ABSTRACT
This chapter makes a polemical intervention by arguing that music departments that do not teach their students about the realities of the music industries are doing them a disservice. It falls into three sections that in turn outline some recent developments in UK higher education and music’s place within it, examine the nature of the music industries and conclude with reflections on musical labour. Our starting point is that the text always needs placing within the context and our premise is that – as Francis Bacon reportedly said – knowledge is power. We suggest that without knowledge of the music industries, music students will be radically disempowered. We seek their empowerment and urge music departments to do the same.
