Why Distance Learning is a Powerful Tool for Musicians
Are you a musician who feels like your playing or general musicianship has stagnated? Feel like you could benefit from a new approach? Got some bad habits that need fixing?
AMS Online could provide you with the skills and resources to massively enhance your musicianship, and with the flexibility of distance learning, you can make studying work around your life.
If you are an experienced musician, you may be suitable for our unique Fast Track BA course. This allows you to use your prior learning to bypass the first two years of a degree and begin at BA Hons (Level 6.) Meaning you can enhance your musicianship and earn a highly-regarded qualification without a four year commitment and at a third of the cost.
With the fast-track course, you have the option to complete your BA full-time over 1 year or part-time over 18 months, the latter would be the optimal choice for actively working musicians, producers or teachers. This grants you access to online lessons from world-class tutors, online mentoring and also allows you to use the facilities at your local AMS centre if you wish.
There has never been a better time to pursue distance learning, with The Guardian reporting that an increasing number of professionals are updating their skills by studying remotely. Furthermore, AMS Online is set up to allow the student to choose their own path and study topics which are directly relevant to their interests and career development. So whether you’re a performer, songwriter, producer, composer or an event manager, you can become more effective and more qualified studying at AMS Online!
For more information about the course and what is involved, head to this link - www.academyofmusic.ac.uk/amsonline/ba-hons-performance-industries/
The Importance of Streaming in 2017 and Beyond
It’s that time of year again. The time when a vast array of music blogs fight for your attention with their end of year lists, all vying to be the definitive voice on which music was the most influential.
If you use social media with any frequency, you may have noticed your social circle sharing their own listening habits and opinions. This week, Spotify launched their “2017 Wrapped” project, providing a variety of statistics on every user’s listening throughout the year including total listening time, top artists and top genres.
The increasing importance of streaming services within the music industry has been evident for some time now, Eamonn Ford of the Guardian claiming that “in 2017, if you’re not on them, you might as well not exist.” Despite some pushback from high profile artists such as Thom Yorke and Neil Young, it is evident that streaming sites are here to stay and getting your music on these platforms is an essential endeavour for any artist who hopes to compete.
However, the “total time listened” feature of 2017 wrapped shows just how widely used Spotify, in particular, is for music consumers. My own personal time amounted to 36,349 minutes, or around 25 days! Even at that, I’ve seen numerous friends with higher numbers and with Spotify alone having over 140 million active users,the amount of music being consumed is massive. This shows the vast potential for music to be heard on Spotify, which is particularly vital for small and unknown artists, for whom getting people to bother checking out a track can seem like a mammoth task.
The change in listening methods brought on by streaming has also seen a move away from albums and towards playlists which means single tracks are more important than ever. Being featured on influential playlists can give previously unknown artists worldwide exposure almost overnight. A recent example is former AMS apprentice Lewis Capaldi, who’s first single, “Bruises” was released in March and has now racked up over 30 Million streams on Spotify alone after generating a huge online buzz, taking him around the world playing shows.
For any musicians unsure about getting their tracks on streaming services, whether due to lack of confidence, being unsure about the process or being worried about the expense, I would highly recommend looking into it. I have listed some of the most widely-used distributors below, which offer a variety of packages and often let the artist keep 100% of royalties earned. Digital distribution is fairly inexpensive and essential to a musician’s career in the modern music landscape!
EmuBands - www.emubands.com
TuneCore - www.tunecore.co.uk
CD Baby - www.cdbaby.com
Ditto Music - www.dittomusic.com
New Start in Performance Industries (BA Hons)
New Years Resolution to further your career? There's still time to enrol on on of our exciting Online Degree Courses in Performance Industries!
And if you are an experienced musician you may be eligible to Fast Track onto the final BA top up year and do the whole degree in one year. All this at your own pace, from the comfort of your own home, whilst still working.
You will have access to the full course, mentors, tutors and the facilities of your local centre.
It's not too late to apply, take a look at our courses and contact us or fill out the application form on our website:
http://www.academyofmusic.ac.uk/online
Fast Track to BA Performance Industries
If you have 5+ years experience as a musician, you may be eligible for Fast Track entry to one of our highly acclaimed Performance Industries BA degree courses. You can complete your degree online over 12 months (full time) or 18 months (part time). Based anywhere in the UK, you have the freedom to work through the course material at your own pace, with your own personal mentor and access to your local Music Centre and its facilities.
Contact: http://www.academyofmusic.ac.uk/amsonline/contact/[email protected]
