2022/23 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue
MUSS5835M How Songs Make Money
30 creditsClass Size: 80
Module manager: Ellis Jones
Email: e.n.jones@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2022/23
This module is not approved as an Elective
Module summary
Songs are immaterial: they exist primarily in the mind of composers and listeners, and this makes them an unusual kind of commodity. Turning songs into money has required the development of new legal frameworks (copyright), new social concepts (intellectual property), and new businesses (music publishers). This module explores this social history, and also highlights its relevance for understanding contemporary efforts to make money from songs, including through non-fungible tokens, financialisation, and artificial intelligence.Objectives
This module aims to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of how songs make money, including the legal framework of copyright, the historical development of the music publishing business, and the evolution of relevant social concepts including originality and ownership. Students will be supported to communicate independent, critical perspectives on these topics, informed by scholarship as well as by practical considerations relevant to the contemporary music business.Learning outcomes
1) Understand the role of copyright in shaping the music industries
2) Critically explore a range of perspectives on the commodification of music
3) Examine the role of key actors and organisations in the past and present music publishing industries
4) Critically reflect on how different presentational approaches to enable successful communication with a range of stakeholders.
5) Apply optimal, professional practices for crediting and licensing musical (and other creative) works.
Syllabus
Lectures in this module cover two primary areas:
1) The key socio-cultural, legal, and historical conditions that have permitted the commodification of songs since 1710, such as the development of intellectual property and copyright law within liberal capitalism, the impact of Romantic thought on concepts of originality and authorship; the role of music publishers in building popular music markets, the labour process of songwriting, and racial injustice within nineteenth- and twentieth-century efforts to commodify songs.
2) Recent developments regarding the commodity status of the song, such as music synchronisation, the impact of the internet on intellectual property, the role of institutional finance in song management, and the potential of blockchain and non-fungible tokens to alter the economics of song ownership.
Lectures are interspersed with practical classes and seminars to prepare for assessments, and to provide opportunities for student-led discussion and reflection. Practical classes will be supported with online audio-visual material to further develop students’ skills in preparation for the assessment.
Teaching methods
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
| Lecture | 5 | 2.00 | 10.00 |
| Practical | 4 | 1.00 | 4.00 |
| Seminar | 6 | 1.00 | 6.00 |
| Independent online learning hours | 3.00 | ||
| Private study hours | 277.00 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20.00 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 300.00 | ||
Private study
Independent learning:• Completing ‘follow-along’ audio production videos (3 hours)
Private study
• Engaging with prepatory material in advance of lectures and seminars (55 hours)
• Reading and critically engaging with reading list (50 hrs)
• Exploratory independent research for formative assessment ‘trailer’ (20 hrs)
• In-depth independent research for summative assessment ‘podcast’ (50 hrs)
• Scripting, devising, and planning formative assessment ‘trailer’ (50 hrs)
• Exploring technologies covered in practical sessions and ‘follow-along’ videos (15 hours)
• Recording, editing, and producing audio for formative assessment ‘trailer’ (7 hrs)
• Recording, editing, and producing audio for summative assessment ‘podcast’ (20 hrs)
• Writing and compiling reflexive ‘show notes’ (10 hrs)
Opportunities for Formative Feedback
Student progress is monitored by a formative assessment in week 6, for which students will submit a short audio trailer for the podcast they intend to produce. Feedback will indicate a) the appropriateness of the project topic in relation to learning outcomes, b) the presence of critical and analytical depth, and c) the appropriateness of presentational style. This assessment will also be used to determine the current level of students’ relevant digital skills in audio production, so that targeted support can be provided where necessary. Additional monitoring of progress will happen through discussion in seminars.Methods of assessment
Coursework
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
| Report | 1-2min audio ‘trailer’ | 0.00 |
| Oral Presentation | 12-15min ‘podcast’ – pre-recorded audio presentation | 75.00 |
| Reflective log | 600-800 word ‘show notes’ – written document with bibliography. | 25.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100.00 | |
Student progress is monitored by a formative assessment in week 6, for which students will submit a short audio trailer for the podcast they intend to produce. Feedback will indicate a) the appropriateness of the project topic in relation to learning outcomes, b) the presence of critical and analytical depth, and c) the appropriateness of presentational style. This assessment will also be used to determine the current level of students’ relevant digital skills in audio production, so that targeted support can be provided where necessary. Additional monitoring of progress will happen through discussion in seminars.
Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library websiteLast updated: 03/05/2022
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- Undergraduate module catalogue
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