Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP)

Full of lots of fun and entertaining events such as gigs, pub crawls and meet ups. North West London has loads to offer in terms of night life so ICMP was able to offer top quality nights, every night for the whole 2 weeks of freshers. Since it's a small university, they don't offer accommodation, however they do host an accommodation day for anyone looking to move to the area. They get a number of estate agents in who deal with student houses a lot, and you can even go and view flats on the day. The facilities are amazing at ICMP, with top of the range equipment in every classroom and a whole facilities help desk with more equipment that you can hire. My course is an all round course for music, covering performance, business, production, songwriting, everything. I've loved living in the city, especially being a musician. I think it's the place to be.

Fresher week was great! I met lots of new people and there were a few great events, related to everyone's interests! Shame there has not been as much freshers stuff for this year due to the virus. They have no accommodation so you have to sort your own. However they offer lots of help in finding suitable accommodation for you which is good! I ended up doing a house share with some third years and it went very well. The facilities could always be better. On the whole, I think there is all the necessary resources you need for the course but it would be nice to have a few more practice rooms and sound proofing so there are no distractions in learning! The tutors are very experienced and offer great insight for students. Generally the course is well structured in its content City life is great, lots going on always buzzing! Great for going to gigs related to the course too

It was very good. A range of acitives for drinkers and non drinkers. Spread over 2 weeks It is very small. The facilities are very good. Everyone knows each other. People who work in the music industry work there. It's very good Music practice rooms are amaZing. No canteen or cafe. Great music equipment to borrow Small classes. Good resources Friendly teachers London is great and full of good nightlife and activities

I am loving it, everyone is so friendly and the classes are veeey interesting. I have learnt so much already!

My time at university was amazing in terms of being surrounded by like-minded creative individuals who were keen to learn. It was a life changing experience which made me learn so much about myself and the courage I have.

I never went but I know many people who did and they said they had the best time. There was ALOT of activities put on in and around London across two weeks so there was a lot to choose from! They don't offer student accommodation unfortunately There are a lot of classrooms all with Mac books available as well as a lot of equipment available to hire which is amazing!! Very friendly teachers who are very knowledgeable within their subject. Almost all of then have industry knowledge too! I lived at hone with my parents so didn't get to experience it

Course should be called
"Electronic Music Production in a DAW called Ableton"
to be less misleading. Don't expect much support if you are outside the box, you could probably get the same from a ableton certified summer course and burn less money.

My experience at ICMP has been mixed. I began my studies with genuine enthusiasm, but over time—particularly during my first and second years—I noticed several issues that significantly affected the quality of education and the overall student experience.

Although many of the tutors come from professional industry backgrounds, their teaching methods and classroom communication often lacked professionalism. It sometimes felt as though students were seen as replaceable, with more emphasis placed on attendance metrics than on delivering meaningful learning. Lectures frequently lacked depth and structure, and much of the information could easily be sourced online, often explained in greater clarity and detail via platforms such as YouTube.

When it came to job opportunities, it was apparent that many were selectively given to students with large social media followings, presumably to promote the university through student their students social platforms. This practice felt somewhat exploitative and unfair, particularly as a significant number of students received no opportunities at all. The roles that were offered were often menial—such as stage building or working in sanitation areas at festivals—which provided little value to those seeking serious entry into professional sectors of the music or events industries.

Furthermore, I observed that many of the students admitted into ICMP lacked foundational skills in music theory or practical experience, yet appeared to treat their acceptance as a mark of success in itself. This can create a false sense of achievement, which may be detrimental when facing the realities of a highly competitive industry where only the most skilled and prepared individuals thrive.

In terms of resources, the software made available to students—particularly within the business courses, was often inadequate. We relied heavily on beginner-friendly tools like Canva, rather than industry-standard platforms such as Adobe Creative Suite, which would have better prepared us for real-world professional environments. To make matters worse, essential tools like Microsoft Word were inconsistently provided. There were several instances where students lost access to basic programs due to subscription lapses, hindering our ability to complete and submit work on time.

Overall, while ICMP may offer valuable networking opportunities for a select few, I believe the institution would benefit greatly from re-evaluating its teaching standards, resource provision, and fairness in opportunity distribution to truly serve the diverse needs and ambitions of its student body. I would however, not recommend any music business students to peruse studies here, unless you enjoy listening to banging drums from in your business classroom for 3 hours each lecture, when the walls are meant to be soundproof and are clearly not.