Exciting Jobs In The Music Industry
You grew up listening to music, obsessing over superstars, attending concerts, and watching countless music videos. Now, you’re walking across the stage eagerly awaiting to grab your diploma and move on to greater things. A music industry job is a place you feel destined for, but you don’t know where to begin.
You’ve yet to decide if you want to go down the route of the engineer, the businessman, or the creative enthusiast. As you look towards your career aspirations you begin to wonder about what the future of the industry itself holds.
Well, we are here to tell you that there are a number of exciting positions throughout the various fields of the industry. In this blog, we will take a look at an assortment of positions, their average salaries, and how rapid advances in technology are impacting the job market.
Music Industry Careers
First, if you’re interested in the technical side of the music industry then let’s dive straight into the various music industry jobs related to music production. We will also cover the salaries associated with all the possible jobs as published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Audio Engineer
- Handles editing, creating, and recording sound
- Average Salary: $59k
Audio Technician
- Sets up sound and recording equipment, make adjustments, and tests the equipment while assisting with recordings.
- Average Salary: $44k
Studio Manager
- Sets up client accounts, handles invoicing, equipment installations, operates, and maintains the studio.
- Average Salary: $46k
Radio Broadcast Engineer
- Makes sure that programs are broadcasted on time and maintains the systems.
- Average Salary: $38k
Digital Audio Editor
- Builds the soundtrack by cutting the picture in order to synchronize the sound elements.
- Average Salary: $50k
Second, maybe you’re more interested in music industry jobs focused on finances, business, or education.
Entertainment Attorney
- Manages legal matters for musicians.
- Average Salary: $83k
Music Teacher
- Teach elementary, junior high, high school, college students in performance and music theory.
- Average Salary: $51k
Booking Agent
- Negotiate deals and plans tours for the artists.
- Average Salary: $41k
Marketing Coordinator
- Handles tour, retail, and digital marketing opportunities for a record label and its artists.
- Average Salary: $55k
Music Business Accountant
- Advise musicians and music industry companies on financial matters.
- Average Salary: $65K
Lastly, if you have a passion to create then you could try your hands at one of the creative jobs in the music industry.
Singer
- performs the lead vocals of a song. Although he or she may have a backing band, the Singer is the star of the show.
- Average Salary: 41k
Poster Artist
- Designs posters for artists, companies and concert venues.
- Average Salary: 54k
Music Producer
- Writes, arranges, produces and records songs for artists.
- Average Salary: 55k
Choreographer
- Create and teach dances to dancers to perform on stage.
- Average Salary: $49k
What the Future Holds
As an aspiring graduate, there are many paths you can take, one important aspect you should understand is where the industry is headed and how the music industry job market is responding. You’d want to know if your career is future proof and what future jobs could be developed in your field. So, with that being said we are going to look at four things:
1. The decline of the Record Label
2. The emerging dominance of the independent artist
3. The future of music with VR
4. How Automation will drive sales
The Record Label
Once upon a time, record labels were a force to be reckoned with. They would use their vast amounts of resources throughout their various distribution teams in order to scope out and sign the next big superstar. Slowly morphing them into a marketable product.
Today, with the advancement of new technologies, record labels discover artists based on social clout, streaming numbers, and a strong fan base. The reverse effect of this is that now artists no longer need to rely solely on a record label in order to handle the distribution process.
All artists need to do is create music, upload via a DSP (digital service provider) like Distrokid or Tunecore, and cultivate a fan base. Record labels do provide an easier route to stardom, but they are no longer entirely necessary.
Just look at celebrities like Justin Bieber, Cody Simpson, or Carly Rae Jespen, who all built their fame by creating music and uploading to social media or YouTube. So, while the record labels are a staying power, for now, they might now have the staying power they once had due to the evolving marketing that is booming, independent artists.
Independent Artists
Before the era of social media and streaming, independent artists would struggle to make a splash in the music industry without the help of record labels or industry titans. Now, according to research conducted by MIDiA, independent artists have turned into the fastest-growing segment of the business.
Their revenue growth continues to grow year over year, which will lead to a lasting impact across the industry. There are three statistics to explain this.
- Artists want to keep control over their creative freedom, and 83% of them agree.
- Less than a third of independent artists feel they must sign with a label in order to develop a career.
- Unsigned artists generated $643 million in 2018, up 35% from 2017. This fast growth has led to the creation of new companies to help these aspiring musicians get a chance in the spotlight.
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality has been an interesting topic in the entertainment industry for decades, and in recent years VR has started to gain more ground throughout the music industry. Recently we have started to see VR implemented in music videos like in Gorillaz’s song ‘Saturn Barz’.
Allowing viewers to become a part of the experience. It’s being implemented in music festivals, such as Coachella, where they allow fans to become a part of the live experience at home. It has even poured over into education, where it allows students to have a more engaging way to learn musical instruments or equipment.
All of this is possible with the help of tech companies like Vantage.tv, who are developing technologies to allow these virtual experiences. These new technologies will provide an assortment of new job opportunities and experiences for people alike.
Automation & A.I.
The use of automation and artificial intelligence has been changing the musical landscape for a while now. It’s been used throughout tech companies to build certain algorithms for their listeners. For example, these machine learning programs allow A.I to read the metadata that is being streamed to you and recommend new music to their listeners in order to create a personalized experience. However, it extends far beyond that.
The development of new A.I programs granted music companies the ability to automate time-consuming projects and eliminate complicated processes across the industry. Going a step further, they are starting to create programs that can write completely original songs. This will lead to the creation of more tech jobs within the industry.
Now you know that there is an abundance of different career paths you can take within the music industry. Whether your mind is geared more towards producing, managing, or creating. There is certainly a spot for your passion to fill.
While the future is always uncertain there is no reason to fear the changes that are one the way. With the help of job market trends and technological advancements, you’re always going to have an opportunity to find something new that truly excites you.
At Dark Horse Institute we strive to stay on top of those advancements and will continue to teach the most relevant music business programs utilizing the newest technology.
