given these changes, the timing of the new Bachelor of Music Industry degree launch at Box Hill Institute couldn’t be any better.

“Our new Bachelor of Music Industry gives students much more choice and flexibility. They get to put together, produce and direct their own music degree and career,” said Ben.

“In a way, it’s a revolution – just like the industrial revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries – but this time it’s digital. We are now in the middle of a huge and constant digital transformation, where things develop and change rapidly.

“In this continually changing scenario, people working in the music industry need to have diverse skill sets and different interests. They also need to be prepared and able to work in a gig economy, which is a lot different to what a traditional music qualification teaches.”

Diverse skill sets and working in a gig economy

As a leader in Australian contemporary music education since 1981, Box Hill Institute pioneered one of the most diverse and dynamic music programs in the country. The new Bachelor of Music Industry builds on this and offers even more choice and flexibility for students, with students being able to choose over 50 per cent of what they study and the direction their degree takes.

The new degree has a common core that everyone takes, then students choose majors from six on offer and up to two minors or electives. There is also a major project within the degree, where students can choose to record and release music, organise a mini-festival, manage an artist or put together a live gig and perform – all within and as part of the real music industry.

Focus on excellent contemporary music

“At Box Hill Institute, our focus is on excellent contemporary music. The new Bachelor of Music Industry is a logical progression for our renowned music courses and graduates – it’s everything that you need to work in today’s fast-paced, digital industry,” said Ben.

The common core in the degree includes four subjects taken by all students: an introduction to the music industry; perspectives on the music industry including a First Nations person perspective, women in music perspective and sustainability; creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship; and the future of music.

The degree offers six majors – audio production, music business, composition, music production, performance, and song writing.

Playing to your skills and talents

The student chooses a major, then can choose up to two minors or a range of electives from a pool of over 60 subjects. These are designed to be flexible and unique to your skills and talents, so you, the student, are in control of what you want to study. 

Areas of study include:

• film and media composition
• performance
• music business
• business innovation
• advanced performance
• song writing
• collaborative song writing
• composition
• sound production
• professional sound
• game audio
• beat cypher
• music production
• innovation in music creation
• creating content for the music industry
  
  

World-class facilities – recording studios, live venue, record label

It’s not just the new cutting-edge music industry degree that Box Hill Institute offers students – there’s also Sing Sing East Recording Studios – the world-class recording studios on campus, a live venue and licensed bar and other facilities, all based at the Institute’s Nelson campus in Box Hill.

“Our recording studios are incredible – some of the best studios and recording gear in the world. We also have a performance stage with a licensed bar – just how you would perform in the real world,” said Ben.

Additionally, Box Hill Institute also has its own record label, Tremorverse Records, and can produce, record and release music.

Great opportunity for our students

Record label manager, Merida Sussex, said: “Tremorverse Records is an independent record label on campus.  It provides a great opportunity for students to release their tracks to a global music audience.”

An upside of the global pandemic has been a reinvention of live performance in the online space. From Italians giving music performances on their balconies to performers, musicians, and bands from all over the world giving performances on digital platforms, from venues and from their own homes.

The new Bachelor of Music Industry anticipated this and positively hits the right note for the music industry moving forward.