Entrepreneurship and Music Performance

BA (Hons) Entrepreneurship and Music Performance
Develop your creative and performance skills with a course underpinned by investigation into the aesthetic, analytical, sociological and historical dimensions of music. Pair this with an entrepreneurship curriculum that is leading-edge, vocationally relevant, challenging and reflects the complex nature of contemporary business.

Why choose this course?

We’ll help to prepare you for a career in a global business environment that is rapidly changing, and you’ll be supported to become more agile, innovative and resilient. You’ll also develop self-learning and team-working skills, both crucial to success in the professional sphere.

You’ll discover a superb range of music making facilities at our Markeaton Street site, including state-of-the-art recording studios, rehearsal space, music technology labs and three post-production rooms equipped with the latest software. The facilities you’ll learn in match the specifications of professional studios in the UK and overseas. 

Our new Business School is set to be a focal point for Derby’s business community. You’ll study alongside start-ups and small businesses, giving you the opportunity to network, learn from and inspire local business leaders and entrepreneurs.

How you will learn

Your Popular Music modules will be taught through a range of methods, including:


- lectures


- composition


- tutorials and practical workshops


- group discussion.


On your Entrepreneurship modules you will learn through methods such as:


- formal lectures which will at times include expert speakers


- seminars which can be tutor-led or student-led and can include discussions, critical analysis of reading, presentations, group work, debates and general problem solving, interaction with real businesses, case study analysis, computer lab work, practical analysis and formative assessment


- tutorials which are one-to-one sessions with a tutor to discuss the development of assignments


- work experience projects


- self-directed study.


Opportunities and experiences

We offer a wide range of instruments, amplifiers and outboard gear on which you can develop your skills, together with a classic 48 channel Neve recording console.

We’re one of the leading universities conducting research into surround-sound technologies and all our control rooms accommodate 5.1 speaker arrays. We also have a surround-sound research lab which has a 40-speaker ambisonics surround speaker array allowing height and depth parameters.

Our Music courses are accredited by the Joint Audio Media Education Support (JAMES), the professional music industry accreditation body, so you can be confident that they meet the high standards demanded by industry.

Careers and employability

You’ll develop a broad spectrum of intellectual, cognitive, technical and contextual skills which will enhance your knowledge of popular music in professional and economic terms. You’ll also gain transferable business skills which opens up a wide range of graduate careers within the modern commercial music sector such as performers, composers, producers, educators, promoters, publishers, academics, recording studio engineers and entrepreneurial freelance musicians.

The entrepreneurship skills you gain on this course will also stand you in good stead if you want to launch a business, develop a social enterprise, go self-employed or work on a consultancy basis. If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, we offer a comprehensive range of services, from incubation units to professional mentoring, to help you realise your business ambitions once you’ve graduated.

Based solely on more than 24,000 student reviews, we were named Uni Compare's University of the Year 2027, and voted 1st in the UK for employability and 2nd in the UK for course quality. Not only that, but 97% of students would recommend the University of Derby*, which we can offer you industry-relevant teaching, state-of-the-art study spaces, multi-award-winning accommodation, and a welcoming, inclusive community.

*Uni Compare 2027