An associate's degree in general music is intended for the student who is going to pursue an additional four year Bachelor's degree. According to Universities.com, after completing this degree students should have an overall awareness of the scope, variety, structure and forms or works in the music field. They will be able to engage in the creative process when creating works of art and give relative feedback regarding these works.
A music business degree prepares a student to get into the music industry and build a career there. According to Education-Portal.com, an Associate of Music Business and Audio is perfect for the student who wishes to work in contract negotiations, public relations, publishing, promotions, merchandising, royalties and music rights. Courses taken for the degree include Contract Law, Promotion and Publicity, Music Business History and Copyright and Publishing. These courses give students more of an industry view approach to a music degree.
An Associate's in Musical Performance is just as it sounds--a degree in performance arts. While not everyone who gets this two year degree will make a career of performing, some career goals could include musical instruction, management, symphony performance and becoming a conductor. A strong focus on music fundamentals like rhythm, instruments, melody and harmony are associated with these type of associate degrees. Additionally, creative courses and courses involving performance are common requirements.
This two year degree is for professionals who wish to learn the "ins and outs" of music and audio recording. Much of this associate's degree has to do with the knowledge of technological equipment used in audio feeding and recording. The courses for this degree will have less to do with music theory and more with the processes around producing, recording and editing of music. Careers associated with this degree include digital music editing, sound stage engineer, music production and scoring for film and video.