Howard Monk is Senior Lecturer in Creative Business at the University for the Creative Arts. He has vast experience in the industry, having started to work in events whilst at university, performing various roles such as a driver and sound engineer with renowned bands such as Pop Will Eat Itself, Radiohead, Spiritualized and many more. As a drummer in his own bands, Howard got a feel for organising DIY gigs and continued to run shows when his bands stopped playing so often. He started his own promotions and booking agency – Knom Music/The Local – which specialises in giving touring opportunities to new acts from overseas, as well as helping to develop the careers of many UK bands and artists. As an agent, Howard has had his bands play a huge number of festivals, including Glastonbury, Green Man, End of the Road, Reading and Leeds, Latitude, Boardmasters and many more. He runs a stage at Wilderness Festival and hosts the annual ‘Folk Idol’ competition at Camp Bestival. The Local has held events at SXSW, The Great Escape, the Roundhouse and the Southbank Centre. He also runs the annual The End Festival in North London each November. Howard is an experienced Course Leader and Senior Lecturer with expertise in the creative/music business/event management space. His teaching experience ranges from EFL to Higher, via Further Education, and he has recent experience in course authorship. Howard is an educator, innovator, musician and networker.

SS-036 Creative Business Management - Meet the Academic - UCA

Studying BA/BSc (Hons) Music Business & Management at the UCA Business School for the Creative Industries will set you up with the skills you’ll need for success in the fast-moving and increasingly global music business and management sector.
No matter your dream career - be it record company management, music marketing, talent scouting and development, artist management or live music - this course will provide you with everything you need, as well as the freedom to explore your areas of interest, from merchandising and branding, to management and promotion.In your first year, you will be introduced to the music industry in overview, and learn the fundamentals of business in a music industry context - including foundations in design thinking, understanding consumers, marketing, and business analytics. In your second and third year, you will develop more advanced business skills across areas such as: artist development and management, business strategy, and publishing rights. You will also study elective modules to shape your degree to your interests and career goals, from journalism to festivals to visual communications.
UCA’s Music Business & Management degree is taught at UCA Epsom’s Business School for the Creative Industries (the first of its kind in the UK), where you will have the opportunity to grow your professional network from the exciting roster of contacts the Business School has in one of the UK’s largest and most competitive creative business industries. Every course within UCA's Business School portfolio is taught with a global perspective, giving graduates the skill set required to pursue a music business and management career anywhere in the world. You will also have access to industry-grade facilities, from audio recording studios to digital media suites to fully-equipped photography studios.

Music Business & Management at University for the Creative Arts

In episode 1, Howard takes you through how to actually set up a live music business and build your brand, from first steps to taking on the international music stage. 

1. Developing a business: the local London, and Shhh Festival!

In episode 2, recounts his experience with Ed Sheeran's agent, and explains the roles of booking agents, promoters and festival programmers. 

2. The role of booking agents: contact from Ed Sheeran’s agent

In episode 3, Howard dissects how Ed Sheeran got to the top of the pop music industry, and considers the different career trajectories of other stars. 

3. How Ed Sheeran got to where he is now

In episode 4, Howard challenges you to consider appropriate potential venues for different types of artists. He then poses 4 quiz questions to test your knowledge, and offers career advice for the different paths you can follow with a Music Business & Management degree. 

4. Activity: choosing the right venue & quiz

SS-036 Trailer (Now Streaming) - Creative Business Management - UCA

SS-036-Ep1

Join Howard Monk as he explores what it takes to establish a successful live music business. He will introduce you to the different roles and challenges in the world of music management and explain why he turned down Ed Sheeran.

with Howard Monk from University for the Creative Arts

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with Howard Monk from University for the Creative Arts

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