Professional Certificate in Media Law (P.Cert.MediaLaw)

The Professional Certificate in Media Law is a four-month course with certification designed for singers, performers, singing teachers, studio owners, and creative professionals who work in public, digital, and media-facing environments.

This course exists because creative practitioners are increasingly exposed to legal risk, often without realising it. Social media, online commentary, student communication, public performance, recording, teaching, promotion, and collaboration all carry legal consequences. Yet most people only encounter media law by studying a full law or journalism degree, something that is neither practical nor desirable for most working artists and teachers.

This professional certification fills that gap.

It provides practical, studio-ready legal literacy so you can communicate, teach, promote, collaborate, and create with confidence, without needing to become a lawyer or study abstract legal theory.

This program is suited to:
• singers, performers, and recording artists
• singing teachers and studio owners
• creative educators and arts professionals
• anyone whose work involves public communication, reputation, digital content, or audiences

No prior legal knowledge is required. This certification does not permit graduates to practise law or give legal advice - it is informational only in nature.

Professional Certificate in Media Law

Module 1: Digital Legal Literacy, Free Expression and Mindful Practice

This module builds the foundation for understanding how law intersects with creative communication. You will explore the difference between morals, ethics, and law, and how free expression operates as a legal right with limits. The focus is on helping creative professionals communicate deliberately, truthfully, and safely in digital and public environments.

You will examine how singers, teachers, and performers encounter legal risk through posts, commentary, reviews, marketing, and public statements. Practical tools for reflection and decision-making are introduced so you can assess risk before publishing or speaking.

By the end of this module, you will understand how free expression works in practice, how truth and deception are treated legally, and how mindful communication protects both artistic freedom and professional integrity.

Module 2: Reputation and Defamation

Reputation is one of a creative professional’s most valuable assets. This module focuses on defamation law in practical terms, with clear examples drawn from arts, education, and digital communication contexts.

You will learn what defamation is, how it arises in everyday communication, and why even informal comments, posts, emails, or teaching discussions can carry legal consequences. The module also explores defamation defences, including how context, truth, and public interest operate in real scenarios.

This module equips you to speak honestly and critically without placing yourself, your studio, or your collaborators at unnecessary risk.

Module 3: Confidentiality, Sources and Privacy

Creative professionals often work with sensitive information, including student details, medical information, contracts, recordings, and unpublished material. This module focuses on confidentiality and privacy obligations as they apply to teaching, performance, collaboration, and digital platforms.

You will explore how privacy law and data protection affect lesson recordings, student communication, testimonials, marketing content, and online storage. The module also addresses confidentiality when working with collaborators, producers, agents, and venues.

By the end of this module, you will understand how to manage information responsibly while maintaining trust, professionalism, and legal compliance.

Module 4: Communicating Justice and Intellectual Property

This module addresses two areas that frequently affect performers and teachers: public discussion of legal matters and ownership of creative work.

You will learn how contempt laws and restrictions on legal commentary operate, particularly in online spaces where posts can unintentionally interfere with legal processes. The focus is on recognising when silence or restraint is legally required.

The module also provides a practical introduction to intellectual property, including copyright in music, recordings, teaching materials, arrangements, and online content. You will learn how ownership works, what can be shared, adapted, or licensed, and how to protect your creative output.

Module 5: Cybersecurity, Discrimination, Integrity and the Business of Communication

The final module brings together legal risk, ethics, and professional practice in modern creative work. You will examine cybersecurity risks, discrimination law, cyberbullying, and the responsibilities that come with running a studio or creative business.

The module explores how discrimination and harassment arise in teaching and performance contexts, including online environments. It also examines integrity in communication, branding, contracts, and professional relationships.

A final applied learning problem invites you to analyse a realistic scenario involving power imbalance, reputation, and business pressure, encouraging you to integrate legal awareness with professional judgement.

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Why this program is different

There is currently no other program designed specifically to teach media law to singers, performers, and singing teachers in a practical, accessible way. Most people encounter these topics only through full law degrees or journalism programs, which are not designed for creative practitioners.

This Professional Certificate translates essential legal knowledge into a form that works for real studios, real careers, and real communication challenges.

It gives you clarity without complexity, confidence without arrogance, and protection without fear.