The Popular Music (POM) course has many ties with the music industry, ranging from local press to international labels. We like to use these connections to provide you with the opportunity of practical experience that is unique in the country to us as a university and will make anyone’s CV stand out.
AV Club
AV Club offers students experience in a wide range of disciplines, covering a number of both university and outside audio events. Some of these opportunities include:
- Production work for BBC Gloucestershire Introducing
- Front of House sound, recording and mixing
- Sound at Wychwood, Cheltenham Jazz & Music Festivals
- Volunteering and Stewarding jobs as music festivals
- Broadcast assistants for RSLs @ Tone Radio
- Paid jobs
- Studio assistants for POM & RAP commercial studio sessions
If you sign up with AV club, you will be first in line when it comes to the big jobs. We meet once a month throughout the year to plan the multitude of broadcast, recording and coverage opportunities we're expected to provide and you will have an opportunity to provide direct feedback and make suggestions to improve the technical and practical aspects of your course.
TONE RADIO
Tone Radio is a student radio station based at the University of Gloucestershire and is a part of the University of Gloucestershire Students' Union. Tone currently broadcasts on the Internet and as such is available ANYWHERE in the world. The station was set up and has since grown from its humble beginnings broadcasting once a week from a teaching room, into a purpose built top of the range studio in the Students' Union Building on Pittville Campus. It involves up to 100 student volunteers each year and helps countless others from courses across the campuses.
During 2010, Tone Radio was commissioned not only to provide 'Wychwood FM' for the second time, but on the back of the success of Wychwood FM 2009, the station was asked to provide recording and live broadcast services for a brand new RSL on FM – Jazztown FM, covering the Barclays Cheltenham International Jazz Festival featuring such names as guest director Jamie Cullum, Paloma Faith and Imelda may amongst many others. Students not only provided a full schedule of FM programming for 5 days, including numbers live interviews and in-studio sets, but also recording and mastering audio from both the Budvar Jazz Fringe stage, and the Jazz Arena.
Our relationship with the Wychwood festival continued to grow as students programmed, ran sound for, and recorded the 4th stage at the festival – known as the Pomme stage. Along side this Wychwod FM returned for 2010, even including a 3-hour live broadcast from the Pomme stage every evening of the festival, with a live feed from the stage ran completely by Tone Radio volunteers and University students.
Tone Radio Website
WIRED RECORDS & THE GLOUCESTER GUILDHALL
Gloucester Guildhall is a thriving entertainment venue and events space situated in Gloucester City Centre; it hosts live music, comedy, theatre, film, exhibitions and talks.
Since 2002 Gloucester Guildhall has hosted the Wired Project that was funded by Youth Music for three years – this allowed the project to eventually become self-funded.
The project now provides a top quality performance opportunity in front of an all ages audience for 24 bands each year with live recording and photography.
On the back of our previous recording and live broadcast work, the university has recently entered a new partnership with Guildhall, giving students the opportunity to record, broadcast and produce content helping out new bands and young people through to some of the biggest names in the country.
2000 TREES FESTIVAL
2000 trees festival is a Gloucestershire music festival which prides itself on being ethical and green, as well as providing festival goers with some of the biggest and talented names in the UK.
It was started by six friends in 2007, who grew tired of being made to pay too much at other festivals to see the bands they love. They decided to create a value for money, ethical alternative, which also raises awareness of environmental concerns. The festival usually lays host to around 2,500 people.
They also have a comprehensive environmental policy which includes electricity generated with locally sourced biofuel (recycled chip fat), onsite recycling (66 per cent in 2007) and locally sourced food and drink where possible.
The university is currently in talks with the festival to extend and expand the partnership which has grown in the past few years in order to provide students with even better opportunities for 2011.
THE FROG & FIDDLE
The Frog and Fiddle is Cheltenham’s hub of live music. The partnership with the Frog and Fiddle has continued to grow year on year, with students providing recording and live broadcast services for many of the festivals held at the venue, including Walk the Line Festival, and Frogfest.
Tone Radio's partnership with the Frog and Fiddle has lead to the creation of the Tone Radio Live Music Night, held once a month with live video and audio broadcast back across Tone Radio, with students providing recording, broadcast engineering and live broadcast services.
BBC GLOUCESTERSHIRE INTRODUCING
We are the only university in the country that has students providing content for a weekly show on our local station, BBC Radio Gloucestershire.
With a vibrant music scene around the town and county – POM students have the opportunity to go to gigs, interview the bands and produce all the elements for a three or six minute package for inclusion on the BBC Gloucestershire Introducing radio show. Popular Music students often provide music to the show gaining nationwide coverage of their music and we have the contacts on the course to help develop their understanding and abilities for promoting their music.
BBC Official Website
University Press Release
BBC Introducing Overview
WYCHWOOD FM
Last year, the Popular Music students ran the acoustic “Pomme Stage” at the Wychwood Festival. They were required to program, manage, record and broadcast the performers on the stage for the duration of the festival. The Pomme Stage was such as success that we have been invited back to provide these services again in 2011
Wychwood Website
University Press Release
CHELTENHAM JAZZ FESTIVAL
Last year our students have been asked by the Cheltenham Jazz Festival (one of the highest regarded Jazz festivals in Europe) to provide four days worth of programming, recordings and FM broadcast on an RSL license across the county.
This festival (along with the others in Cheltenham) provide a great chance for students to post-produce materials for podcasting, websites and other new-media based streams as well as mixing to record live from a number of stages.
Official Website
More info & links
XPOSED CLUB
Xposed Club is the monthly live music club at Pittville Studios, The University of Gloucestershire. The events are run by Stuart Wilding and Mark Unsworth, and it features all types of music but are active in promoting alternative and experimental music.
The Popular Music Degree students are able to showcase their music at these events, as well as take control in running the PA system and recording the shows for post-production and archiving.
Official Website
Xposed Club MySpace