Cre­ate your own Record Label

• Year of study: Two semestets, autumn and spring
• Final assessment: Assessment from course coordinators
• Language of tuition: Norwegian/ English

Course description

The course is designed to give students relevant experience in establishing and running their own record label. Through hands-on work and exploration of the industry's structures, students will gain insight into this part of the music business, where performers often need to take on significant responsibility themselves.

Students will acquire knowledge about artistic choices in the mastering process, financial aspects, legal frameworks, contract negotiations, and communication with various stakeholders in the music industry. The aim is to equip students with the skills to understand and manage the entire value chain, as well as to communicate effectively with both collaborators and audiences.

Course coordinator: Jazz, Improvised Music and Traditional Nordic Folk Music Department

Learning objectives

Upon completion of the course, the students is expected to

• be able to make and justify artistic decisions in the mastering process
• be able to establish their own record label for digital music distribution
• be able to make the necessary agreements with parties involved in the value chain
• have knowledge of marketing and communication in relation to music releases
• have knowledge of how recorded music must be formatted for various digital and physical publishing platforms
• have knowledge of how to work with artist and repertoire development in preparation for reaching an audience

Overview

The course focuses on the practical establishment and operation of an independent record label.

This includes:

• An overview of the music industry value chain
• Knowledge of contracts with industry stakeholders and understanding of financial flows
• Communication with collaborators and audiences
• Insight into legal frameworks and administrative requirements

Through this work, students will gain the skills needed to lead and develop their own projects tailored to today’s music industry.

Structure

The course is organized partly as weekly sessions and partly in the form of seminars. In addition, students will receive individual supervision on their projects. The students will also meet representatives from Tono, Gramo, producers, artists, and record labels.

Course requirements

1. Active participation in the course is mandatory. Normally, absence of more than 20 percent will result in a fail.
2. The student must establish their own record label, either in collaboration with other students or individually. At least one track must be released by May 1. The music should, as a general rule, be the students’ own newly produced work, but exceptions may be made in agreement with the course coordinator. All agreements with musicians, producers, and other actors in the value chain must be signed before the release.

If the label is established in collaboration with other students, the division of tasks and the different roles in the label must be described in a brief report. Distribution will normally take place via an aggregator that makes the music available on digital platforms.

Final assessment

The course requirements must be approved for the student to receive a final assessment.

The student is assessed in relation to the course's learning objectives. Final assessment is made by two internal examiners, one of whom is normally the course's coordinator. Final assessment is expressed as pass/fail.

New assessment

Students failing the course will have to apply to re-follow the course for a new assessment. Students may only re-follow the course if there are available places.