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Business Skills for the Creative & Cultural Industries - TFT00072M

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  • Department: Theatre, Film, Television and Interactive Media
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2022-23

Module summary

This module provides students with critical understanding and knowledge of the main business skills as they apply to a wide range of creative and cultural industries: the visual arts, museums and heritage, fashion, advertising, design, film, music, theatre, television and interactive digital media. Students will learn about the skills needed to manage and lead in creative business environments including entrepreneurialism, marketing and branding, audience development strategies, financial planning, legal, and intellectual property law. Combining critical thinking with applied learning students will draw on cutting edge research and case studies to help them develop their own individual style of management and leadership, and their critical approach towards key issues and challenges in the sector such as globalisation, inequalities and diversity, ethical consumerism and sustainability.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Autumn Term 2022-23

Module aims

This module aims to:

1 To gain knowledge and understanding of management and entrepreneurial skills; marketing and branding; and approaches to audience planning and development strategies as they apply to working practices in creative and cultural environments

2 To apply knowledge and understanding of business skills to real-life case studies in a wide range of creative and cultural industries settings

3 Critically reflect on the main issues and challenges facing the management of creative industries today including globalisation, social responsibility, diversity and sustainability.

Module learning outcomes

  1. To demonstrate a detailed understanding and critical knowledge of business leadership and management skills in the creative and cultural industries, including entrepreneurialism, marketing and branding, and audience development strategies
  2. To be able to apply knowledge and understanding of business skills to practical case studies to a wide range of creative and cultural industries environments: the visual arts, museums and heritage, fashion, advertising, design, film, music, theatre, television and interactive digital media.
  3. To critically evaluate the role of business practices in addressing leading issues in the creative and cultural industries sectors such as globalisation, ethical consumerism, sustainability, diversity and social responsibility.

Module content

Creativity and business in the creative and Cultural Industries

Entrepreneurial Skills I: Global creative businesses

Entrepreneurial Skills II: Cultural entrepreneurship

Management Skills I: Freelancing and SMEs (small and medium-sized businesses)

Management Skills II: Performance measurement in non-profit businesses

Cultural Marketing I: Marketing analysis

Cultural Marketing II: The artist as a brand

Audience development & strategy

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Module feedback

Feedback to students : Students will receive feedback as per university guidelines.

Indicative reading

Association for Project Management, Planning Scheduling Monitoring and Control (Kindle: 2015)

Leonel Bentley, Intellectual Property Law (Oxford: OUP, 2018)

Chris Bilton, Management and Creativity (London: Wiley-Blackwell, 2006)

Constance Devereaux, The Arts Management Handbook (London: Routledge, 2011)

Liz Hill et al., Creative Arts Marketing (London: Routledge, 2017)

Philip Kotler, Marketing 4.0: Moving from Traditional to Digital (London: John Wiley and Sons, 2017)

Harold Vogel, Entertainment Industry Economics (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011)



The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.