Careers in Music

YOUR GUIDE TO

George Hess

When I was young and told my parents that I intended to go to Berklee and be a famous musician, the first thing they mentioned was having something to “fall back on.” While I did have a reasonably successful performing career, I have to admit, there were times that I almost wished that I did have that backup plan. But in the end, music was what called me and all in all, I’ve done pretty well. And you can too. In this eBook, I’ll show some of the ways you can be successful in the music business.

CHAPTER 1

1

Music Careers

SECTION 1

Being a performer is the dream of many young musicians. Whether it’s a pop superstar, conduc-tor or orchestral musician, being able to playing our instruments for a living is probably the first thing that comes to mind when considering mu-sic as a profession. It can be a rewarding career, both personally and financially, but it’s not an

easy path. It will take hard work and probably a little luck, too. A university degree is required for most gigs, other than popular music. More impor-tantly, you need to be able to play or sing at a very high level to have a chance at a successful career.

Top Careers

1. Concert Soloist2. Orchestral Musician3. Opera Singer4. Freelance Musician5. Club Musician6. Conductor7. Church Musician8. Accompanist9. Studio Musician10.DJ

Performance

2

SECTION 2

Don’t just think Beethoven. Thanks to video games and other media, being a composer is one of the fastest growing segments of the music in-dustry. The film and video industry has long been one of the best places for composers to work and their are many jobs beyond the lead composer. Just take a look at the credits on any

movie and you’ll see 10 to 20 different music jobs listed.

You don’t necessarily need a music degree for these jobs, but it helps. But what you really need are people skills. Networking is the key to get-ting most of these jobs.

Top Careers

1. School Composer2. Film and Video Composer3. Game Composer4. Songwriter5. Orchestrator6. Copyist/Engraver7. Music Supervisor/Editor8. Production Library

Composer9. Jingle Composer10. Music Director/Arranger

Composition

3

SECTION 3

Most musicians will end up teaching at some-time in the lives. Whether it’s your first choice or something you just fall into, teaching can be one of the most rewarding careers. It’s the opportu-nity to change lives. There’s more to teaching that just standing in front of a class pontificating. For most jobs, you’ll need at least a bachelor’s de-

gree and often beyond. But, new careers in online teaching make it so anyone with the skills and knowledge to share can do so and be very suc-cessful.

Top Careers

1. Primary School Teacher2. Secondary School Teacher3. Band Director4. Choir Director5. College Professor6. Private Tuition7. Online Teacher8. Clinician9. Music Librarian

Education

4

SECTION 4

The decline of the recording industry is real, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of ca-reers involved with recording music and sound. Top recording engineers, mastering engineers and producers are still in demand and the ad-vances in production technology means just about anyone can set up a project studio that can

produce high-quality recordings. And don’t for-get sound effects. Video games, films and videos all rely on digital sounds to make the produc-tions come to life.

There are some great college programs for pro-duction, but a degree isn’t always required. Con-sider vocational programs, too.

Top Careers

1. Recording Engineer2. Producer3. Mastering Engineer4. A&R Representative5. Live sound engineer6. Project Studio Owner7. Audio Director8. Sound Designer9. Foley Artist10. Post Production Engineer

Audio Production

5

SECTION 5

After all, the music industry is a business. With-out the people who know how to finance, market and present shows, there would be no concerts. Musical instruments and equipment are big busi-ness, too and product reps are required by all of manufacturers. The NAMM show is still huge. Music businesses are among the most successful

startups so get your thinking cap on. And of course, nothing happens without sales.

Educational requirement range from self-taught to MBA. Music majors are among the more suc-cessful MBAs.

Top Careers

1. Product Representative2. Music Store Sales3. Promoter4. Concert Producer5. Entrepreneur6. Marketing Specialist7. Music Licensing Specialist8. Business Executive

Business

6

SECTION 6

Concerts don’t just happen. It takes a lot of sup-port personnel to make a successful show hap-pen. Artists who are just starting out, might wear a lot of these hats themselves, but eventually they are going to need support so they can focus on making music.

Most of these jobs require a variety of skills and knowledge. Personal managers need to know mu-sic, business, sales, have great people skills and be reliable and trustworthy.

Other than for lawyers, a degree isn’t necessary for most of these jobs, but on-the-job training is a must.

Top Careers

1. Booking Agent2. Personal Manager3. Road Manager4. Equipment Manager5. Instrument technician6. Entertainment Attorney7. Artist Relations Rep8. Webmaster9. Web Content Developer

Artist Support

7

SECTION 7

Arts management is often part of the non-profit organization. Even orchestras are mostly non-profit.

Top Careers

1. Arts Organization Management

2. Orchestra Management3. School Administrator4. Concert Hall Management5. Music School Owner

Arts Administration

8

SECTION 8

If language skills are one of your fortes, consider writing. Most top performers rely on publicists and artist relations people to communicate with the press and their fans and these can be very re-warding gigs. Being a music critic can be fun, go to concerts you enjoy and write about them. You could also start out as blogger with your reviews

and opinions and monetize it. There are also plenty of music-related periodicals that publish articles, reviews, interviews and edi-torials.

You need to know how to write and often know your subject matter well for these jobs. An Eng-lish degree wouldn’t hurt either.

Top Careers

1. Publicist 2. Music Critic3. Author4. Artist Relations5. Editor6. Music Blogger7. Periodical author

Writing

9

SECTION 9

Doctor? While not actually a music job, students who majored in music in college are among the highest scorers on the medical entrance exams. Another very fast growing field is music therapy. And of course, online jobs are emerging, as more and more companies rely on the Internet for mar-

keting, communications and even for the actual product they provide.

Top Careers

1. Music Therapy2. Streaming Music Services3. Digital Media 4. Digital Marketing5. Social Media Manager6. Web Content Manager7. Doctor

Miscellaneous

10

© 2017, George J Hess, All Rights Reserved.

xi

WRAP UP

As you can see there are many career paths available to those who want to be part of the music industry. It’s an exciting world regardless of which side of the stage you are on. So don’t worry about that fall back position. Decide what it is you want to do and go for it.

For more detailed information including salary ranges, take a look at the Music Salary Guide produced by the Berklee College of Music, which was the source for much of this information.